Re: topicality and Oddmund's post

[Kari Eloranta <eloranta@lammio.hut.fi>]

Having followed this group for short while I found Oddmund's  
philosophical point of view quite refreshing. There is simply too  
much techno-photo-talk in the internet forums. The essence of  
photography tends to get lost in the details.

When some of you (M. Small & R. Beamon) gang up with arrogant  
comments like

msmall@roanoke.infi.net:
>Roger, and probably many others, will rejoice to see a REAL Leica  
>thread starting up again ...

to stab a more philosophical thread I do sense two techno-types  
trying to assume the role of priesthood in this forum. Yet, given  
that this is Leica-USERS-group what business does some Leica  
historica and obscurica have here? But I'm not saying that it should  
go - live and let live is much better.

Just for the record I've shot for long time with Canon SLR's and  
also recently with my M. It is quite nice to to see the various  
little tips on its use that people have discovered. Even better to  
find out by oneself (like the inbetween times)! But at the end all  
this is immaterial if the subject is shot without an idea what to  
say. Just like laboring in a lab for hours on a dull negative when a  
straight enlargement of a powerful neg. would be infinitely better.

It's a shame more or less all the really good photographers seem to  
be missing from these forums. Perhaps they have better things to  
do. And it is perhaps Robert Franck's motto (from St. Exupery via my  
memory) that is relevant here:

"Only with your heart you can see. What is important is invisible  
to your eyes."

Remember he was (still is?) a Leica user but could have made most  
of his photographs with a brownie, too. Why is that, answer me you  
techno-types?

Ok, enough said.

Kari Eloranta