doris_chan

"I'm not sure about LaCie - I haven't heard anything about them since the early 90s"

So why pronounce with such misplaced certainty?

"The other panels are made from the units Apple rejects.

Seriously."

Err, seriously not. Does the LaCie even have the same proportions/resolution as the Apple?

I don't

think so.

I've no experience of Samsung or Dell, but my experience of Apple and LaCie branded

monitors gives me more confidence in the latter.

"I wasn't going to comment anymore on my own posting, but allow me to clarify that I do

accept constructive criticism when offered and that I am not too receptive to comments

that seem to be made in an unfriendly manner"

Raid, has it crossed your mind that maybe you've set yourself up for criticism

- constructive or otherwise - because you've repeatedly made it clear that you're far more

than the typical forum amateur with an interest in Leica cameras:

"I have plenty of knowledge and experience on teaching photography.....I have over 25

years experience in photography.....I will focus on my expertise area (quality control) and

photography....a photographer with published photo essays and many award winning

exhbits, I am quite confident about my ability to deliver.....How do you infer that I am not

a photographer? Has it occured to you that a person can be both a professor and a

professional photographer?.....By the way, my photos are marketed in Asia by Mega Press

(one of the most prestigious stock agencies in Japan).....I have over 25 years of experience

in photography....I will give my students excellent training in photography.....I have done

professional work for the past years and I would not be represented by a prestigous stock

agency as Mega Press if my work is lousy"

Given your apparently illustrious past you really shouldn't

be too surprized if people hold you to a higher standard than the rest of us.

If it's the "look" rather than the ability to project that matters to you, then you'd be better

off looking at neg rather than E6 emulsions.

I'm not sure if anyone else picked up on this, but I see a lovely "glow" from these

images......

"I don't see the photos"

They're just obscured by the glow. If you look hard enough you'll see them glinting

through.

"Is there a "Leica Glow"?"

Well, I could see a little bit of glow on the first image, but it looks more a symptom of a

dusty scanner than anything to do with the lens that took the picture.

"why be so hostile? Constructive crtiticism may be more appropriate and more effective.

try it out when you can."

Raid, this is really inappropriate in itself, and entirely unfair on Mike who has a track

record

of

offering meaningful advice. If you ask people to comment then you have to be able to deal

with the rough as well as the smooth. Why are you so sensitive? On a previous thread

when I, amongst others, had the audacity to question your credentials as a teacher of

photography you theatrically announced that you wouldn't be forced off the forums, when

nobody had tried any such thing. Strange.

"What they don't do is tell why"

Can you realistically expect any sequence of images on a topic like this to tell you "why"?

Would you even want them to? A photographer is doing well if s/he holds your attention

for a few minutes.

"They thus demonstrate how photographs do and can depict fact but NOT neccessarily

truth"

The above statement would be no less "truthfull" if you substituted "words" for

"photographs".

"I wouldn't base my total assessment of the Isreal/Palastine situation based on these

photographs"

I don't think that anybody's asking you to.

"I think this presentation lacks needed context"

We provide our own context via our knowledge and experiences. There's a limit to what

can be expected from a presentation like this.

"If the P2000 dies, or is lost or stolen, I'm S.O.L."

If your pictures really matter then it just isn't practical to work away from home for an

extended period without a laptop plus multiple backup - you can't rely upon any single

drive not to die. Something like a 12 inch Powerbook or iBook (or PC equivalent) isn't very

heavy, and if you backup daily in duplicate to two Firewire or USB 2 portable drives (80 or

100 gig models don't weigh much more than an iPod) you're giving yourself a

realistic safety net.

In addition the laptop allows you to make an edit as you go along which you can then burn

to CD/DVD and ship back home. It sounds long winded but it's easy to get into the

routine.

Nobody's asking you to leave. Based on your images here it's entirely valid for people to

raise questions as to the validity of you conducting photography classes. Inevitably there

are different points of view on a discussion forum. To put those disagreements down to

"personal problems" is very odd.

Thanks Brad. The current 23" Apples are a pile of junk, beautifully designed,

superficially beguiling, but with appalling image quality - they're a real step backward

from the previous model. Eventually they'll have to publically acknowledge and deal with

the very real issues that these monitors have.

Brad, tell me more about the Dell. Isn't it too bright? Too contrasty? I'm stuck with a very

pretty but very pink Apple (bought in December like the previous poster) and all the others

I've seen are pink as well. The 20" and 30" Apples are fine, as was the previous design 23".

I'm resigned to either getting the 30" or ponying up for the Eizo.

