Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/09/09

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Subject: RE: [Leica] I See Dead People & PAW Ketchup
From: "B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2002 12:56:26 -0400

Hi, Phong...As I see it the problem is that in order to appreciate this
particular photo of Tom's, you probably have to equate shopping with death.
If you don't, it misses.

Carl's photo comes allot closer to making effective use of a sign or
message. As you note, the city is devoid of people. I see it more in terms
of the obviously dying city - looking at the sign missing letters,
etc....But to each his own....I think Carl's shot might have worked better
had it been directly across the street from the sign, so that we could see
more of the rundown store fronts. But, again, that's a matter of
taste....which is, of course what all of this is about.:-)

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 Phong
Sent: Monday, September 09, 2002 12:24 PM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: RE: [Leica] I See Dead People & PAW Ketchup


> classic example ... where the
> photographer brings certain opinions and judgments about the subject-
> specifically about the people in the photo and the relationship of their
> mind-sets to the T-shirt - and therefore thinks that everyone who sees
this
> still image will know what the photographer was thinking.

B.D.,

If Tom's message is "shopping = dead", (whatever dead and alive
mean to Tom), there is enough of elements in the photo to conjure the
message.

In the same way, I cannot help but make the connection between
 the billboard message  "The Future is Now in Session" in Carl Pultz's
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpultz/PAW/PAW12.htm and  the emptiness
of the cityscape devoid of people depicted in the photo.

Not that I think Tom's photo "works" for me.

- - Phong


> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of B. D. Colen
> Sent: Monday, September 09, 2002 9:42 AM
> To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> Subject: RE: [Leica] I See Dead People & PAW Ketchup
>
>
>
> Having read your explanation, Tom, here's what I see as the problem:
>
> I think that what you have here is a classic example of a photo where the
> photographer brings certain opinions and judgments about the subject-
> specifically about the people in the photo and the relationship of their
> mind-sets to the T-shirt - and therefore thinks that everyone who sees
this
> still image will know what the photographer was thinking.
>
> I look at this and I see a group of people shopping - somewhere, I have no
> idea where - with a T-shirt saying
> "I see dead people" hanging over them. As the people in the photo are
> clearly not dead, and don't have a dead look about them, I don't think
this
> works.
>
> However - if this were a photo of a group of people in a subway car, lined
> up on a bench, in which one person was wearing this t-shirt and everyone
in
> the photo had blank, dead expressions on their faces, it definitely would
> work - at least for me.
>
> Obviously, this is all a matter of opinion.:-)
> B. D.
>
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Replies: Reply from "Ted Bayer" <tedbayer@harbornet.com> (Re: [Leica] I See Dead People & PAW Ketchup)