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A Good Picture

badpets

By badpets
in Leica M8 / Leica M8.2

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Shootist

Shootist

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Like I said in my forst post to this thread, for me a good picture is one I like and will print.

Here are 2 examples.

 

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First one was shot in 1972 with a M3 and 50 Cron more then likely Kodak Tri-X 400. It is a scan of the actual print I made and have kept with me through all those years. I no longer have the negative, that's another story.

 

 

Second was shot in 2007 again with a M3 and 40 Cron-C and I think HP 5+. I still have that negative. I hadn't bought my first M8 when I took this shot, I was using a Nikon D200 for digital, which I no longer have.

 

I do seem to make better pictures when I have a Leica M in my hands. That is the reason I was so happy the M8 came out and I bought 2 of them. It is the camera I would rather use, anywhere anytime, then any other I've ever owned or handled.

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pgk

pgk

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Well,one round for me, then.; I think the OP question should be rephrased: Has the M8, being a unique tool, improved the quality of photography of its users, and if so, how?

 

I assume that you refer to the M8 being the first Leica M with instant feedback?

 

This SHOULD improve the quality of photography of its users (instant feedback undoubtedly HAS improved some areas of photography such as my own specialisation - underwater) but whether actuality reflects this will be up to each individual to decide.

 

Incidently, I see no problem with the original question. It could though, be easily rephrased for any digital camera, but without wanting to start another pointless debate, it seems reasonably valid with regard to Leica's first, digital rangefinder. As I said before, there is some pleasure to be obtained from shooting with an M8 - this may exists because one IS shooting with an M8 and I'd say that this may well translate into improved (good) images (this will of course be a personal thing and may or may not apply to individual photographers).

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stunsworth

stunsworth

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Well,one round for me, then.; I think the OP question should be rephrased: Has the M8, being a unique tool, improved the quality of photography of its users, and if so, how?

 

I can only speak for myself, but I don't think it has. However I think my photography improved when I bought an M. Partly because I found I preferred rangefinders, but also partly because I started taking a lot more photographs than I had with my previous cameras. Again, this is a personal thing. Someone else may have exactly the same reaction going in the opposite direction from rangefinder to SLR.

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jaapv

jaapv

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Why? There's been some disagreement, but it's been well mannered. No one has resorted to name calling. People - myself included - have been expressing their differing opinions. It's what a forum should be about IMHO.

Maybe he's teetotal?

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mhoersch

mhoersch

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Making a mental link between a good picture and the camera it was taken with is, in my opinion, a very simple and basic error of logic.

 

While "good" pictures may have been made with a "good" camera, using that same "good" camera doesn't automatically produce "good" pictures.

 

Since people seem to love this kind of logic it has become one of the favourite tricks in the advertising business: This extremely cool and sexy looking guy is smoking cigarettes of brand X. Ergo: when you smoke brand X you will be cool and sexy. It never works, of course, but people believe it anyway, presumably because they want to believe it.

 

Photography seems to be particularly susceptible to this kind of question. Many people seem to think a particular, preferably expensive, camera would make them a good photographer producing good pictures. To my knowledge nobody ever thought he would become a great painter - if only he had Picasso's brushes...

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dcoombs

dcoombs

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Back to the original question (if we haven't flogged this poor horse enough yet), my view is a simple one. A good picture (be it a photograph, or painting for that matter) is one whose image stays in my mind. If I own it, I enjoy looking at it regularly, never getting tired of it. If I don't own it, the memory of the image stays fresh in my mind, easily being recalled years later. The picture may be beautiful, or dramatic, disturbing or bizarre. Doesn't matter. What matters is the image stays with you.

 

Doug

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ChrisC

ChrisC

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What is a "good picture" by your definition, particularly utilizing the latest technology of Leica M8?

 

If the answer to the question of 'life, the universe, and everything, is 42' - then I think Steve answered the posed open-ended question reasonably and uncontroversially. I can't actually figure out what the 'latest technology of the M8' is [well, micro-lenses over the sensor perhaps], or what relevance it could have for 'good picture making'. Good photography is made by good photographers, not by the technology of their chosen tools.

 

Instant impact... lasting appeal.

 

Well, I am wary of instant impact. Often the most interesting , beguiling, and sustaining images have a seeming understatement on first viewing because of their unfamiliarity. These images can turn out to be the breakthrough images in one's own work, or in appreciation of other people's work. Gary Winogrand talked about studying his contact sheets to find and reject the 'good pictures' [which I take to mean the already known, and familiar].

 

Inevitably, time determines whether an image has the ability to sustain one's imagination and attention on repeated visits - that makes a 'good picture' for me.

 

.............. Chris

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badpets

badpets

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regarding whether this topic should be here, maybe you should talk to the administrator? it's not fair if you keep throwing your complaint here. should i be sorry that i asked this question here? yes and no. yes that i get to see some nasty comments (it doesn't include Steve's as i already learnt that he's in fact a decent guy). no that i'm totally privileged to say whatever i want here.

 

Bizarre reaction. :confused: Why keep what is effectively a philosophical question in the M8 ghetto?

 

Regards,

 

Bill

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andym911

andym911

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Badpets,

 

someone once said

' a good photograph is a right balance between information and aesthetics' or something similar? (Winogrand?)

 

sounds about right to me.

 

Have no idea what a camera model has to do with a good photograph though:confused: I think it is this link that many are irritated by (myself included)

 

I have an Espresso machine at home that cost about the same as a used Noctilux....my best coffee tho' comers from the simple Italian pot you put on the stove (smells better too);)

 

andy

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badpets

badpets

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hi andym911, i never make that statement. this is an assumption made regarding my initial question. i asked what's the "good picture" in your definition, using M8. it's same as asking showing me your favorite photography experience with M8.

however i think whether there shouldn't be a link, i think there's no absolute answer.

 

Have no idea what a camera model has to do with a good photograph though:confused: I think it is this link that many are irritated by (myself included)

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