Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/12/02

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Subject: Re: [Leica] sneak thief photographers!
From: "Joe Stephenson" <joeleica@email.msn.com>
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1998 19:57:33 -0700

[cut]
I have personally stolen a few pictures from the hip. They could most
probably not have been taken in the honest way I advocate, because of
gigantic cultural barriers. I am not proud of that. But some of those
pictures are really good and really tell a story.

Alan
Brussels-Belgium

reply

The more I read of members' responses on this topic, the more I realize that
the title--"sneak thief photographers"--is informative. I the photographer
really thinks the subject would not consent, then he or she really is a
"sneak thief," by virtue of taking that which would not be given. I'm not
being critical of how other's work. I have made my own set of personal rules
that work for me, but we must all examine our attitudes about the
relationship between us and our subjects.
There are also (in the usa) possible legal problems. I took a workshop with
Sylvia Plathy, and she mentioned that the parents of a child who appeared in
one of her Village Voice photos demanded, and recieved $5,000 because
written consent had not been obtained. It's enought to make one a landscape
photographer. I once had a homeowner come out and yell at me that her home
was "registered with the studios" and demanding that I not take a photo of
her wall with a Wisteria growing on it. That's another story . . . .
Sincerely,

Joe Stephenson