Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2008/12/23

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Subject: [Leica] Re: Ansel Adams - Erwitt's statement
From: sonc.hegr at gmail.com (Sonny Carter)
Date: Tue Dec 23 08:46:05 2008
References: <DC4B73A4105FCE4FAE0CEF799BF84B36052E92EA@case-email.casefoods.com> <26DF65FF-1815-4EEC-A83A-D2444CA2A222@mac.com>

I can't really attribute this line, but I think Johnny Deadman wrote it:

"Photography is a higher form of pointing."

I think that's more of a definition.

On Tue, Dec 23, 2008 at 10:24 AM, Lottermoser George <imagist3@mac.com>wrote:

> I too love what Erwitt notices and how he presents it to us.
> He notices visual irony at a very sophisticated and humorous level.
> He has a unique and uncanny ability in noticing what he does.
>
> "Photography is simply a function of noticing things.
> Nothing more." - Elliott Erwitt
>
> Ridiculously glib. Probably (hopefully) taken out of a larger context.
>
> All photographs "notice things."
> True enough. So what?
>
> Noticing unique and/or universal qualities in a subject;
> precise relevant moments;
> whether humorous, tragic, elegant, ironic, or whatever;
> the convergence of lines, shapes and forms into striking compositions;
> the balance of tones and/or colors;
> the use of textures and rhythms;
> then putting those notices
> onto a two dimensional surface
> in a way which actively communicates to the viewer of that piece of paper
> what, with a bit of why, you noticed;
> goes well beyond "simply a function of noticing things."
>
> And none of the above touches on the technical skill set
> required to achieve, in print, that which we "simply noticed."
>
> Fond regards,
> George
>
> george@imagist.com
> http://www.imagist.com
> http://www.imagist.com/blog
> http://www.linkedin.com/in/imagist
>
>
>
> On Dec 23, 2008, at 8:59 AM, David Rodgers wrote:
>
>  I love Elliot Erwitt's work, in particular all his dog shots. And yes,
>> they don't seem as technically great as Ansel Adams' landscapes. But
>> consider Erwitt's somewhat famous image of a scampering dog suspended 
>> over a
>> puddle with a person in the background. Dramatic tonal contrast helps 
>> makes
>> that image what it is, IMHO.
>>
>
>
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>



-- 
Regards,

Sonny
http://www.sonc.com
http://sonc.stumbleupon.com/
Natchitoches, Louisiana
USA

Replies: Reply from imagist3 at mac.com (Lottermoser George) ([Leica] Re: Ansel Adams - Erwitt's statement)
In reply to: Message from drodgers at casefarms.com (David Rodgers) ([Leica] Re: Ansel Adams)
Message from imagist3 at mac.com (Lottermoser George) ([Leica] Re: Ansel Adams - Erwitt's statement)