Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/12/13

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Subject: Re: [Leica] E******* WAS sherman
From: Johnny Deadman <john@pinkheadedbug.com>
Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2000 09:41:36 -0500

Apropos a thread on another mailing list, I just wondered something about
Eggleston. Not to start another war, but *clearly* some folks (me and Rob
Appleby and several others on this list) find his work riveting wheras
*clearly* some folks (Jim Brick and others) find it....well I won't put
words in their mouths but it doesn't float their boat.

Here's the question, anyway: how much difference does it make that he shoots
with a 35mm camera (a leica of course)?

If those pictures had been taken with a big lumbering 8x10, would you view
them differently? I ask this because I have in the past been accused of
snapshooting or random shooting, but my pictures with a 4x5 are really not
much different, yet I think it would be hard to accuse someone of
snapshooting with one of these things. You have to bite on the
intentionality, I mean.

My guess is that if E******* had shot his pix on a larger format the
argument might have been somewhat different. I don't suppose he would have
won any new converts BUT I think perhaps people would have had to spend a
little longer looking at the pictures trying to work out what he (and
others) saw in them.

The kicker is, of course the format is irrelevant in the end, and its the
picture that matters...
- -- 
Johnny Deadman

http://www.pinkheadedbug.com