Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/08/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hey...bust away..:-)....I was only pointing out the difficulty in making comparisons with the those from the days when, as they say in medicine, "giants walked the earth." Yes, Capa was a terrific photographer. But frankly, I'll take Nachtwey and reserve for Capa the credit for 'inventing the discipline' of modern war photography. On 8/18/06 10:05 AM, "Scott McLoughlin" <scott@adrenaline.com> wrote: > Excellent points all around. > > I put scare quotes around the term "collateral damage" > just because some might find it an offensive euphemism > for "dead innocent civilians." This wasn't meant to criticise > Anderson choice of subject - just a segway to a comparison > with Seymour. > > My point wasn't necessarily to bust Anderson's chops; I > don't know his other work, and he's very likely a fine > photographer. > > I was just surprised at the quality of this series of snaps. > > Scott > > B. D. Colen wrote: > >> Comparison, Scott, is always fair, if those being compared are playing on >> the 'same field.' Here you're comparing professional photographers >> covering >> war and its aftermath - so if Nachtwey is the modern standard setter, he's >> the one against whom other professionals should be judged. >> >> That said - consider that what you're seeing of Capa and Chim's work is >> their absolute best, culled, reculled, judged, and reculled, over the past >> 60 years; what you're seeing of Anderson's work are probably the images he >> edited and transmitted to the syndicate while on the ground in a war >> zone - >> and that makes a huge difference. First off, we are all our own absolute >> worst editors; second, it's one thing for a curator to go through work >> that >> was shot 50 years ago and dispassionately choose the best x hundred images >> from thousands and thousands, and it's another thing for a photographer on >> the ground, with bombs falling, to decide what 50 images to send over the >> Sat phone. >> >> None of this is to disagree with your judgment, I'm simply trying to >> refine >> the discussion a bit. >> >> Oh, one last point - most of Capa and Chim's work was not of combat, but >> of >> collateral damage. >> B. D. >> >> >> >>