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: Nathan Wajsman <wajsman@webshuttle.ch>
Date: Thu, 06 Dec 2001 08:45:03 +0100
References: <B833DE8F.A03B%pablokolodny@mac.com>

Pablo,

Thanks for the kind comments and for defending me...But I must confess that I
agree with Ted's comments in general and the tilt in my shots was not
intentional, it was simply the result of shooting fast while talking to the
owner.

Nathan

Pablo Kolodny wrote:

> well said Paul,
>
> on the other side it should be added that the classical architectural image
> is not the way we see nor the way feel our lives.
> tilting or not adds some other stuff we want to emphasize or not.
> since Nathan was not intended to cover an assignment for any Design mag but
> trying to get THE picture, I mean to take the bookstore atmosphere, shelves
> could be leaning wherever you want depending on the tilting and/or the angle
> of vision delivered by the lens.
> And I'm sure he got it as he felt in there, very interesting place, warm
> atmosphere. A really candid shot shot from a candid bookstore. Genuflection
> would make that photo as much better as less vivid, less interesting.
> Some rules are there to be broken, at least once in a while and Nathan's
> bookshop photos should fit there.
>
> regards
>
> --
> Pablo Kolodny
> www.pablokolodny.com
>
> > From: Paul Chefurka <paul@chefurka.com>
> > Reply-To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> > Date: Wed, 05 Dec 2001 11:49:25 -0500
> > To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> > Subject: Re: [Leica] Nathan's PAW 48 - what a real bookshop looks like
> >
> > 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
> > --
> > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html
>
> --
> To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html

- --
Nathan Wajsman
Herrliberg (ZH), Switzerland

e-mail: wajsman@webshuttle.ch

Photo-A-Week: http://www.wajsman.com/indexpaw.htm
General photo site: http://www.wajsman.com/index.htm




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In reply to: Message from Pablo Kolodny <pablokolodny@mac.com> (Re: [Leica] Nathan's PAW 48 - what a real bookshop looks like)