Re: [Leica] Capa and the Wide Angle Lens

["Dan Post" <dwpost@email.msn.com>]

Erich-
You have struck upon the major chord that many of us doing photofinishing
know- get closer!
Unfortunately, people either get too close with a P&S getting the subject
out of focus, cutting off part of their anatomy (people with truncated
craniums are real common!) and blowing out all possible detail with a too
bright flash, or they stacd back about 50 feet and shoot the subjects, and
want to know if they will loose detail if they blow up the center of the
frame!
Unbeknownst to many, the scanners in a photofinishing printer consist of a
CCD and a computer program that can usually detect the image of a head, and
help give the proper exposure. Unfortunately, if the image is too small, or
horribly overexposed, the image is outside of the range of the scanner, and
you usually have to do a 're-do' on those images if you can't eyeball a
correction beforehand.
Most of our "Picture of the Month" winners are those few that are composed
with the face or faces filling at least 50% of the frame, landscapes not
withstanding.
Dan
- -----Original Message-----
From: Eric Welch <ewelch@ponyexpress.net>
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Date: Tuesday, April 06, 1999 9:26 AM
Subject: Re: [Leica] Capa and the Wide Angle Lens


>At 09:23 AM 4/6/99 +0200, you wrote:
>>Each lens has itīs
>>personality, itīs strong and itīs weak sides. And with a certain lens
>>your picture will have  a certain "speach". All the rest is the
>>interpretation of the photographer. At the end it is you who desides who
>>to take a pic and which tool to use.
>
>While this is true, after seeing the work of many, many amateurs, and not a
>few pros, actually, what Capa says is good advice. Many people just don't
>get close enough to their subjects. They also don't use near-far
>relationships well, they put things in the middle of the frame too much.
>The list goes on.
>
>It's not terribly hard to understand. They just don't have the experience,
>or talent, or something, that makes their pictures look like, well, the
>best out there. That's OK. But if they don't listen to the advice of people
>who do know - among them is Capa - then their work won't improve. A very
>few with great natural talent don't have to. But most do. This is not an
>easy art/craft.
>
>Eric Welch
>St. Joseph, MO
>http://www.ponyexpress.net/~ewelch
>
>Learn from your parents' mistakes - use birth control!
>