[Leica] Photo show dissent

[lrzeitlin at aol.com (lrzeitlin at aol.com)]

        I just came back from the Westchester Photo Show where four of my 
older photographs were hung. They stood out like sore thumbs. Not because 
they were inferior but because they were different. All of mine were street 
photos or pseudo street photos, slices of life taken in my usual 
adventitious manner. Several were in my LUG gallery and were taken on film. 
I'd be the first to admit that they are not great pictures but they were a 
sample of my photographic endeavors.
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Cook.jpeg.html
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Coppersmith.jpg.html
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/The+valve+room.jpg.html
        Most of the other pictures exhibited were carefully posed, highly 
processed images which tried to emulate fine art. I've always believed, as 
have most Luggers, that art and photography are two different media, each 
with its advantages and disadvantages. An artist can take time to pose the 
subject appropriately, choose colors, and accentuate what he or she chooses. 
It is a contemplative and imaginative medium. Photography, on the other 
hand, is ideal for catching slices of life which may vanish in a fraction of 
a second.?It is a realistic and immediate medium.
        What was most interesting is that several exhibiting photographers 
maintained that the original image was not the end in itself but merely the 
starting point for intensive manipulation in Photoshop. Indeed, some of the 
pictures were so significantly altered that they bore little resemblence to 
the actual scene. Colors were changed, portions of the image were 
accentuated or eliminated. The worst case, in my opinion, was a photograph 
which combined several individual photos in one displayed image. Just like 
the Russian Mayday podium pictures.
        I'm coming to believe that exhibited photos should bear a warning 
label, like foodstuffs, noting if any artificial ingredients were used in 
the presentation.
        Larry Z