Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/04/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Boy, Steven, if this ain't what makes for horse races! I was so appalled by that piece that I saved it, planning to write a Letter to the Editor, or something else in response. To me, that piece was a perfect example of someone who knows less than nothing about a subject pontificating on that subject. Did you notice that he said that what is so amazing about the famous Nick Ut and Eddie Adams photos was that you look at them and know that they are far to strong to have been shown on TV - when, in fact, film crews were present at both scenes, and both scene DID appear on T.V. He totally missed the point that still images have a power all their own, a power way beyond that of video, simply because they are STILL - we can take as much time as we want with them; the still image sinks in and stays with us, while the video/film flits by, and memory of it melds with all the other video/film clips. He also didn't mention the fact that this war has produced very very few memorable images - I've been wondering about precisely that fact. He also didn't discuss the appalling Pentagon staged "iconic moment" of the Sadam statue coming down with the flag over its face - turns out the Marine who planted the flag there has admitted to a Brit reporter that he was ordered to put the flag - a flag from the Pentagon on 9/11 - there, and the entire incident was staged. Also, and even more troubling,he failed to discuss the LA Times faked photo, and what the combination of digital photo technology and the pressure for iconic images holds for the future of war photography in particular, and all photojournalism in general. So bottom line - a really crappy piece...IMHO....Oh, and as for that photo he praised so? Of the two British Marines firing a rocket from behind a sand berm?...well, it's "dramatic," but that's about all it is...It could have been shot on a firing range in Arizona...and maybe it was, given all the media management of this war...:-) 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 Steven Alexander Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2003 2:26 PM To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us Subject: Re: [Leica]good article Very good IMHO article on photography, Boston Globe , Arts & Entertainment section; Shooting War by Mark Feeney. Happy snaps, Steven Alexander - -- 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