Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/08/10
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]The best example of all the idiosyncrasies you site is the Pittsburgh project - hired to shoot 100 photos in three weeks, he moved to Pittsburgh with thousands of his phono records, and settled in for a year to shoot 17,000 images...and never lived to see the project, as he envisioned it, published or displayed anywhere..... But damn, those were amazing photos! :-) B. D. - -----Original Message----- From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Duane Birkey Sent: Saturday, August 10, 2002 2:46 PM To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us Subject: [Leica] Eugene Smiths problems at life I read several books on Gene's life this summer... and I would summarize his problems at Life being most related to the fact that he either didn't produce work, or wouldn't shoot... Or he was obsessive/compulsive and would spend months chasing photos for things when Life wanted one basic photo...... The amount of luggage he traveled with is beyond comprehension.... More importantly perhaps is the fact he never met a deadline.... This wasn't just at Life but also in his other short-lived magazine/book projects..... Actually I was surprised by the number of times Life took Gene back... And how often in turn Gene disappointed them... I found one book that showed many of his contact sheets.... He was certainly a genius when he was on though.... Duane HCJB World Radio Quito Ecuador Duane's Photographs of Ecuador http://ecuadorphotos.tripod.com ********************************************************** B.D. wrote... But Smith's problem at Life at less to do with fights over film format and far more to do with fights over the editing and use of his work - Smith felt that the photographer should have control over how his photos were used, and what words were used with them, while the editors of Life felt that the photographer was at best a craftsman supplying a product which the magazine would then shape as it saw fit - and that is probably the attitude of most editors today - at best. - -- 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