Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2008/04/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Tina, As you see fit, but I live here, and I know what the ground reality is. I know, though, with your background, that you would do it only for what you felt was for their good. My reaction was a personal one, and I will stick by it. If I wanted to, I could fill a book with one afternoon's shooting.... Cheers Jayanand On Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 8:10 PM, Tina Manley <images@comporium.net> wrote: > At 10:58 PM 4/2/2008, you wrote: > > > Tina, > > Excellent photographs, and only too real, but I deliberately do not > > take > > photographs of such people, it probably takes off the last veneer of > > dignity > > they have left. Besides, in India, its too easy. > > Cheers > > Jayanand > > > > > > http://www.pbase.com/image/95069931 > > > > I respectfully disagree, Jayanand. I believe it gives people a certain > dignity to be photographed. Many, many years ago when I first started > photographing in medical clinics in Central America, I was trying to be > very > respectful and only photograph the doctors and nurses as they worked. One > man came up to me and asked to be photographed. He said something like - > "Why are you only photographing the North Americans. Are we not good > enough > or handsome enough for you to use your film on us?" Since then, I have > tried to show the beauty and the dignity of the people all over the world. > The vast majority of the people that I photographed in India were very > proud > to have their photos made. In this particular photo, I would not have > photographed only the mother lying there by the side of the road, but the > little boy sitting there so patiently by the side of a busy highway waiting > for his mother to wake up gives the photo hope - to me. > > I use my photos to raise money for self-help organizations and to raise > awareness of conditions in other parts of the world. You would be amazed > at > how ignorant most North Americans are about how the rest of the world > lives. > I gave a talk last week about India and two of the comments were - "But > all > of our jobs have gone to India. Every time I get someone on the phone for > any kind of tech support, they were in India. How could there be any > homeless people when their economy is so much better than ours?" and "I > always thought India was the dirtiest country in the world, but the people > in your photos are beautiful. They make me want to visit a place I never > even considered." > > Of all of the 47 countries I have visited so far, India is both the most > beautiful and the most disturbing. I have never seen such poverty anywhere > else but I have never met such gentle, kind people either. I hope other > people will be able to see that in the photos that I'm working on now. > > > Tina > > > Tina Manley > http://leicatraveler.blogspot.com/ > www.tinamanley.com > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >