Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2012/12/13

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Subject: [Leica] Color vs B&W
From: kanner at acm.org (Herbert Kanner)
Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2012 10:54:10 -0800
References: <CCED779A.13C14%manolito@videotron.ca><6961F60394D940C9B95E2402D4A03441@syneticfeba505><7A7B130A-731F-4487-AF21-50FB114D8081@gmail.com><54535438-D6AD-4FF3-B192-203E6F876BD0@embarqmail.com><DEE90ACE-B0C8-4F1B-9C51-3E16B25BF5C1@gmail.com> <251D5729-0E9E-4876-A4DE-312B5D68A85C@embarqmail.com> <D6FC26175F7C4A60A13553565D152BB9@syneticfeba505>

But not all professional photographers are photo-journalists. The point is: 
what is the purpose of the photograph.

Herbert Kanner
kanner at acm.org
650-326-8204

Question authority and the authorities will question you.




On Dec 12, 2012, at 5:31 PM, <tedgrant at shaw.ca> <tedgrant at shaw.ca> 
wrote:

> Sorry this becomes more confusing as the day goes on!
> 
> When you are a professional and on the staff of a wire service or an 
> independent company and or on the staff of a newspaper? Magazine?  You 
> bloody well shoot what you are told and or the type of publication uses!  
> Is that so hard to understand. I suppose so if you have always been in the 
> "amateur photog classification?"
> 
> You have an assignment where you are on board a deep sea fishing trawler 
> for 3 to 4 weeks at sea and you have hundreds of rolls of film, 
> black&white only! As you document the lives of the crew.
> 
> You don't have time to consider thoughts of "gee whiz I wonder if it would 
> look better in colour? Slide or negative?" Or you may have the direct 
> opposite and be shooting only Kodachrome! You only think about the 
> subjects and how well you have documented their lives! Like I said 
> before....... "IT'S ALL ABOUT THE CONTENT!"
> 
> You are sent or given assignments because you are a silent observer and 
> capture the life or lives of your subjects with no other thoughts but? 
> Bringing home perfect images illustrating what happens with as much story 
> telling impact as possible! And the type of film has no bearing on your 
> immediate project, but success of the images!
> 
> This diddly back and forth jabberwocky seen here the past couple of days 
> re... colour - B&W is nothing more than an utter waste of time if one is a 
> professional photojournalist! What's worse ?  That I'm stupid enough to 
> get pissed off and waste my time answering it! If I didn't have the real 
> life day to day years after years real time actually living it? I suppose 
> I wouldn't care about this as much as I do!
> 
> But some of you guys twiddle on about some of the most innocuous drivel 
> that has nothing to do with real life as a professional photographer, it's 
> quite revolting at times! !
> 
> There are quite a number of the crew who have purchased my medical books 
> all shot in B&W! Let alone the countless hundreds of medical people and 
> not one comment about shooting any of it in colour! WHY? The books are B&W 
> because the subject is so powerful in  B&W that if shot in colour?
> 
> The colours become an absolute distraction! How do I know?? Quite simple 
> really. Because I have shot hundreds of rolls in colour and when you are 
> mixing various coloured OR sterile clothes, locations and whatever other 
> tidbits of colour in an OR? You do not look at the impact of the content! 
> PERIOD! It's all the brilliant lighting and colours constantly distracting 
> your vision!
> 
> And for those of you who have never opened one of my medical books? Then 
> maybe you should and see what real B&W available light as you see it Leica 
> photography is all about! Maybe you'll learn something when you can ask 
> questions of the still living photographer! Instead of re-hashed stories 
> about some long dead character.
> 
> have a nice day!
> 
> Dr. ted
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information



In reply to: Message from manolito at videotron.ca (EPL) ([Leica] Color vs B&W)
Message from tedgrant at shaw.ca (tedgrant at shaw.ca) ([Leica] Color vs B&W)
Message from steve.barbour at gmail.com (Steve Barbour) ([Leica] Color vs B&W)
Message from ricc at embarqmail.com (Ric Carter) ([Leica] Color vs B&W)
Message from steve.barbour at gmail.com (Steve Barbour) ([Leica] Color vs B&W)
Message from ricc at embarqmail.com (Ric Carter) ([Leica] Color vs B&W)
Message from tedgrant at shaw.ca (tedgrant at shaw.ca) ([Leica] Color vs B&W)