g> Think about something here. HCB used a Leica. A Leica RF. A Leica RF's frame g> lines do not perfectly define the negative borders. There is no way he could g> frame his photos that precisely. But claiming that he did made him famous. There
Hi Tom, great that somebody finally wrote this argument. It's very true. g> You know what? I just realized all this stuff, while photographic, is really g> about religion. Oops! Sad thing. It's more about him than his photographs. Everybody knows HCB and every aspiring "street shooter" (what usually amounts to stupid guys shooting completely mundane and boring street scenes) swears by his name, but few actually know his photography that well. The idiots who worship him diminish his photographic excellency, as they make him not into a photographer but into an icon. An icon so famous that in a little bit of time, everybody will know HCB but nobody will know his photographs. Just like your average person knows e.g. Dostoevski but has never read anything by him. To break this a bit, I have it personally from one Magnum guy I met on one assignent that HCB is (now was) a really annoying old fart ;) I admire lot of his photographs, but I hate the religious stuff around him. Best regards, Frantisek Vlcek
