Re: [Leica] Winogrand/blind shooting

["Bill Bresler" <bresler@oeonline.com>]

You know, I hate to bring this up but I saw a program on PBS years ago that
featured several photographers. One of them was Winogrand. The camera
followed him on the street and I swear he shot at least a couple of frames
from chest or shoulder level.  Of course, I am 42 years old and my motto is
"The older I get, the better I remember things that never happened."
Bill Bresler 

- ----------
> From: Bruce Feldman <feldman@tuj.ac.jp>
> To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Winogrand/blind shooting
> Date: Tuesday, December 16, 1997 12:36 AM
> 
> 
> Cary,
> 
> I can give you a source for the Winogrand view; I agree it is an
> interesting position.  I found it in an article by Mason Resnick, who you
> might know as the guy who has the "Black and White World" website (worth
> checking out), a confirmed Leica M user himself and former student of
> Winogrand's.  His article was in an old Shutterbug; perhaps you could dig
> it out of their website.  In the article, Resnick, if I can recall,
> describes a street session with Winogrand and the class members. 
Somebody
> shoots from the hip or chest and Winogrand severely berates him for it.
> Needless to say, nobody did it again.  There's some other Winogrand
> folklore in the article that's equally interesting.  
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Bruce Feldman
> 
> 
> On Mon, 15 Dec 1997, Cary Conover wrote:
> 
> > Hey people...
> > 
> > I'm fascinated by what Bruce Feldman wrote in response (regarding
Winogrand) 
> > to Adi about Adi's shooting from chest/hip level. Interesting that
Garry 
> > Winogrand had that attitude, as I've seen his pictures and may have
guessed he 
> > was into that "blind shooting" thing maybe a little bit. But then I
always 
> > dismissed that thought because of something I read about him. Consider
this 
> > excerpt from DoubleTake magazine, I'm sure many of you know what I am
about 
> > to mention. Thomas Roma writes:
> > 
> > "Garry was really something to see--moving, without any break in the 
> > conversation, to photograph, say, a woman emerging from a taxi--then
turning to 
> > take a picture of a couple leaving the restaurant we were standing in
front of as if 
> > he had planned it in advance. And always, after he took a picture, he
gave the 
> > same kind of curious look at his Leica that made it seem as if he was
as surprised 
> > as the people he had just photographed by what he had done. It seemed
to 
> > disarm them as they shrugged or just kept on about their busines."
> > 
> > Bruce Feldman writes: "[Garry Winogrand] was adamant about ALWAYS 
> > looking through the viewfinder, otherwise it's not really your shot and
you'll 
> > never grow as a photographer by training your eye."
> > 
> > So here's the deal. I can understand somebody being adamant about
always 
> > looking through the frame and stuff. But I disagree with somebody
saying it's 
> > not "your" shot. It sure is, it's just different. I've always thought
the camera 
> > takes on a life of its own when it's used "blindly." At 99 percent of
> my 
> > assignments, I'm looking through the viewfinder while working. But
there's 
> > always that last frame of the roll where I'm walking back to the office
and pass 
> > a unique person on the sidewalk, or that unique situation during an
assignment 
> > where I would never shoot it any way BUT from my hip or chest. I think
many of 
> > you know what I'm getting at. So Garry has his way, but I find that
most of my 
> > favorite pictures are ones that have been taken "blindly." And I would
defend 
> > that practice any day. More than anything, every one of those "blind"
pictures is 
> > a mini-experiment.
> > 
> > Cary Conover
> > Monroe, Michigan
> >