RE: [Leica] Personal challenges (long)

["Dan Honemann" <danh@selectsa.com>]

Erwin,

I will very much look forward to reading about your experiences on this
journey.  To some extent, it is a journey which we're all on--the quest for
making better photos.

Out of the three elements you define here--style, content, and optical
quality--I feel the potential for progress lies primarily with the first.
When I consider what it is about a photo that captures my attention, the
answer is usually the vision of the photographer.  I've seen beautiful
photos on any kind of subject--the content almost seems irrelevant.  And
they've been shot with a variety of glass, even (gasp) Nikon or Canon.

It's the heart and eye of the photographer that seems to come through in the
photos that grab me.  I don't believe HCB spends much time worrying over
optical quality (I could be wrong); I think his photos speak to me because
of his love for the subject matter and for seeing itself.  He's madly in
love with Paris and it shows.  He sees more in that city than most of us
ever will (except by virtue of his images).  Same thing with Winogrand and
New York City.  Or Harvey and Cuba.

So, for me at least, there will always be the challenge of better and better
equipment and technique (I'm learning all the time, and the posts here by
you and others are a great boon), but the biggest challenge by far is
discovering what I love, what stirs my blood, and photographing _that_ in a
way (style) that is in accord with my passion for it.

That challenge defies thought and analysis, as it is really rooted more in
the heart than the head.  But I can tell you already, after only starting on
this journey eight months ago, the photos I've taken that stand apart from
the others are the ones where I wasn't really thinking at the time--I was
merely following my eye's natural proclivity toward beauty.

Dan