Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/12/09

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Subject: [Leica] Re: A Fair Report -- All In The Family
From: Afterswift@aol.com
Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 01:28:53 -0500 (EST)

Bob,

I wouldn't exactly call that polaroid packing snap shooter a
photographer either. --Bill Atchison
- ------------------------------------------------------------
Bill,

Technically, he is a photographer. He was also making a contribution to
society by serving the fair goers, memorializing their lives at that moment. 

Of course, he was not a portraitist in the fine art sense of the term. His
were not definitive interpretations a trained and experienced photographic
artist would attain. He did not print. He used no subtle lighting. He didn't
get to know his subjects well. He was more a casual companion than a creative
personality. 

Yet he was true to photography. He was there. He had a film camera. He used
it with some competence. And he had a pleased public. As I observed him, he
didn't merely press a shutter release. He used very good equipment. He tried
within the limitations of the prevailing environment and his own knowhow to
get the best possible results with his materials for his clients. They
understood that. He and I understood that. In those little folders, those
prints were taken home to become memories made tangible, to grow ever more
valuable with time.

Even when photography canters, it covers hallowed ground. We, here on
PhotoForum, talk about it as it soars. But let's not forget the foot
soldiers.

Bob