Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/04/15

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Subject: [Leica] A 1976 AP photo of Justice J.P. Stevens
From: s.dimitrov at charter.net (slobodan Dimitrov)
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2010 23:30:02 -0700
References: <r2l19b6d42d1004152039oc8b46606v93ede9edd950060a@mail.gmail.com> <C6A61E41-7AE2-4AAB-B566-466372271B99@charter.net> <60B21ED0-F859-4C3B-9762-7F804E785D14@frozenlight.eu> <B584370A-C434-4990-B13B-17944C026DF6@charter.net> <h2p19b6d42d1004152247we7674acev4ea420f7b17e49da@mail.gmail.com>

I collect wire photos, especially the ones dealing with Labor.
So I know what you're saying has some grounding in reality.
But even by those standards, this image is a disaster. 
By the way, AP, TIME, etc., do not give up rights on an image, ever, and 
never.

The only revelation I see here, is that the photographer got punked by an 
uncooperative subject.
It's the kind of image that a novice would make when confronted by a 
difficult sitter.

When one is out on a shoot, there's the best case scenario and worse case 
scenario. For each you have a plan, plan A, plan B, etc., and that's coming 
in cold. For this shot, there had to be prior notification.  A lot of going 
back and forth over his schedule. All that busy stuff that an assigning 
editor had to do to set it up. In the image you're showing us, I don't think 
Stevens gave the photog more than a minute. I don't think the photographer 
had any plan either, judging by the shot.  
If you look in the AP style manual, it addresses such a situation. Obviously 
the camera operator did not read it.
S.d.

On Apr 15, 2010, at 10:47 PM, Vince Passaro wrote:

> What flare in which corner?
> 
> Do you guys know how AP photographs worked? They came in over the wire and
> were recomposed at the paper; that print  then is kept in a library (at 
> some
> papers) until being digitized, probably in like 1997, badly; you're so far
> from whatever the original was to discuss its sharpness is silly. If the
> image came last week from AP directly that too is how it would have
> survived; it's only marginally possible that anyone worked with the 
> original
> print again after it went out over the wires in 1976. But I suspect this 
> was
> in the Times' library and then digitized because I believe AP's photo
> library was sold to Bettman or Getty at some point so if the image had been
> bought last week it wouldn't have said "AP" I don't think. I could be wrong
> on that front however.
> 
> In any case you ain't looking at it like human bein' . A thousand more
> technically correct headshots wouldn't reveal the man in quite this way, or
> at all, and I happened to look at a lot of them in the wake of becoming
> interested in this photograph.  He was superficially a dull man and not 
> easy
> to "find" but this picture does -- in part by getting (literally) 
> underneath
> him. It's beautifully composed.
> 
> Nathan I figured out the "flare" you indicated. If that were flare it would
> mean the trash can was on fire. It's not flare; it's damage to the print.
> The light's coming fron entirely the other direction.
> 
> You guys better not go to the HCB show at MoMA. A lot of his pictures 
> aren't
> so sharp either.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Fri, Apr 16, 2010 at 1:17 AM, slobodan Dimitrov
> <s.dimitrov at charter.net>wrote:
> 
>> It's from the very worst period in photography, when the 35mm SLR
>> manufactures jammed the public with their trash.
>> S.d.
>> 
>> 
>> On Apr 15, 2010, at 10:08 PM, Nathan Wajsman wrote:
>> 
>>> That was my reaction to it as well. Unsharp, lots of flare in the corner.
>>> 
>>> Nathan
>>> 
>>> Nathan Wajsman
>>> Alicante, Spain
>>> http://www.frozenlight.eu
>>> http://www.greatpix.eu
>>> http://www.nathanfoto.com
>>> 
>>> Books: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/search?search=wajsman&x=0&y=0
>>> PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
>>> Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Apr 16, 2010, at 6:57 AM, slobodan Dimitrov wrote:
>>> 
>>>> You're kidding, right?
>>>> It's a hideous image!
>>>> S.d.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Apr 15, 2010, at 8:39 PM, Vince Passaro wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> This picture ran on the front page of the New York Times the day after
>>>>> Stevens announced his resignation.  They still have it on the lens
>> blog.
>>>>> It's an uncredited AP photo. I like it a lot, I think it's a great
>>>>> photograph. I wonder what others think, and, specifically, what size
>> lens
>>>>> people think it was taken with. I'm thinking 35mm or even 28mm and
>> cropped
>>>>> but I don't know nothin'.
>>>>> 
>>>>> People's reactions would be of great interest to me.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Here's the url:
>>>>> 
>> http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/04/09/us/20100409-stevens-slideshow_index.html?ref=politics
>>>>> 
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Leica Users Group.
>>>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>>> 
>>>> 
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>>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
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>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
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> 
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Replies: Reply from passaro.vince at gmail.com (Vince Passaro) ([Leica] A 1976 AP photo of Justice J.P. Stevens)
In reply to: Message from passaro.vince at gmail.com (Vince Passaro) ([Leica] A 1976 AP photo of Justice J.P. Stevens)
Message from s.dimitrov at charter.net (slobodan Dimitrov) ([Leica] A 1976 AP photo of Justice J.P. Stevens)
Message from photo at frozenlight.eu (Nathan Wajsman) ([Leica] A 1976 AP photo of Justice J.P. Stevens)
Message from s.dimitrov at charter.net (slobodan Dimitrov) ([Leica] A 1976 AP photo of Justice J.P. Stevens)
Message from passaro.vince at gmail.com (Vince Passaro) ([Leica] A 1976 AP photo of Justice J.P. Stevens)