Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/12/05

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Nathan's PAW 48 - what a real bookshop looks like
From: Paul Chefurka <paul@chefurka.com>
Date: Wed, 05 Dec 2001 11:49:25 -0500
References: <3C0DD83E.981D0E9B@webshuttle.ch>

Nathan, I have to weigh in on the genuflection issue.

I think the keystoning in your pictures is essential to their character.
It emphasizes the higgeldy-piggeldy nature of the shop's interior and
contents.  If you had bent your knees, two things would have happened to
the pictures.  First, unwanted foreground elements would have intruded, and
might have posed much greater aesthetic challenges.  Second, you would have
imposed a visual order on the photos that is at odds with the subject
matter.  The sense of charming clutter would have been diminished, much to
the detriment of the pictures' message and visual impact.

While I agree that minimizing this effect is in general A Good Thing, we
shouldn't fall into the simplistic trap of criticizing it every time we see
it.  We must always consider visual effects within the context of specific
photographs.

If we slavishly stuck to rules (for example not chopping peoples' heads
off), we'd never see another example of that classic Leica shot
"Disembodied Feet Walking on an Anonymous Street"...

Paul
http://www.chefurka.com
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In reply to: Message from Nathan Wajsman <wajsman@webshuttle.ch> ([Leica] Nathan's PAW 48 - what a real bookshop looks like)