Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/08/11
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Oddmund - While I often agree with, and always enjoy, your postings to this list, I think we all need to be more tolerant and open-minded about why we enjoy photography, Leica or otherwise. There are many reasons why each individual gets pleasure or satisfaction from photography -- no one should judge another's basis for enjoyment. I have a good friend, for example, who knows MUCH more about lighting, film exposure/development, and printing than I do. But I rarely see this fellow's pictures. He loves Phil Davis' book Beyond the Zone System, he measures his negatives with a densitometer, he can produce the "perfect" print. Bottom line is my friend may get more satisfaction from solving technical lighting, development, or printing problems as he does from "seeing" the world, taking pictures, or hanging prints on the wall. He enjoys these technical challenges, and who is to say that he is into photography for the "wrong" reasons. Some people like Leicas because they are beautiful machines. They appreciate the camera's design and construction. Some people like Leicas because they have a history ranging from HCB to Capa. Some people see the camera as simply a tool that helps them to see the world, etc. It's ok to be an engineer, or a collector, or a humanitarian with regard to Leica. If someone wants to take snaps with their M6, who knows why they want to do this, and frankly, who cares? Maybe they like the "click" of the shutter when they press it. Maybe they "wear" their Leica as a status symbol -- a worse case scenario. But even here, so what, they may actually enjoy using the camera. I enjoy hearing about how and why you use your Leica and your Contax. This list benefits from your perspective. But it's "ok" to not be like you. We don't have to have the same reasons for using our Leicas that you have for using, or not using, yours. It's a greater error, in my opinion, for Leica owners to feel that they must pretend to own Leicas for the "right" reasons (i.e. to record the world's travails like Salgado, etc.) than it is to be honest about owning a Leica for a less than noble reason. John McLeod