[Leica] Re: it DOESN'T work well for leica!

[Brougham <brougham3@yahoo.com>]

> Speaking for myself, I am simply saying that the amateur photos taken
> by amateur LUG photographers could have been taken with any camera
> with any lens. I am not being critical of the snapshots , merely of
> the amount of money spent to take those snapshots.  Obviously if
those
> individuals can afford the high speed lenses, more power to them, but
> the fact remains that they are not being used in a way that would
> justify the expense.

Why do we have to justify the expense?

I'd have a hard time justifying why somebody pays me more than a
school teacher.  I'm creating profit for somebody else, and not really
doing anything to help society (while working, that is).  I'm able to
generate more revenue than I draw in salary, and that's what keeps me
around.  Money isn't a way of keeping score.  It's a refinement of the
barter system.  If I tried to build my M6, I would fail miserably.  I
have neither the tools nor the expertise to build such a beast.  So I
trade my labor for somebody else's.  If I want more of somebody else's
labor, I have to trade more of mine.  That doesn't seem unrealistic.

My mom is going to be having a kidney transplant soon because her only
kidney is working at about 5%.  There's a certain risk in the surgery
itself.  And her diabetes complicates everything.  She hates having
her picture taken.  She doesn't like something that looks like a
weapon pointed at her.  She doesn't like bright lights flashing into
her eyes.  And she doesn't like the noise associated with all of
that.  She doesn't object nearly as much to my Leica.  I've taken more
pictures of her the last few months than she's allowed me to take the
last few years.

I can't cost justify my Leica.  But I don't have to.  I don't use
money to keep score.  Will any of my pictures of my mom hang in an
impressive art gallery?  Probably not.  But I don't care.  If it meant
taking food or shelter away from my family, I'd care.  But once my
basic needs are met, then I worry about comfort.  Or about preserving
memories.  I'd love to go through shoeboxes containing thousands and
thousands of shots that my grandfather took of his family and time.



__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Photos -- now, 100 FREE prints!
http://photos.yahoo.com