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Re: [OM] state-of-the-art technology

Subject: Re: [OM] state-of-the-art technology
From: "John A. Lind" <jlind@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 21:53:52 -0500
At 09:15 7/25/02, William Sommerwick wrote:
I don't understand the remark that OM cameras "are still pretty much
state-of-the-art." Multi-spot metering remains unique and useful, nobody has
ever made such tiny lenses, and -- sans motor drive -- OMs are remarkably
compact and "hand-some," but OMs lack evaluative metering, integral
motordrive, autofocus, and "customizability."
[snip]

Not picking on William Sommerwick; I don't understand what all this "state-of-the-art" accomplishes that cannot be done just as well, often better, using the human brain and manual methods. When everything is relinquished to automagical control, the photographer becomes disengaged from the task at hand and is reduced to being a camera holder. Result? Taking instead of making photographs with significantly lower yield.

We are rapidly losing "The Art" of using a completely manual camera. Henri Cartier-Bresson never let a *knob* winder, manual focusing with a RF window *separate* from the viewfinder, and the lack of any light meter whatsoever stop him from making photographs. He defined "street shooting" and the "decisive moment." Into sports photography? Look into "One Shot Charlie" (Charles Hoff) of the NY Daily News who used an enormous view camera for his sports coverage. Into editorial work and photojournalism? Check out what Alfred Eisenstaedt used for his Life Magazine work. There are more: Margaret Bourke-White, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Paul Strand, Edward Weston, Clarence H. White, Robert Capa, W. Eugene Smith, Ansel Adams (his 35mm works), et alia. Look beyond what they did and what they used to **how** they used their gear; the tricks and techniques. It's there to be found; all it takes is a little digging for it.

IMHO it only requires a little study and practice to develop the skills. Evaluative matrix metering? The human brain has a near infinitely more sophisticated evaluative matrix. Motor drive? Timing skill is much more accurate and not that hard to acquire. Even at 10fps, the fastest of them, a motor drive leaves 1/10th second between frames. Most are 3fps to 5fps. A *lot* can happen in 1/10th second; even more in 1/3rd to 1/5th second. It's a shotgun approach that *may* get the shot some of the time, but is guaranteed to burn lots of film *all* the time.

It's not just "this" or "that," it's the whole shebang, all nine yards of it:
    Film Selection
    Lighting
    Focal Length (Perspective)
    Critical Focus
    Shutter Speed
    Lens Aperture
    Composition
    Timing
    Print Materials and Techniques

It all plays together as a symphony with the photographer as conductor who must exert control throughout. This cannot be bought, not even by Bill Gates. There's *no* technology that has *all* of it, in spite of all the efforts by Big Yellow and camera manufacturers to make The Public believe differently. They use the same marketing model as for diet pills, electric shock muscle stimulators, P.T. Barnum, and Snake Oil, by selling the dream of what people *want* to hear: money can replace *knowledge*, *thinking*, effort and practice. It's naught but smoke and mirrors.

-- John


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