[Leica] Re:: Photography, my point of view.

[Jim Brick <jim@brick.org>]

Your photographic mission is "TOTALLY" different than mine. What floats
your boat, sinks mine. My dissertation was explaining "my" photographic
point of view. I do not do weddings. Basically I don't do people. Mostly
'scapes, nature, urban, regional...

Therefore, I am not telling anyone what "they" should do. I was explaining
"my" photographic point of view and asking the question, in a round about
way, "what do you do" and "why do you do it?"

I'm happy for you.

:-)

Jim


At 09:31 AM 3/17/99 -0500, Bob Keene wrote:
>Woof! Hey Jim- best don your flame retardent lens cleaning underwear!!!
>
>If your images achieve the effect you are going for, then you have achieved
>your aim!
>Point in fact:
>2 years ago I went to my wife's cousin's wedding. I am a wedding
>photographer, yes, I use the "Best" equipment (Hasselblad's, Zeiss glass,
>Q-Flash, etc...blah blah). At this wedding I was not the hired gun. I
>painstakingly adapted a Holga camera so I could mount it on a flash bracket
>with a small Vivitar flash- I knew what the equipment would produce- UNIQUE
>images. Shooting XP2 film for it's wide latitude (do you have a problem
>with chromegenic film as well? I know it's not silver based!), I was able
>to produce a small hand made album of 3.5x5" prints for the bride and
>groom. One of the images was of the bride and her father mounting the
>church steps; I enlarged this into an 8x10 print framed and matted. Let me
>say this- the bride and groom love the "inferior, crappy" Holga images more
>than the "superior" images shot by the paid photographer.
>I know many 'shooters' who can produce technically perfect, sharp, LIFELESS
>images. I know what my equipment will produce. In this case the Holga did
>JUST what I wanted it too- fairly crisp in the center- horribly soft on the
>edges (when I shoot Hasselblads I must use a Criccio soft edge vignetter to
>get the effect)
>and by knowing where to be, when to be there, and having the EYE to shoot
>it, knowing the LIMITATIONS of the gear- I produced MEANINGFUL if not
>"technically perfect" images!
>Would I use the Holga on a 'paid job'- very unlikely!! But don't tell me
>that it's a waste of time!
>Hell, tommorow I'm expecting delivery of a 35mm Summilux (non-ASPH)- should
>I just throw it away because it's not the ASPH version?!
>It's the skill and eye and anticipation of the photographer; not the gear.
>True, I'm not blowing up my Holga or pinhole images to 16x20's- nor am I
>producing a book made from chromes! But for God's sake, don't you dare say
>that I'm wasting my time and producing crappy images! Half my crappy images
>would bury some of the stuff that WPPI or PPA judges call winners!!!
>GRrrrrrrrrrr.....
>
>Bob Keene
>"Nobody's Pal"