Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/01/09

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Subject: [Leica] FOM2 Selection for the final year complete
From: tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant)
Date: Mon Jan 9 14:43:55 2006
References: <BFE80485.A863%bdcolen@comcast.net>

B. D. offered:
> How superfluous - distracting - captions tend to be.<<<<

Hi B.D.,
 I agree with you completely and fought against the use of this 
"word-smithing" with photographs submitted for some of the Canadian News 
Photographer Associations awards for years, I'm still in battle gear with a 
couple of them! :-(

The words get in the road of creating an unequivocal distraction to the 
photograph. Writers, journalists don't use a "picture" with their words to 
win awards! So why should photographs have words to supposedly "enhance" the 
photograph?

If the photo in hand doesn't snap your head back with power and beauty, what 
the hell are a few lousy words going to do for it? A photograph should stand 
on it's own merit, not supposedly enhanced by nothing but dribble anyway. 
Identifying where the location is? That's a whole different ballgame.

Cutesy words like... "momma does Mumbo" mean diddly squat because not 
everybody understands "Mumbo!" :-) Let alone her doing something 
"suggestive?" ;-)

But Momma doing something that is absolutely incredible with lighting and 
content is what photography is all about! Even on our LUG people tend to add 
words that are ridiculous at time. Quite frankly when the photo appears on 
screen I look and re-act! The words or "zinger titles?"   Bullshit! I pass 
unless it's worth while knowing where it's happening.

ted


Replies: Reply from firkin at ncable.net.au (Alastair Firkin) ([Leica] FOM2 Selection for the final year complete)
Reply from chs2018 at med.cornell.edu (Chris Saganich) ([Leica] FOM2 Selection for the final year complete)
In reply to: Message from bdcolen at comcast.net (B. D. Colen) ([Leica] FOM2 Selection for the final year complete)