Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/12/26

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Subject: [Leica] Stories
From: bdcolen at earthlink.net (B. D. Colen)
Date: Sun Dec 26 16:10:38 2004

It is all that and more, Neal - Knowing Smith, and the era, it may well
have been posed, but so was the original Pieta, so what the heck.. ;-)

-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of
Neal Friedenthal
Sent: Sunday, December 26, 2004 4:58 PM
To: leica users group
Subject: Re: [Leica] Stories


>It's one of the best photos anyone ever took. But a couple of years ago

>the now deceased girl's parents in effect withdrew their release, and 
>Smith's widow, Aileen, agreed to it. The photo can never again be show,

>reproduced, etc. etc. They said they every time they saw it it renewed 
>the pain, and kept them from healing. Which may be true. But the 
>agreement caused all sorts of debate among curators, photo ethics 
>mavens, etc. I have to say I'm in the camp that says a release is a 
>release is a release. And that images should belong to the ages.

>B. D.


I have to agree with you on this, B.D.  Although I can sympathize with
the parents the image is too powerful and too important to be withdrawn
from public view. In my opinion this photo is the very essence of photo
journalism. I am almost brought to tears each time I view it.  Smith
took some of the most powerful and memorable photographs ever taken,
none more-so than this Pieta of mother and child.

Neal F


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Replies: Reply from feli2 at earthlink.net (Feli di Giorgio) ([Leica] Stories)
Reply from images at InfoAve.Net (Tina Manley) ([Leica] Stories)
In reply to: Message from neal at nairobisafari.com (Neal Friedenthal) ([Leica] Stories)