Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/12/11
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Ted, Appreciate the nice comments on recent uploads but must disagree on one thing. Having worked for quite a few dailies over 30 years and several reasonably big-time photo agencies taught me at least one thing. There are no rules, except one I taught myself. Honesty. Be honest and every thing else falls into place. Be honest in your approach, be honest with your self and most importantly be honest with your subjects. Eye contact with a subject certainly doesn't automatically denote a set-up. Of course, even a set-up photograph does not (at least to me) mean dishonesty. Unless it's hard news most images we see are arranged. I'd guess about 60-70% of what we look at in the major news mags is set up. They give you an assignment, you go do it. Done it many times, and never thought I was faking it. The little girl with the cross wandered over to see what I was doing. She looked at me, I looked at her and managed one frame with an old Nikon F. She was part of a very poor community near South Phoenix and the families has sort of a potter's field for their departed. Here is a prime example of "eye contact" by Jake Engel which speaks quite well of honesty. Hope he doesn't mind me illustrating a point with it. Eye contact that seems to take us right to the heart and soul of a subject. Absolutely beautiful and real. http://gallery.leica-users.org/engelpaw2005/steph27 And if I may beg to illustrate eye contact one more time and then get back to my Sunday chores :) http://gallery.leica-users.org/Images/beg Walt