Oh well by all means, let’s get into a blizzard of soppy comments about each other’s work. I rarely comment on work here or on FB any more as there is simply too much stuff I do not love. I’m not sure how many ‘friends’ I have on FB, but they all want me to say something wonderful about their work and to be honest, so little work is ‘wonderful’ now because any idiot with $300 can get a Rebel with a lens on it and venture out to make pictures which show absolutely nothing of their personality or talent. The person I admire most on the PF list is Chris Strevens. He keeps plugging away, will not give up in spite of frightful odds, and somehow manages to take us to places of the mind where he is clearly moved by what he sees around him and by his situation. His recent ’Death House’ shots are powerful gems, as you all know he could just as easily have turned his camera 180 degrees to behind himself and shown a field of grass. For most of my life I had 50,000 competitors and that was fine. Now I have 500+ million who believe themselves to be as good with their iPhone and/or Samsung as any professional on the planet. I got invited to speak at a photo club in Iran recently, and on the invite they sent me a group shot of all 45 members. 28 held 5D’s, 10 held Nikon D800e’s, and the remaining few held cameras which shot on film and none of which were the championship models made by Leica and others although one guy was holding a Mamiya RZII. Almost every 5D had large telephoto L lenses and scattered amongst the men and women were enough pricey glass to buy a couple of Jaguars. They had more glass than I do and I do this for a living. I’m not sure I can get out of this country long enough to get to Iran and when there I am not sure I can get out of their country long enough to come home. Unless I am mistaken, our countries are just about at war and it has been my policy for at least 99.5% of my career to not visit countries where both professionals and amateurs shoot at each other and others. That being said, I would just about kill to go to Persepolis with my Blexes and be able to shoot what remains of the city built by Alexander the Great at sunset for several days. After that, I could do with a trip to Timbuktu, an ancient city with a great library (until al Qaeda took over) in Mali. Somehow I think my days of actually setting foot in such places may be past. As a white person, I just cannot set foot in places where all folks have to do is look at me to know I am a foreigner who deserves to die just for being, well, different. My snappy titanium and carbon fiber leg would not serve me well there and even worse I might be held up at gunpoint for it. With a bit of modification, it may have some capabilities to become an excellent bong. On Sep 21, 2014, at 4:47 PM, Andrew Davidhazy <andpph@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Art Faul The Artist Formerly Known as Prints ------ Art for Cars: art4carz.com Stills That Move: http://www.artfaul.com Greens: http://www.inkjetprince.com Camera Works - The Washington Post . |
