Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/09/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 07:59 PM 9/13/99 -0400, TSL wrote: >The impact is no doubt that instant which is so powerful. To be quite >honest - and this is a personal opinion that's all - there are not many >pictures that can have that kind of impact. All I can say to this is, you just don't see it. It's not that it isn't there in many, many pictures. I'm sure you're telling the truth. But just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not there. And judging from people's reactions (both pro and amateur) I'd say you are in the minority. (Not a bad thing, just the way it is). Ernst Haas' picture of the woman fearfully holding up a picture of a loved one as refugees from WWII come back home. Or Sebastiao Salgado's pictures of Ethiopian refugees standing in a sand storm, with the most amazing light surrounding them, a child's head tilted slightly. David Douglas Duncan's photo of the shell-shocked soldier. David Turnley's photo of the soldier in the evacuation helicopter during the gulf war. His fact stricken with grief because he just found out the person in the body bag next to him is a friend. Eisenstadt's photos of the ballerinas in the window, or the kids falling into line behind the drum major - or even his sailor kissing the nurse. Many of the photos in "The Americans" by Robert Frank. Migrant Mother. (Don't even need to mention the photographer's name on that one). Kertesz's night photo of snow falling in Washington Park. Gene Smith's Minimata photo essay. Most likely one of the most successful photo essays of all time. (And the one he most "compromised" on without complaint). Robert Capa's death of a soldier. For those with eyes to see, it's quite plain that photography is a powerful medium. That can create icons that change the way people see the world. Eric Welch St. Joseph, MO http://www.ponyexpress.net/~ewelch Politics: Poli (many) - tics (blood sucking parasites)