Bob,
Very well said. I was thinking of that very same comment by Hurn when I
read the original post ;-))
Shel Belinkoff
> [Original Message]
> From: Bob W <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Date: 6/4/2004 4:12:20 PM
> Subject: Re: photography vs cameras
>
> Hi,
>
> >"I was watching a rich suburban mom shooting pictures of her son's team
> >at
> >a high school track meet today. She was using A Nikon D2h and 300/2.8
> >with a 1.4 converter--about $8000 worth of equipment and better than what
> >I as a pro was carrying. Watching what she was shooting I'm convinced
> >she
> >got a lot of dull, stunningly sharp pictures ("here's Jake before his
> >race"...). That is probably exactly what she wanted and was aspiring to.
>
> perhaps she was a professional photographer spending some time with
> her children, and knew exactly what she was doing. To be honest, your
> assumptions say far more about your prejudices than they do about her
> photography.
>
> I've been photographing children at a safari park today, using several
> thousand dollars worth of Contax equipment - including a 300mm lens
> and x2 converter, like your suburban mom. The children (11 and 7 years
> old) took at least 25% of the photographs, and most of those that I took
> may not have reached your obviously high standards, but that doesn't mean
> those are the only type of photos I take with my expensive equipment.
> Maybe your rich suburban mom takes other types of photo with her expensive
> equipment too.
>
> Your post reminds me of something from David Hurn's 'On being a
> photographer:
>
> "Take a mother on a beach watching her child build sand-castles. She
> suddenly sees an expression which tugs at her heart strings. Without
> thought, she dips into the picnic basket, aims the camera, and presses
> the button. The moment has been captured - and will be treasured for
> the rest of her life.
>
> Eighty five percent of all the ingredients of photography are
> encompassed by this simple act. The mother has an intimate knowledge
> of her subject. There is no thought of self or creativity, although
> both are intimately present. The snap was made without concern for
> technique. These are the ingredients that should be present in the
> acts of all photographers, no matter how sophisticated, yet they are
> the very ones which are too often ignored."
>
> If photographs of your own children aren't worth thousands of dollars,
> what is?
>
> --
> Cheers,
> Bob
