Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/07/24
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I believe and admit that (candid) street photographers (myself included) qualify as people watchers and documentarians. This includes people of all genders and sexual preferences; whether Amish or mini-skirted or what ever. The only questions for me while photographing: is the work tasteful or exploitive? are the subjects presenting themselves in a public space? if possible and reasonable for the sake of a serious photograph - have I asked for permission? if asked not to photograph - have I stopped (or discussed my intentions with the subjects)? flowers, animals, birds, people - all wonderful living subjects for the camera. Documenting life in our own time, as we see it, has potential aesthetic, sociological and anthropological usefulness. Does the photograph celebrate life respectfully? If yes - what's the problem? Some backs of heads from Elliot Erwitt <http://www2.rangefindermag.com/magazine/Jan07/showpage.taf?page=78> Regards, George Lottermoser george at imagist.com http://www.imagist.com http://www.imagist.com/blog http://www.linkedin.com/in/imagist On Jul 24, 2009, at 6:21 PM, Mark Rabiner wrote: > Frank, Street photography is not the backs of peoples heads with > telephoto > lenes. > That's Voyeurism. Surveillance. An annoying invasion of privacy > which we > don't need to be validating. > > The esthetics of photography is a world wide thing > Magnum is a world wide organization. Magazines and papers are read > world > wide and the internet thing dwarfs it all. I don't think there is a > cherished old world Spanish sensibly which is a point I'm not seeing. > > - beautiful women don't like guys photographing them anymore in > surreptitious manner. > Hence backs of heads. > > Not with "girl watcher" cheap long lenes from Spirotone. > Not with expensive Leicas. > > > Show me faces; > Of people perhaps dimly aware of being photographed; > That's street photography. > > > Not just beautiful women we can leer at but guys and dogs and ducks. > > 999 guys on the list. > 1 gal > Lets wise up. > > Mark William Rabiner > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information