[Leica] So Complex

[Donal Philby <donalphilby@earthlink.net>]

Gary Gladstone, one of the moderators of the PhotoPro list, gave me
permission to post this to the LUG.  As I told him, we of the LUG are
given to long arguments between the merits of "pure and simple" versus
taking advantage of late twentieth century technology.  Pete Turner
stands along side Ernst Haas and Jay Maisel as Masters of color
photography.  Gary recently published a book called "Corporate and
Location Photography" and, like many of us, favors the pure and simple,
but makes use of the technology when appropriate.
_________

I was talking with Pete Turner this morning and he told me that he just
got
back from a family trip on which he did some personal shooting.

We began to bemoan the fact that the cameras today are so complex that a
casual series of pure passion shots from vacation (those that feed the
stock library so well) is really very difficult. Too many gadgets, too
many
settings, too many choices, too confusing.

Pete said something real funny.

He remarked that with all the bewildering technology that's built into
the
new cameras, you have to make notes before grabbing one camera over
another
before you shoot. Notes that keep you from being over-automated into
missing your shot.

He said he thought we need a new kind of meter. One that has a little
needle in the viewfinder that tells you how much this picture will be
worth. Move in for a closeup detail and the meter goes up the scale.
Switch
from a vertical for possible wrap-around cover and the meter shows
double
the value. You can monitor quickly and easily what the image is worth
without having to do a lot of "covering" shots. Go right for the usage
jugular!

Next, we want a camera that automatically keywords every image to
maximize
the stock potential.

Just dreamin'.

Gary
Gary Gladstone                                        Photo News Network
http://www.gladstone.com                        http://www.photonews.net

- -- 
Donal Philby
San Diego
http://www.donalphilby.com