[Leica] re: armed america

[philippe.orlent at pandora.be (Philippe Orlent)]

QUOTE
... the more repressed societies of our world,
where only the upper class or uber-rich are allowed to own guns...
UNQUOTE

Meaning what? Meaning that countries with a less liberal policy on  
gun ownership are repressive? That those countries are advantaging  
'the uber-rich'?
Come on, give me a break.

Kyle's work is good as it is, showing gun owners in a neutral -and as  
he states it purely objective- way, quid in their natural habitat. I  
agree it should show a larger section of people, including those that  
have guns but don't necesserally want them, but IMO it's just a  
matter of time before he succeeds in getting them in front of his  
camera.

Repressed and unprivileged regards.


Op 27-jun-06, om 22:37 heeft P2CON@aol.com het volgende geschreven:

> I think Adam pretty much says it all.  IF your pictures showed the  
> use to
> which these people put their guns it would be much more  
> enlightening, and perhaps
> more acceptable to those living in the more repressed societies of  
> our world,
> where only the upper class or uber-rich are allowed to own guns.   
> To see the
> guy or gal shooting skeet targets with their Browning Citoris would  
> be more
> representative than simply having them stand in their living room  
> holding the
> gun. Even the person who owns a gun simply for home protection  
> probably takes it
> to a shooting range to familiarize themselves with its operation,  
> and to
> learn the rudiments of actually firing it.  A photo of that person  
> shooting at a
> bad-guy silhouette at the target range gives the observer an idea  
> of what the
> gun is for.  Even assault rifles are used by many for formal target  
> shooting,
> and such a photo is much more informative than the gun owner simply  
> holding his
> gun while petting his dog in his home.
>
> For those not privileged to live in the USA, perhaps a photograph  
> or two
> showing the rich American, shooting driven pheasants in Spain, side  
> by side with
> the upper class Spanish landowner where all shooters are using  
> finely crafted
> double barrel shotguns costing some twenty to fifty-thousand  
> dollars each.
>
> Bottom line: there are as many reasons for owning a gun as there  
> are people
> who do.  Your photo essay should do more to show that aspect of gun  
> ownership.
> I think the photos you have taken so far are just fodder for the  
> gun-haters
> who would like nothing more than to point to your work and say  
> "look at those
> sociopaths hugging their guns, lets rid the country of them."
>
> Regards, Paul Connet
>
> In a message dated 6/26/2006 5:15:10 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
> abridge@gmail.com writes:
> Kyle,
>
> It's a very homogeneous universe you portray and I can't seem to
> engage with it or feel that you have a sympathy with it. I have this
> strange reaction that it's like the cynical narcissistic "New
> Yorker"-style of fiction - obeservation with no compassion - just the
> need to look.
>
> If this is for a book then what's the point? Only pictures? An essay
> with them? What? Because I'd be VERY wary of participating -  who
> knows what sort of editorial stance you're going to take - or your
> editor will take. "Boy, we can make these guys look like real rubes."
> I'm not saying YOU are saying that but I can't believe it doesn't run
> rampant through the minds of people you ask.
>
> In addition to being almost all white it's lacking in class breadth  
> as well.
>
> The important thing, really, aren't the images, it's what you know
> about the people inside the photos - why they have these weapons, why
> they keep them, what it matters, why they chose to let you photograph
> them.
>
> I want to CONNECT with these people and I don't - the formalism in
> many - proper poses of people and pets - keeps me from engaging.
>
> Adam Bridge
>
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