Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/06/23
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi B.D. Yours is a very thoughtful response, and I agree with most, if not all of it. In my opinion, casual photography is a very different enterprise than serious photography, which in the hands of an expert practitioner can be a true craft. We should not allow ourselves to be confused about how to discriminate one from the other. My approach to and intent in photographing my grandchildren at play or my family gathered at holiday time is very different from my ongoing field work documenting the often thin margins between civilization and nature, for example. There is little point in attempting to debate the relative value of either casual or serious, as that is for the practitioner and his/her consumer/clients to assess. Democratization of instant communication through technology seems to have made this image capture situation what it is today...little islands of excellence on a vast sea of mediocrity. Edwin Land took a major step in the '40s with Polaroid technology, and it had a mostly profitable 50 year run until the pixel showed up. I have seen a ton of crap documented with the Polaroid medium, as well as some incredibly interesting LF Polaroid artwork. The same goes for digital. Last year, as Trudy and I were wandering "gallery canyon" in Santa Fe NM we came upon a gallery specializing in large (>20 x 30") digital prints. The ones I studied were recognizable as photographs, but they were more...they were a new form of artwork: Arresting, compelling images, with strong and recognizable content, craft, emotion and meaning. This experience opened my eyes for the first time to the possibilities of mastering serious digital printing, and I hope I'm granted the energy and time to learn how to do this well. I yearn to do more serious photography than I have the time to do at present. That's one of the reasons I'm transitioning into full retirement. I want to devote myself to photographic essay projects that are personally important to me - and I have been relatively unsuccessful in doing so on a time-shared basis. I suspect this is also true for a lot of us LUGers... Len Leonard J Kapner E-Mail: ljkapner@cox.net Tel: (310) 377-5060 / Mobile: (310) 291-0140 -----Original Message----- From: lug-bounces+ljkapner=cox.net@leica-users.org [mailto:lug-bounces+ljkapner=cox.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of B. D. Colen Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 9:51 AM To: 'Leica Users Group' Subject: RE: [Leica] RE: While it is happening (B. D. Colen) Ah, but Len, I believe that "conversational" photography has been with us for as long as there have been inexpensive cameras and film for people who have no interest in photography per se, but simply want to record a moment or event. Look at the great mass of snap shots - for that matter look at many images posted on the LUG - and you'll see what I mean. Does digital technology make this worse? I don't know - I'm not convinced that cell phone cameras are any more of a threat to 'real photography' than disposable film cameras and cheap Polaroid's. As I said at some point when someone suggested shooting a wedding by putting disposable cameras on every table - that's great if what you want are hundreds of poorly composed, often fuzzy photos taken by a bunch of drunks. ;-) If technology is a culprit here, the technology is that which makes it possible for people to widely disseminate their lousy snap shots. Back when we were all shooting with film, before we had websites and email, our lousy snap shots sat in shoe boxes, envelopes, or were mercifully thrown away before anyone saw them. Now they're emailed around the globe. That's the real problem. Best B. D. -----Original Message----- From: lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org [mailto:lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Leonard J Kapner Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 12:01 PM To: 'Leica Users Group' Subject: RE: [Leica] RE: While it is happening (B. D. Colen) My 2? on this issue... I think B.D., Doug and Mark are all right about this one. I think most, but not all of what we read on the LUG is just "finger chatting" and not literature, with a lot of the colloquialism, fuzzy thinking and idiomatic expression one might expect in an ordinary social conversation conducted among friends or peers. To keep us closer to on topic, I think I'm beginning to see the same "conversational attitude" toward capturing images emerge, especially with digital cameras in the hands of a "chimper" or worse, the cell 'phone cam. Those of us who learned and love to use the fully manual camera such as Leica M series, with gorgeous, sharp optics, are probably just as put off by "out of focus" and "poorly composed" thoughts as we are similarly flawed photographic images. And yes, just to place where I am along this spectrum, I find I am usually offended by unintended unsharpness in a photograph! Len -- -----Original Message----- From: lug-bounces+ljkapner=cox.net@leica-users.org [mailto:lug-bounces+ljkapner=cox.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of B. D. Colen Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 6:43 AM To: 'Leica Users Group' Subject: RE: [Leica] RE: While it is happening (B. D. Colen) You're absolutely correct, Mark; there are different standards. The problem, however, is that the formal standard has weakened enormously in the past 40 years, and having the second standard weakens it further, as the sloppy Email writing carries over into more formal communication. At least that's how I see it. -----Original Message----- From: lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org [mailto:lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Mark Rabiner Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 2004 9:51 PM To: Leica Users Group Subject: Re: [Leica] RE: While it is happening (B. D. Colen) According to me there is a different kind of style and level of writing which goes with email and email on lists. You don?t write email like you would type or hand write a letter in the 60's all other cultural things aside. This is not just me I think I got it from somewhere. Hook me up and find out. I think its like eating spaghetti with a friend. Sometimes you just make a truce and agree to slurp. Romaine leaves can be best eaten by hand sans fork. http://www.caesar-salad.com/ Mark Rabiner Photography Portland Oregon http://rabinergroup.com/ (snip) _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information