"I am always fighting with my photographers about it"

As Jeff suggests you seem to be hiring the wrong photographers.

"This was the third assignment in a row that the person in question had failed to correct

technique even though I personally demonstrated how 2/3rds stop OVEREXPOSURE is

easier to deal with digitally than underexposure. If you underexpose, you have nothing to

work with on the computer"

Maybe the photographer was on the money and you and your production staff weren't.

Despite the "expose to the right" doctrine that people seem to accept without question

there are a lot of working photographers who prefer to start with a fairly "dark" RAW and

push the shadows. A lot depends on the style and kind of image being produced - open

and bright isn't right for everything. Despite what you're suggesting digital actually holds

more shadow

detail than most film emulsions, it's the highlights that get problematical.

"the tendency--especially with editorial assignments--to operate like a pointer-and-

shooter, by thinking you can "fix it on the computer" is ruining "photographers""

You really are hiring the wrong photographers. Maybe you're not paying enough? Not

offering the appropriate rights? Too much "fighting"? There's no shortage of editorial

photographers who take

the technical side of things very, very seriously regardless of the medium that they're

using.

"That's a nice email, Raid"

It is, indeed, a lovely email. And very timely. I apologize for being so cynical. On looking

again I see that Dr Amin is a fine photographer, and clearly a teacher of the very highest

order.

"The referred to "magenta cast" problem of the Apple 23" ACD is not an accross the board

problem. There were reports of this problem early on but not so much anymore"

There are a lot of people who'd disagree with this. Some of the noise has died down

simply because people have given up on getting a neutral 23", they don't seem to exist.

"The 23" and 30" Apple Cinema monitors were looking just gorgeous"

Be very wary of the Apple 23", it has a real problem with a magenta cast that no amount of

calibration will remove. The 20" and 30" are much cleaner.

"he has 40 years of experience"

Yeah, he does, but there are plenty of small-town press photographers who'd struggle to

show you a single nice image even after 40 years. He's not the technical master he claims

to be but most of the flak he takes here is more down to his anti-digi madness than the

quality of his images. Not many people who post here have pictures as nice as the two I

mentioned.

"I have never, never, seen a really good digital picture either on this forum or elsewhere

that compares with a film image. I have also never seen a very good digital print from a

digital image"

How do you know that this is the case? Does every image that you see have the technical

details posted beside it?

"I do think digital pictures have a peculiar defect in 'punch' which not being an expert I

cannot explain and which any amount of photoshop cannot improve"

If you're not an "expert" how can you be certain that knowing how to use Photoshop

appropriately won't cure the "defect"?

"I can well see how professional press photographers find digital so useful but that is

about the only real market for it at present"

If press photographers are the "only real market" for digital then why are companies like

Leica, Ilford, and Agfa facing such a seemingly bleak future?

"In my opinion any other digital use is belittling your skills as a photographer."

So Anthony Brookes walks tall with film while Jim Nachtwey and Nick Knight belittle

themselves with digital. Priceless.

"Look at my portfolios here on photo.net. Judge for yourself"

I really like the first image of the woman and the guy, and I really like the last of the kid

and the dove. Some of the others are OK, but do nothing to add weight to your claims of

technical

mastery

"some pretty damned raw digital files of breaking news gets transmitted"

Actually, they're more likely to be jpgs.....

"You ever try doing it under pressure? With no sleep for a couple days running?

Consistantly,day after day, no excuses, come up with what the editor wants?"

This hardly applies to Raid's vacation snaps in Japan. Quite apart from that, has Brad ever

made any claims of being a frontline editorial photographer struggling to get images back

from Kabul, Jolo, and Aceh?

"Want me to post this on the forum? Just say the word"

I get the faintly sinister tone, but what does this actually mean?

"Ms. Chan, let's see some of your photographs!"

The quality, or otherwise, of my photographs (or even whether I've ever taken a

photograph) doesn't impact in any way, shape, or form on the quality of photographs

posted here.

"Al, is there something worng with you?"

Brad, don't even go there.

"Funnily enough, we all have personal problems (ahem!)"

Finally, a comment I can identify with......

Raid, when someone responds by telling me to "get a life" I tend to find that they've run

out of all credible responses and have nowhere else to go. Living the fantasy of being a

"professional" is fine, setting yourself up as a mentor is another thing altogether. Your

conceit is startling in it's magnitude.

"I guess all those people, organisations including religous bodies, churches and

governments that assisted in the "Armed Struggle for a Free South Africa" should see what

it means to put Terrorists into Power"

It's not every day that you see a lament for the good ol' days of apartheid.