Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/10/23

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Subject: [Leica] Rocks & photographers
From: "Emanuel Lowi" <mano@proxyma.net>
Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2000 08:22:38 -0500

I photographed the Israeli withdrawal from populated areas on the Gaza Strip in 1993,
for Black Star, with my Leicas (to keep things OT), and it was obvious that numerous
incidents of rock throwing, flag burning (Israeli and U.S.), processions of
fatigue-cloaked gangs carrying Korans and chanting "Death to the Jews" were staged
for the benefit and the delight of the assembled bovine photojournalists there. 

You'd hear the night before that you should be in such-and-such a place the next day
at 10:00 and presto! just line up and click away. After we were done, everybody would
go home, me with my Leicas (OT) to stay with a Palestinian family in Rafah, right by
the border with Egypt. 

The Israelis, too, were all too eager to allow unknowns like me join them on jeep
patrols of refugee camps and all that.

So while I don't blame the press for stirring things up, I resent deeply the lazy
herd mentality that meant most picture shooters travelled together to all get the
same staged images that simply serve to support stereotypes. Few went off the
well-trodden path in search of the stories of ordinary people - only extreme
positions (so-called Islamic extremists and the Israeli occupation forces) were
considered newsworthy and this too is what editors back home were pressing for. So
it's all a vicious cycle.

Emanuel Lowi
Montreal

Replies: Reply from Ted <tedgrant@home.com> (Re: [Leica] Rocks & photographers)