[Leica] OT: Are we Anal or what? "The Puddle Jumper" / Re: How about this one?

[digiratidoc at gmail.com (James Laird)]

Really? We are worried about whether or not the 'Iwo Jima' shot or the
HCB 'Puddle Jumper' shot was staged? Really? Are we worried that maybe
the eyelashes on the guy in the puddle jumper shot might be sharper if
we shot them with a Nikon D800 vs D800E? Really? Doesn't this seem a
bit ridiculous to all of you? Maybe a bit anal?
WHO CARES? They are great photographs. Who cares if they were shot
with an M4 and a 50mm Collapsible Summicron or an 800E with a Nikkor
50 1.4? It's STILL a great photograph, isn't it? I've seen great
photographs taken with 3.2 MP Minolta cameras that most of us would
consider pieces of crap, but the photo...a work of art. Beautiful by
anyone's standards.
I think we all need to take a deep breath, slow down, and realize once
and for all that the photograph is what counts. NOT the camera or the
lens or the film or the memory card or CS5 or LR4 or whatever we used
to get it. A great photograph stands on its own merit. And we all know
that the minute we see it. That's what keeps us shooting. We all think
that someday we might be skilled enough or (in the end) lucky enough
to be in the right place at the right time with a camera to take a
photograph that is eternal. Like HCB. He took thousands of
photographs, many of which were probably NOT keepers. But he kept on
shooting because he was rich enough or lucky enough to be able to do
nothing but take photographs, to do the thing that we all love so
much. God, he makes me so jealous sometimes. We all probably wish we
could have the chance to do what he did.
But most of us can't so we think if we buy X lens and Y camera with Z
processor/computer that maybe we can do what he did, oh god if we only
could. Really?

Just my humble opinion ;)

Jim Laird