Humor... what not to do.

[albert_smith]

Saw this on the LUG. It is from the Philadelphia Leica User Group, (PLUG). It's kind of funny.

 

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<a href="http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/leicaslacker/plug/10/index.html ">Leica User's Ten Commandments</a>

[steve_hoffman4]

Good. I haven't broken any----So far.

[Rob F.]

What's wrong with photographing buildings, I'd like to know?

[frank_horn]

What's wrong with a tabletop tripod?

[jackflesher]

What's wrong with photographing statues, asses and homeless people?

[sikaan1]

This is interesting, and leads to the question:

"Why does one take a photograph?"

 

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Taking pictures of one's family is for memories. Nothing wrong with

that.

Taking pictures of buildings and statures is "art." Whatever floats

our boat.

Taking pictures of asses (WITH permission) is also art, but can cross

the line to erotica and then to pornography.

Without the camera where would hte world of erotica be?

Taking pictures of homeless people can have a documentary effect.

And so on.

 

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By the way, I find it good that people on this website have a high

sense of ethics and morality when it comes to taking unsolicited

pictures of strangers. The world of digital photography is, however,

giving the entire world of photography a bad name. If you look at

the website www.voyeurweb.com you will see pictures of people taken

without their permission. What this ends up doing is making anyone

with a camera seem like a pervert to some. Sorry for bringing this

up but there should be some type of unwritten ethical code when

taking pictures of others. In some countries taking pictures of

women, fully clothed, will invite homicidal attacks from their

spouses.

 

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I don't mean to offend anyone here, but am just bringing up a topic

that might affect us in the future.

 

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Thanks.

[eliot]

Now I understand why W.C. Fields said "I'd rather be dead than

playing Philly".

[nesrani]

I take pictures of people without their permission all the time. It's

part of my job as a photographer.

[nesrani]

"In some countries taking pictures of women, fully clothed, will

invite homicidal attacks from their spouses."

 

In some countries women are regarded as chattels.

[djphoto]

"As a photojournalist and producer creating magazine features and

audio-visual programs to help religious and humanitarian agencies

communicate their mission, I'm always looking for opportunities to

make portraits. Strong photographs of people add power to the message

I want to communicate, because people are interested in people.

That's why we call it "human interest." When someone from another

culture is portrayed in all of his or her humanity, dignity, and

individuality, both the subject and those who view the photograph are

served. As the great Edward Steichen, creator of the landmark "Family

of Man" exhibit said, "The function of photography is to explain man

to man."

 

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Photography bypasses the logical centers of the brain and communicates

directly to the heart. When the subject is someone from another

culture, an incisive portrait can arouse in the viewer a deep

awareness that this also is a person, a member of my species.

Different from me, yes, but part of my family. Nearly 30 years have

passed, but I still remember the first time a photograph connected

with me in this way. It was an Emil Schultheiss portrait of an

African girl in the old 'Modern Photography' magazine. Her face

plastered with ceremonial paint, she peeked at the camera from the

corners of her eyes. I looked into her soul and was hooked for good."

________________________________________________________________

 

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The above is an excerpt from my article "Foreign Faces," which

appeared in the August, 1999 issue of "Rangefinder" magazine.

[mike dixon]

Thanks for the laugh! Of course, as "commandments," they're

ridiculous, but I think they do make some valid points. I've broken

most of them at some point or other (though I've never been able to

brag about the dinglessness of my cameras!), but I have great excuses

for why I have sinned. . .

[tony_rowlett2]

<i>8) Thou shalt not photograph people from behind and call it street

photography. This makith thou a coward. </i>

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Rats! I knew about this one, but I just hoped that nobody would ever

confirm it for me.

[ralph_barker]

They forgot one:

 

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Shaketh not thine M6 to befun the quaking of the earth, for

thine humor will only work in California. ;-)

[albert_smith]

I think this is in compliance with rule 8.

 

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<a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?

photo_id=502824&size=lg">Not from behind</a>

[mike dixon]

Just to make the list into a proper Twelve Commandments:

 

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11) Thou shalt not wear thine Leica as jewelry.

 

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12) Thou shalt not roll thine eyes at heathens whenst they asketh,

"What is bokeh?"

[frank_horn]

Al- That goes beyond bokeh-- That's double bokeh! :=)

[ron gregorio]

Al, is that the largest magnification we can get, or do I need a

bigger screen?