Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/07/31

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Subject: RE: [Leica] Re cropping dilema
From: Peterson Arthur G NSSC <PetersonAG@NAVSEA.NAVY.MIL>
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 14:05:44 -0400

		Eric's bus appearing as a "looming threat" in a photograph
makes an interesting example to consider.  I'm wondering---not arguing, mind
you all!---whether the difficulty, to the extent there is one, in drawing a
line between what's acceptable and what's not, what's "honest" and what's
not, might not be the result, at least in part, of this matter being not one
of black and white (no pun intended), between which a clear line can easily
be drawn, but rather a continuum of sometimes very subtle choices.  Someone
mentioned that merely pointing a camera is an exercise in cropping and
editing, and so is choosing when to "click" a sort of editiorial function.
And in Eric's interesting bus example, it occurs to me that if one were
photographing, head-on, a bus coming up behind a pedestrian, the mere choice
of focal length might make the bus appear either far off (wide-angle) or an
ominously looming threat (telephoto).  In that sense, an "honest"
photojournalist might be one who sticks exclusively to some middle focal
length---say, 75mm---that produces a relationship between near and distant
objects that is similar to what appears to the human eye.  Just a thought!

		Art Peterson
		Alexandria, Virginia


		-----Original Message-----
		From:	Eric Welch [mailto:eric@jphotog.com]
		Sent:	Thursday, July 31, 2003 2:27 AM
		To:	leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
		Subject:	Re: [Leica] Re cropping dilema

		That's an interesting point. Cropping, sizing, WHATEVER. If
the intent was to create a tension that makes it look like the bus is a
looming threat when it isn't is more dishonest than adding a bit to the
corner of the photo.


		
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