[LRFlex] beginner and not-so-beginner resources; photographer vs. camera nerd
- From: "Steven Rosenthal" <steverose108@xxxxxxx>
- To: <leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 25 Oct 2004 08:32:52 -0700
MessageHi Patrick, I think anyone would like www.kenrockwell.com. He seems like
such a lucky fellow, you really want to hate him because he is handsome, rich
and just buys and tries out every possible kind of lens, scanner, etc. and
posts the results, but he is such a genuinely nice guy- and a very very good
photographer- that you really end up liking him. He really wants to help people
learn to be better photographers, not just techno-nuts hung up on arcane lens
design factoids that never actually use film in the cameras they collect- and
drive the price up on to where WE can't afford them anymore.
Besides very detailed reviews of specific equipment and comparisons, etc. he
has a lot of general photo advice. He takes the tack that- at least in the
broad sense- the camera does NOT matter... read his articles... it is the
intent and willingness to shoot, analyze, improve that makes us good
photographers, not just nerdy boring camera collectors (for which he reserves a
special place in hell... read his hillarious article on the five kinds of
'photographers') Aparently a lot of these guys just drive him crazy and he is
constantly re-iterating that this is about making photos and nothing else, the
camera is just a means to do it. Certainly it is wonderful to have a Leica
instead of a Pentax K-1000 but that is because we are - hopefully- at the point
that we can see the difference in the photographs we take, not because we
think it will make us into better photographers automatically. I think his
points are valid, what do you guys think?
I can say I agree with him that you can take someone with a truly artistic eye,
and they will make beautiful photos with minimal training, whereas the most
accomplished techno type may not after years of memorizing arcane photo
factoids. My daughter, artist, sculptor, etc. is one of these types.... she
amazed me with her first roll, and it made me realize that this is how these
persons see everything around them all the time. She won't eat certain foods
based on their color, texture, proximity to other stuff on her plate, etc,
what seem to be bizarre criteria to us , certainly maddening to us as parents,
but I think I can now understand that people like her that relate to everything
artistically and is is the equivalent to something screaming in their ear to
have something not visually pleasing.... I'm glad I don't have to go thru the
world with that degree of sensitivity, I have a hard enough time not being
distracted and annoyed by a lot of stuff as it is ....!
----- Original Message -----
From: Patrick Werner
To: 'LEICA Group'
Sent: Monday, October 25, 2004 8:02 AM
Subject: [LRFlex] Photography
Can anyone recommend websites for the extreme amateur photographer?
Other related posts:
- » [LRFlex] beginner and not-so-beginner resources; photographer vs. camera nerd
