RE: [Leica] I missed it.

[Eric Welch <ewelch@ponyexpress.net>]

At 05:35 PM 4/1/99 +0200, you wrote:
>Eric,
>
>This is a public list, I am not lecturing you, I'm trying to make sure we
>are talking about the same thing and that others are in a position to

Alan,

You're right, I overreacted. We do need to let others stay up with us.\

>Some pics are dead without a caption (as defined hereunder), other pics are
>alive even with no such caption. For me, IMHO, the latter are what makes
>photography a means of expression per se.  The others are (good or
>mediocre) illustrations to a story mainly told by a text.

As far as I'm concerned, this is missing the point of much of what 
photography is about. In journalism, or any form of editorial photography, 
there is an informative function that no matter how good a photo is, unless 
it is put into context by a caption, it is not serving its purpose for 
existence. That does not mean, in the slightest that that fact restricts 
it's value or makes it a meter illustration. In fact, that position 
denigrates much of the greatest photography that's ever been done. Gene 
Smith's work at Minimata are pictures that could very well stand on their 
own. But then they would do only half the job. We'd have some vague notion 
that those people are suffering, that there is confrontation going on. But 
we would not know it's mercury poisoning by the Chisso company that was 
destroying people's lives. And putting captions on those pictures hardly 
demotes them to simple supporting elements to all-important text. That's 
sophistry in the extreme.

Be definition photography is a descriptive "language" if you will. And to 
demand that a picture stand alone without context of words is to ignore a 
extremely large body of worth that is every bit the equal of the "art" 
photography that stands on its own without words. It serves a difference 
function. It is not better or worse. It is often harder to do, but it goes 
back to the purpose of the photo. Photos do often support text in an 
illustrative way. But text also can support photos in a contextual 
function. That does not, I repeat, demote the photos in any way to 
something lesser, or of a secondary function to words.

Eric Welch
St. Joseph, MO
http://www.ponyexpress.net/~ewelch

     The precept: Judge not, that ye be not judged... is an
     abdication of moral responsibility. It is a moral blank
     check one gives to others in exchange for a moral blank
     check one expects for oneself. The moral principle to adopt