Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/07/13

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Subject: [Leica] Bill Pierce on the Leica today
From: bdcolen at comcast.net (B. D. Colen)
Date: Wed Jul 13 12:53:28 2005

Well I certainly think of myself as the help, but unless you're shooting a
JP wedding with a half-dozen people, the vast majority of folks in one
family don't know the people in the other family. And when you begin to talk
200, 300 people, it's just a giant circus where no one's paying much
attention to anyone other than the folks to their left and right, and the
bride and groom when they're within range. Sure, when you pop off a flash in
people's faces, they're aware of it. But you can remain generally
unobtrusive, doing your best not to interfere with the flow of the event.

The other thing, of course, is that at most weddings there are dozens of
folks with cameras of all sorts. And if you play it right, you're just
another putz with a camera. ;-)


On 7/13/05 3:40 PM, "Mark Rabiner" <mark@rabinergroup.com> wrote:

> On 7/13/05 7:38 AM, "B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@comcast.net> typed:
> 
>> I have to disagree, Mark - Unobtrusiveness is an issue in any shooting
>> situation in which you don't want to become part of the story, in which 
>> you
>> don't want to be shooting people reacting to you shooting. The last thing 
>> I
>> want when shooting a wedding is having people aware of me. Obviously they
>> often are, but the less they are, the better. But of course this comes 
>> down
>> to personal photographic style, vision, whatever. And there's more than 
>> one
>> way to shoot anything. :-)
>> 
> BD perhaps I have delusions of whatever but it seemed to me that what ever 
> I
> would do whatever camera I'd use or position I'd take, attitude or 
> whatever,
> corner in the room I'd hide in, post in a church I'd lurk behind it seemed
> to me that everyone in any room in a wedding I'd shoot was hyper aware of 
> me
> at most times. Reasons? I don't know for one you're not in their family and
> they know it. Another perhaps that to get the kind of shots you need to get
> volume wise and quality wise you can try to disguise the "intensity" in
> which you  shoot but I think its just impossible. It's like it's that Crumb
> cover of Fritz the Cat goes to China, a James Bond takeoff as I recall.
> There are teems of half foot mice and you're a full one foot cat. To think
> for one second that every one in the situation is not keenly aware of you I
> think is positive thinking to the over extent. I also came to think that
> making a huge effort to "blend in" to such s family situation is kind of
> negative. Kind of rudely presumptions. You're not in their family you're
> "the help".
> Also I think I came to feel that a certain professional aloofness helps. I
> think Ted said stuff a few weeks ago which wouldn't agree with this.
> 
> In a wedding it has gotten to be that everyone is playing with their 
> cameras
> and your the one whose a little bit more on top of how to work yours. 
> That's
> ok I guess.
> 
> Mark Rabiner
> Photography
> Portland Oregon
> http://rabinergroup.com/
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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In reply to: Message from mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner) ([Leica] Bill Pierce on the Leica today)