nesrani

Yeah, I'd drop the digital rant (none of your customers will care) and the Oscar acceptance speech as well (thanks to blah blah blah). Keep that on an acknowledgements page where it belongs.

 

Good luck with it though.

I just want to see my post underlined in blue.

Timbuktu is not "inland", it's two countries (three if you count the old SWS) and well over 1000 miles south, as I recall. Unless of course you mean the Timbuktu Tourist Lodge and Liquor Heaven, which is inland from the harbour.

"The treachery of images", "The persistence of imagination" - how about "The pretension of vocabulary"?

Vivek, you click on the image of the boy and the monkey to get into the site, after which you have a number of pdf portfolios available to you.

 

Raid, I believe John has spent many years in the Middle East (we met there in 2002) and is very familiar with local cultures and people. There is no doubt that he spends a lot of time on his projects and is good at getting close to people.

John - don't take it so hard! Don't go to my snaps for any guidance - I am as dissatisfied with them as anyone could possibly be.

 

I suppose what I hope for in pictures these days is something new - something I haven't seen before. The only thing in a PJ mode that has given me that feeling for a long time has been Suau's Beyond the Fall (I think...). Also a long term project. So there is always hope.

 

Children chained up? Victims, poverty, "problems" don't interest me at all. People do. And I don't yet have a feeling of that from what you're showing... But maybe that's not what you're after - who am I to wag my finger at you.

 

You're living in Cairo these days? I'm in Bombay at the present time, have been for the last year.

Concept and effort are worth nothing without results.

 

Children always make engaging subjects, but I found this a pretty pedestrian batch. And tilted frames, isn't that a really worn out trope by now?

 

On the whole, the set gives me no feeling at all for life in the City of the Dead - there are no establishing shots, and nothing that really sets these pictures apart. Since it's a long term project, I'm sure it'll develop over time - maybe this was just a first stab at it.

Tastes differ...

"Well I currently have both a late model M2 thats got the M6 style takeup spool and an M6 TTL. I am seriously thinking of selling the M6 as I never use it - the M2 is a much better camera!"

 

Good God.

I'm sorry Alex, but really, this is a completely lifeless image. Surely you can do better.

Does photography get any more boring than this?

This kind of thing is all anecdotal, but my own experience and talking to other snappers suggests that the most robust camera ever made was the Nikon F3.

 

As to the M3, it has a poky, dark viewfinder and no meter, the rangefinder patch is dim and unclear, and if you wear glasses it'll scratch them. And, it forces you to a very limited range of lenses. I wouldn't recommend it as a practical camera. The M6 is quite a different proposition. I loved using it, and still would if I could be bothered with film anymore.

Whatever the concept, the 5D has set the bar for general purpose cameras. I do only available light and have no complaints. No way would I ever pay Leica's price for a digital camera. BTW, the 5D plus a 24-70 2.8 fits very nicely into a carry-on bag.

Where's part 2, dammit! I can't stand the tension. I promised my dog I'd tell him the second half of this story tonight.

Great story. Can't wait for Part 2.

I think the problem with so many of these pictures is that they are pictures of interesting things, but not interesting pictures. Of course, that's true of nearly all pictures of all kinds.

Well, we've all done it, but Ray is of course quite right.

What I find amusing (but not distressing or sad) is the number of people who take themselves so damn seriously.

Response to Should I get a Leica for street photography?

 

Absolutely not. Leicas are large and obtrusive, and they have noisy shutters. The lenses are enormous and call too much attention to you, especially those white ones. And anyway, who wants or needs that plasticky automation?

"don't look for happy accidents."

 

Yeah, don't allow life to teach you anything.

Frank Zappa was a better guitarist with far wider musical range than any of the above. IMHO.

>

"and the temple complex of Meenakshi (the fish-eyed goddess) in Madurai."

 

John, That does not translate to "fish-eyed" but rather "fish-shaped eyes".

>

 

Yeah, but "fish-eyed" is funnier.

Boris - I only have one body at the moment, and the one lens, the 28. If I were to get another body I certainly wouldn't add the booster to it! But being a lazy bugger, I find that I don't take verticals often enough if I don't have a grip - and this recently cost me a sale to a German newspaper. Quite annoying. I could imagine getting a second body eventually, but it's really a luxury for me, photography just doesn't make enough money for me.

 

The noise issue - it'll be interesting to see how that works out.

 

I'll get a 1Ds2 when the price drops to something reasonable - for the moment, the 5D does everything I need it to.

I must be the only person who uses the 5D with the booster pack. I prefer the ergonomics and the weight stabilises the body. I've never found heavy cameras to be problematic.

 

In reality, I don't mind using the 28 at 5.6, because dialling up to 1600 asa gives me the equivalent of a 1.4 at 100 asa if I really need it, which is still two stops faster than my old 24/2.8 when I was shooting 100 asa slide. The small amount of noise can be dealt with quite effectively in photoshop even without specialised noise reduction software.

 

What I have been surprised with is the large number of dead pixels in my new body. But this too can be dealt with using the dust and scratches filter with a 1 pixel radius and high threshold in photoshop. So it's not a problem for me, unless you're shooting star trails, I suppose.

It's the swirliness in the corners that pisses me off ;-) Apart from that, it's OK.

 

I agree that the 5D is an ergonomic wonder. The back button focus setting reminds me of the Contax G2 - that was one of my favourite features of that camera.

 

BTW - I'll be in Bombay for most of next year, leaving in a couple of weeks - if your travels take you there, get in touch.