Another Ken Rockwell wack

[kshapero]

" "color" isn't photography. Photography is black-and-white; anything else is derivitaive."

Funny coming from a guy that tokes up the color on his digital cameras to the point that his photos are a joke. IMHO.😱

 

[swoop]

Rockwell isn't a photographer. He's a gadget junkie. He likes toys. And he makes his living off of page views.

 

[thegman]

His opinions, by his own admission are not to be taken seriously. I find him fairly entertaining if you take out the jingoisms. Also, he has taken some pretty good photos too, ones I'd be proud of.

 

[unixrevolution]

" "color" isn't photography. Photography is black-and-white; anything else is derivitaive."

Funny coming from a guy that tokes up the color on his digital cameras to the point that his photos are a joke. IMHO.😱

I can't honestly bring to mind any Black and White pictures on his website.

 

[Thardy]

I can't honestly bring to mind any Black and White pictures on his website.

Seriously, people visit his site?

 

[bwcolor]

Smart as a fox, or is it crazy as a fox? Regardless, he knows how to drive traffic to his site. So, I would say that he is pretty good at what he does.

 

[redisburning]

Ken Rockwell on trying to explain the greater artistic potential of black and white is somewhat akin to a highschooler trying to explain the potential of calculus.

this sort of thing takes a lot of introspection; however the impression I have gotten from Rockwell's site is that any internal dialogue he may have is closer to chatter than that. his site is a glorified blog, and if you treat it as such it's considerably less offensive.

 

[Sparrow]

But, as always he is right though

 

[texchappy]

When I first got back into photography I found his site; Lord knows how much he screwed me up. Figured it out when he said you don’t need a long zoom for wildlife photography, just be really quiet when sneaking up on them. Had an Elmer (or is that Elmarit) Fudd image pop into my mind and haven’t gone back. Expect to hear that he was killed falling out of a tree trying to sneak up on a Bunting.

 

[boomguy57]

Ken Rockwell on trying to explain the greater artistic potential of black and white is somewhat akin to a highschooler trying to explain the potential of calculus.

this sort of thing takes a lot of introspection; however the impression I have gotten from Rockwell's site is that any internal dialogue he may have is closer to chatter than that. his site is a glorified blog, and if you treat it as such it's considerably less offensive.

Yes. His site is really no more than a blog. Most things he says are asinine, and he has shifted from being the uber-Nikon guy to being obsessed with Leica (to the point that he tries to insert German words of phrases into his blog when he writes about Leica--as if he spoke German). He is a gear junkie, and I have to say that he doesn't get his cred from the photos he uploads. But that is just my opinion.

As we have learned, media across the board thrive by being divisive and polarizing. Ken Rantwell is no different, he drives traffic by asserting he knows best and that unless you shoot photos of your kid with the D40, you're an idiot. Unless you use the occasional Umlaut when speaking of Leica, you're an idiot.

To each his own. If you like him, visit his site. If not, stay away. Boy, that was easy. Now, on to the next topic, please...

 

[DamenS]

Ken Rockwell extolling the virtues of B/W ... how ironic ! Mr "Take the saturation to warp 5 in camera and then process for greater saturation in Photoshop" guy ? Still, I sometimes enjoy picking out his myriad inconsistencies and I believe his site was the first time I ever saw a Tachihara 4x5" so it hasn't been ALL bad. It just annoys me when he says "make due" instead of "make do" or "mute point" instead of "moot point" ... turn it into a drinking game, and involve your friends !!

 

[rdeleskie]

Mr. Rockwell has generated another thread at RFF, and no doubt several visits to his site to view the offending article. Mission accomplished.

 

[Austerby]

I'm looking forward to his review of the Harman Titan. I did ask Steve Huff when he was going to review it but he never replied.

 

[Speedfreak]

The more you discuss KR and the more links you post the richer he gets.

"Bashing him" in public forums means supporting him.

 

[kshapero]

Regardless, he is entertaining and I must credit his review of the Nikon FE for getting me back into using mine.

 

[kshapero]

The more you discuss KR and the more links you post the richer he gets.

"Bashing him" in public forums means supporting him.

Let him get rich (which I doubt he is). Nothing wrong with that.

 

[RObert Budding]

The more you discuss KR and the more links you post the richer he gets.

"Bashing him" in public forums means supporting him.

Good. If he earns enough money, he may retire.

 

[leicapixie]

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=121292

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=121292

If you read his site/blog you will see B/W photos.Some done with a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye. His color is very saturated, so what! It's his style. His comparisons with film and digital must have irked many viewers. Film in Velvia being way more interesting than "flat" digital. i use both. i use Digital more because of the ease and the cost. Not because it is better or worse.
Ken Rockwell is fun! Read the articles and if you are serious about photography, he is serious too. KR does tests that anyone can understand. I read Erwin puts and appreciate his knowledge too. Yeah, the photo.net forum people hate him.. Here i am not sure.. He assembled his one Leica.
Ken Rockwell may speak German! If you bothered to read his profile, you might know.
i am impressed with his tests as he is not a paid lackey of any company! Leica doesn't support him. Nikon nor Canon give him free samples.. When he sees a fault you know! Unlike the silence about the Leica M8 Sensor and magenta by a number of "testers". The poor Auto-focus accuracy of Canon and Nikons lousy "G" lenses. i want f-stops, depth of field scales.
The fact he has so many followers means he does something right.
i don't agree with all he states but i have my own version in respect to my usage of equipment.The Leica people all rave about precision and reliability. I like my Leica but don't agree on those points.."axe to grind" was a kind comment!

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

I don't agree with everything I read in these forums but I don't go around saying the posters are idiots. I just wish I knew why Ken is always bashed for not stating what people want to hear. No one else seems to suffer this way and there are some real idiots on the www. Just look at the clowns going on about the "illegal" seizure of Contax by the USSR and their "so-called" claims for repatriation... There was one this week on ebay.

Regards, David

 

[bobby_novatron]

The one thing that baffles me about Ken Rockwell is his gear lust. For a guy that constantly lectures about the purity and sanctity of using a Leica M3, he sure loves his toys.

One week, he's buying a Nikon D800. The next week, he's buying a Canon 5DmkIII. Then he's buying a Nikon D800E, because the Nikon D800 isn't good enough. Somewhere in there, he buys a couple pieces of high-end stereo equipment. The following week he's shooting Tmax100 in his M3 and lecturing everyone about how DSLR's are completely inferior.

On top of that, he loves to drop condescending 'I-know-better-than-you' statements about how he worked in Hollywood, owned high-end audio equipment years before anyone else, and engineered complex electronic systems for the CIA.

Well, maybe the last part isn't true -- but with Ken Rockwell, hyperbole is part of the fun. 🙂