[Leica] do i deserve to own this leica?

[Kyle Cassidy <cassidy@netaxs.com>]

don't answer that -- it's a rhetorical question -- and one that i've found
myself struggling with for a while now.

lately i've been going back through my negative archive trying to figure
out what i've been _doing_ these last few years. worrying "am i a
photographer, or just some jerk who can afford expensive equipment?" leica
has a long history of greatness which we're all aware of and those are big
shoes to fill.

for a while i think i was on the road to a distinctive style, but that's
changed lately and now i think the truth is that i'm a really messy
photographer who sometimes achieves quality results; though the fact that
i still have the ability to dissapoint myself stands out as a big problem.
i also think that the large portion of my initial inspiration has fled and
what i've been doggedly persuing these last few years has only been
technical expertise, which is nice to have, but it's the least important
aspect of what i want to do.

as to whether or not i deserve my leica or if i just have it, i've spent
some time putting together what i think is my best recent work:

 http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/pix/portfolio/

this represents the first time i've really, seriously, gone through the
backlog and tried to sort anything out of it. the results are not
displeasing, but it's painfully obvious i'm not publishing any books out
of this.

this is all, in fact, rhetorical, but i do encourage all of you to go
through your own negative archives and pluck out the very best and put
them together. at the very least, you owe it to your cameras.

kc