Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/03/23
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On Mar 22, 2009, at 8:21 PM, Marty Deveney wrote: > Ken's post is on-list, it's here: > http://www.leica-users.org/v38/msg16385.html. I don't quite have > the hang > of GMail yet but I can tell the difference between a post and an off- > list > message - that's one thing the interface gets right. > > Steve asks a very on-topic question about the kind of photography > people do > with their Leicas and Leica-like cameras. > > To me, Jim's photos are characterised by irony (in the true sense - > where > the literal and the actual implied meanings of the photographs are > opposite > or fundamentally incongruent) and poking fun at western society. absolutely, actually this could be in any society, yet it seems, in certain societies people are oblivious to their own humor/foibles, or else they don't care... in Jim's photos, I think it's humorously more the former scenario... oblivious being the operative word... Steve > Anywhere > where society is fundamentally different (as it is almost everywhere > else in > the world) a person doesn't have a sufficient context to poke the > same kind > of fun. You can see this in my photos of Russia: > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/freakscene/Russia/ and Japan: > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/freakscene/Japan/ which (to me) say > more > "this is really forgeign and that amkes it different" rather than > "look at > this weirdness". > > The side of life that many of Jim's photos point out as humorous are > dependant on wealth and a relative lack of self-consciousness. The > following examples are from my experience and might vary depending > on where > you go in a given place. In Japan, for instance, people maintain a > very > careful public image most of the time, making these kinds of shots > impossible. In a lot of parts of Scandinavia, almost everyone is > very fit > and attractive, removing one of Jim's obvious sources of humour. > > But more than anything, walker Evans' old nemesis, prosperity, > removes a lot > of the good-natured aspects of public life. People become more > self-conscious, change how they act and look and take on a more > serious > general demeanour. This interferes with the kinds of scenes Jim > captures. > Adelaide is the least economically developed Australian mainland > city of its > size and in many ways its residents are very natural and lack > self-consciousness. A lot of obviously incongruous things happen. > I doubt > Jim would do very well in the middle of Sydney or Melbourne. > > Analysis is always personal; anyone who posts a themed body of work > to the > LuG gets a lot of attention and analysis from me. I don't always > post about > it, but I am always looking and thinking. > > Marty > > > On Mon, Mar 23, 2009 at 9:14 AM, Steve Barbour <kididdoc at cox.net> > wrote: > >> >> On Mar 22, 2009, at 3:34 PM, Geoff Hopkinson wrote: >> >> Seems like Marty accidentally replied to the list about an off list >> joke >>> from Ken. Then Steve replied thinking also he was off-list! Whoops! >>> Check the headers. You guys are in soo much trouble! >>> >> >> hey, let's get back on track... >> >> regrets... >> >> mille fois... >> >> >> Steve >> >>> >>> >>> >>> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >>> From: Steve Barbour <kididdoc at cox.net> >>> Date: 2009/3/23 >>> Subject: [Leica] Even more Adelaide photos from Brian's visit >>> To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org> >>> >>> >>> >>> On Mar 22, 2009, at 4:37 AM, Marty Deveney wrote: >>> >>> No, but we're trying to get him to visit. There's plenty of >>> fruitful >>> areas >>> around here for Jim's style of observation. >>> >>> a very interesting comment Marty, it really got me thinking. >>> >>> Is there a place in the world not fruitful for Jim's style of >>> observation? >>> Then I realized that it varies a lot...with some places much less >>> fruitful...even in the civilized world. >>> >>> we don't have to get into that right now... >>> >>> but my very simplistic impression is that the very unfruitful >>> areas may >>> be limited to third world parts of the globe... >>> >>> I wonder if that is seen by veteran travelers as an >>> oversimplification, >>> somehow unfair, >>> >>> >>> Steve >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> Marty >>> >>> On Sun, Mar 22, 2009 at 9:14 AM, Ken Carney <kcarney1 at cox.net> >>> wrote: >>> >>> My God that's an ugly dog :). Has Jim Shulman been to Adelaide? >>> >>> Ken >>> >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information