Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/02/05

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Leica] was: Website updated don't throw away!
From: Ted Grant <tedgrant@shaw.ca>
Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2004 22:54:27 -0800
References: <BC43CAAA.1CBB%brian@image100.com> <004601c3e9e1$83950240$87d86c18@gv.shawcable.net> <dbg420pkk57ct9nfad99jgbf1laosulhg1@4ax.com> <032401c3ec64$5140ecc0$87d86c18@gv.shawcable.net> <20040206044607.M41530@www.sonc.com>

Sonny Carter said:
>
> Such a good point, Ted.  Among the photographs in our wonderful collection
> are the entire negative file  and hundreds of prints of a local
photographer
> who spent his career right here.   Of course, they are the test prints,
and
> those that were not quite good enough to give to the customer, sometimes
> proofs that were not sold. He shot weddings, beauty pageants, stuff for
the
> sheriff, for the newspapers, almost anything that a guy living in a small
> town could do to make a living.
>
> The upshot is that it is a fabulous document of our little town's life
from
> about 1950 until the middle 70's.
>
> We run shots from his work in the newspaper from time to time, and also do
> exhibits in our library and in the Research Center Reading Room.
>
> I really am glad he did not clean house!<<<<<

Hi Sonny,
When I give lectrues or presentations to photo students, clubs and or
professionals, I make a point of how valuable our photo files are, simply
because each and everyone of us are the recorders of our times. There isn't
anyone hired to go around the country and document life in every nook and
cranny or village, so our files are very important to any archives.

Quite often happy snaps of the old mill or factory when it blew-up or burned
down  maybe the only photo records even by an amature, so they become very
important for their historical value.

From the war years till 1971-2 the National Film Board of Canada produced
stills documentaries on life in Canada, all kinds of subjects so varied it
never ended until the some stupid federal government politicians, whom we
know are a bunch of clueless morons in any country, couldn't see any value
in documenting how we lived and worked in Canada. So the projects were
cancelled. :-(

And for the past 30 years there hasn't been a proper documentation of how
our country has evolved in its diversity and ethnic changes. A real shame
when you see what was done for the 30 plus years prior.

So each of us are the recorders of our times, the more we shoot and have fun
from our first love of photography, the greater the legacy we leave for our
future families and the country as a whole.

I realize there'll be some who wont understand this value of their pictures,
but when I can go back 50 plus years and see what the city I lived in at the
time and people looked like. Or pictures of our children when they were
little and now parents themselves, the value of still photographs is one of
the great assets any photographer can leave for his family and possibly for
his country.

So lets be careful out there folks to what you throw away! You may have some
diamonds in that neg and slide collection of yours.
ted








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Replies: Reply from "lea" <lea@whinydogpress.com> (Re: [Leica] Leica] was: Website updated don't throw away!)
In reply to: Message from brian stevens <brian@image100.com> ([Leica] Website updated)
Message from Ted Grant <tedgrant@shaw.ca> (Re: [Leica] Website updated)
Message from "Eric" <ericm@pobox.com> ([Leica] Re: Website updated)
Message from Ted Grant <tedgrant@shaw.ca> (Re: [Leica] Re: Website updated)
Message from "Sonny Carter" <sonc@www.sonc.com> ([Leica] Leica] was: Website updated don't throw away!)