Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/09/14
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Our IQ is obviously much lower than yours as well as our sensitivity level. Is there anything we can to correct this ? Greg Locke wrote: > As a working photojournalist and anthropologist there is one thing that > always amazes me about a lot of the people who post to this list and the > comments they make about photography. > > Never have I met a group of people who have such an enthusiasm for > photography, yet have so little understanding of its origins, history and > true value as a cultural and social communication tool. > > Sure, some of you are paranoid or have serious hate for the Press, News > Media and documentary photography but that is no reason to be ignorant of > the power of photography. > > While photography of nature and family gatherings are a fine application of > photography, true calling is that of a social tool. > > A tool to document the human condition, our cultures and society. A tool of > EDUCATION! > To educate is to break down ignorance. > > Maybe when we stop worrying about tech charts and what kind of paint is on > our Leicas we can do some reading about the work of Lewis Hine and Brassai. > Their photography, because of their choice of subject matter and REASON for > photographing have a far greater value then many of the "artists" that get > a lot of hero worship on this list. > > How about we approach photography from the point of view of the subject > matter and WHY we make pictures instead of starting with the camera. > > When I photograph some religious ceremony in Bosnia, Rwanda, Haiti.... or > Newfoundland, I document a primary tenet of a peoples culture. When those > pictures are shown to people in isolated and insular western cultures they > LEARN something and, hopefully, gain an understanding of a culture they > have never had contact with and, most likely, have some misguided views. > > I hate to tell you but "this" ain't about flowers, trees and sunsets. > > Greg Locke St. John's, Newfoundland > locke@straylight.ca http://www.straylight.ca/locke > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Touched By Fire: doctors without borders in a third world crisis. > http://www.straylight.ca/touchedbyfire.htm > ISBN#0-7710-5305-3 McClelland & Stewart