[Leica] shooting from the shadow side...

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant)]

Nathan Wajsman said and asked:
Subject: Re: [Leica] shooting from the shadow side...


> It is an excellent article indeed! I have taken the liberty of sending a 
> copy to the attache at the Canadian Embassy in Berlin, whom I just visited 
> this month--she is into photography but shockingly was not familiar with 
> Ted's work.
>
> I think they should organize a major Ted Grant retrospective in Berlin! 
> Ted, how about it? A week of photography, wurst and beer?<<<,,,,

Hi Nathan,
Sounds good to me! ;-)  >>wurst and beer<< Hey I can handle that any day. 
;-) And in Berlin .... "ANY DAY AT ALL!" ;-)

Thank you for sending a copy of the interview to the Canadian Embassy in 
Berlin. I'm not surprised the Attache didn't know of my work nor name, even 
though for many years while living in Ottawa I was basically the main 
shooter for External Affairs Information section. But that's how Canadian's 
are generally, we don't recognize our own people's talent until they leave 
the country to do their work and or are recognized by others in far away 
places.

Then we become "famous if you like" at home because others have recognized 
the talent or what we've done or do.

For example; Paul Anka, who was a kid who could sort of sing and compose 
while living in Ottawa, didn't become "famous" until he was recognized by 
American TV. Singers Celione Dion, Shania Twain, photographer, the late 
Rollof Beny and many other Canadian photographer's and artists have had 
similar experience with their career's.

It was always "Roloff who?" And he'd produced incredible international books 
on Iran, Egypt and other countries, I mean big heavy coffee table books the 
likes you rarely see these days of similar quality. Sort of goes with being 
Canadian. :-)  We don't take to much stock in our own until another nation 
or foreign magazine recognizes we've done something interesting.

Heck even our "astronaughts" are nobodies until they fly with the 
American's. General re-action until then? It's like, "Oh you're an 
Astronaught? That's interesting have a nice flight sometime."  But after a 
flight? WOW!!! :-)

Hey it comes from being sort of simple folks.:-)

So maybe your kind effort of sending the magazine to the embassy might jog 
somebody in Ottawa to produce an exhibition from a half century experience 
covering the Canadian way of life and the world as a photojournalist. Heck 
they could go to our National Archives and into the National Photo 
Collection, put together an exhibition of hundreds of photographs just from 
the work I did for the National Film Board of Canada, let alone all the 
magazine work they have also. And that only covered the first 30 years! ;-)

So who knows? If it happens I buy the first round !!!!!!!!! :-)
Thanks again.
ted