Re: [Leica] Leica Disposable cameras, by Susan Sontag

[Mark Rabiner <mark@rabiner.cncoffice.com>]

Erwins post got me thinking, 
And Sontag may or may not have given cardboard cameras a deep ramification.

I had a Portland Oregon friend here (Jimbo) who was marrying a girl from a very
influential old wealthy NY family and they were getting married in the Hamptons
and I was, or had been his photographer for anything he needed shot.

So he's talking about flying me to the Hamptons to shoot his wedding. Cant have
anyone else shoot it but me!, this was about 10 years ago.
He says Herb and Arnold are going to be there and Andy and Liza and.....
I'm going "Gee!!!?!"

I did very few weddings for all the obvious Reasons.

I did them in Black and white.
"All your bridesmaids will look like Carolyn Kennedy" I'd say. :)
And i tell them to tell their guests to leave their cameras at home, I have an
exclusive on the wedding and I don't' compete with the guests. 
Someone might bring a Leica and psyche out my plastic Nikons. Or some such thing.

So i did one or two black and white weddings a year without the wedding party
and guests having turned into paparazzi from hell as was starting to be the case
by then. Swarms of flashing sure shots.

I would promise to not ruin their wedding like many or most of the shlock
wedding photographers would but then I'm the only one not getting the shot.
Weddings had by then become media blitzes. Guests don't' talk to each other,
eat, dance, they play with their sure shots.
(Isn't this deep? Susan Sontag better watch out?!!!!! :)

So Jimbo is amused by my exclusive on his wedding.
Is he going to tell Herb Ritts to leave his camera at home? :)
	(actually this really is true!)
They had decided to have a cluster of disposable cameras in the center of every table.
All the guests would then give the cameras to them when they were done at the
end of the whole thing.
They did not make this up of course there was a precedent for this someone else
thought it up, Martha Stewart would be my guess. Or Marshall McClunen. Or
Timothy Leery.
(Trouble is all the guests would rather be shooting with their own sure shots.)
I think the thing to do would be to but a brick of film at the center of every
table and tell the guests to show up with their cameras empty. Watch out Susan
I'm on a roll!!
Weddings can be cool but the time to get out was 20 years ago. They'll scan your
proofs now.
Ever since the cakes became edible the weddings are not!

mark (cardboard fights for you!) Rabiner