[Leica] BD PAWS

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant)]

It's obvious this topic is a hot spot for some folks, I suppose due to 
changes of society values as much as anything. But more than likely  the 
unethical non-caring people with cameras who find down trodden as easy 
target while unconscious or merely someone taking a nap.

If we as photojournalists are on assignment to photograph... "Life today as 
we see it."  Or some version of that without focusing on any one subject. 
Then every motivating scene becomes part of telling and showing that life 
story.

But to break into the "life moment" to ask permission everytime, then the 
scene becomes a false interpretation of reality, simply because everything 
becomes a "posed picture" and not the "oh my gosh look at that... click!" 
captured moment of real time.  And that pertains to taking a picture of 
Donald Trump or the unfortunate human lying under a pile of cardboard boxes.

It means 99% of the time one would be asking permission, explaining what the 
assignment is about, why, where it will be used, who, and the questions 
become endless right down to "why do you want to take my picture?"  You 
might get a couple of pictures, you might get accosted, you might pay out a 
considerable amount of "here's a buck can I take your picture?" Not one I 
ever did!  You might find yourself answering a police officer's questioning 
because someone complained.

Trust me, the questioning and ancillary actions totally destroy the concept 
of... "Shooting real life as you find it" and the documentary fashion is 
over. The moment is lost and destroyed because the shooter broke into the 
scene that motivated he or she first!  And you might as well sell your 
documenting cameras and move into a monastery!

Quite frankly today it's just a miserable assed world out there compared to 
40 years ago or less when one would shoot 3, 4 months or longer every single 
day to "document life in a city, town, country, steel mills, medical scenes, 
life in all kinds of communities where you just flowed along capturing true 
life moments of every description. And without all the bull shit nonsense 
that we see talked about in the posts of the past couple of days!

And no, we did not take ADVANTAGE OF ANYTHING, ANIMAL OR HUMAN!

We didn't go out to be cruel capturers of any one group of people, we went 
out to capture the life of what the country was like and if that took in the 
good, bad, ugly or evil it was what the country looked like before us.  We 
had no agenda, it was photographing the life and times before us, there were 
no directions other than "good luck, have a good shoot and we'll see you in 
3 months!"

It's unfortunate times changed. For the better? Before you 
answer...............................

Just walk the streets of towns or cities today ( I don't mean during your 
lunch hour) I mean starting at dawn and wrapping it after the sun is down 
when you can't hardly take another step and ask yourself that question. That 
is before you jump in and tell me it's much better! Certainly in the life of 
those of us who are documentary photojournalists!

ted