News with the Leica M9.

[250swb]

First, I would like to express my condolences on the stolen camera. Terrible news.
I like a few of these photos. However, a lot of them look very much like snap-shots. A point and shoot camera would do you just fine for photos like these. Looks like you need to get closer. Just some friendly critique. I am guilty of the same thing quite often as well and since I value critique very much, I thought I would reciprocate.

I know what you mean. There is a vast difference between simply recording that an event took place and making a compelling journalistic image that tells at least part of the story.

There are a couple of nice photo's in the set, but I'm surprised a working photojournalist hasn't been far more brutal in editing them down. You should be your own best critic after all, or is that a facility we are losing with the unedited stream of conciousness that the internet encourages?

Steve

 

[jbf]

aye. ive been to a workshop or two and had professional editors cut me down. its normal. its healthy. its the only way to grow.

criticism is good. criticism that hurts is usually the ones that are the most important to listen to. regardless if you agree with it or not. more often than not even the most negative art critics responses on art/photos/whatever will have positive insight that we can take from it.

 

[Matus]

I guess the comments above are the reason why we have rather little professionals in photography around here showing their work. People are mostly not interested in direct critique from amateurs about the stuff they do for living.

To me personally - most photos are not interesting, but this is directly related to the fact that reportage photography does not attracts me as such. I actually think that in the line of the purpose intended many of the shots are very well composed (for example the fallen tree - it is as tight crop as possible showing the tree large enough to see in a small print in newspapers but still showing bit of the car on the right side and makes clear that there is some action being taken) - they give very fast the idea about "what is going on". To me that sounds like a necessary part of reportage shots.

 

[noimmunity]

Picture #22 in post#2 (the one of the female with a GAP shopping bag) is briiliant. Could be a poster for Snyder's 2004 Night of the Living Dead remake, Dawn of the Dead. Consumer zombies. The "joy to the world" bag in the right corner, coupled with the lost-looking gentleman in the left background really bring the point home.

(Clear proof to me, an amateur M8 user, that the frame lines on the M9 are MUCH more accurate at medium distance).

 

[Ronald M]

This is what is Leica was made for. A reflex camera is for "artsy" shots with perfect composition etc.

Nothing wrong with carrying a reflex if you need to cover an air show or sports event, but for what you need to do up to 135 mm, a Leica does very well.

Thanks for showing.

 

[luuca]

I agree with filmfan.

the shots seem to be only casual shots, without a minimum of care in composition and timing.
example: look at the pic of the surfer coming out the water.
In a shot like this there's no reason to have such a unstraight horizon (it doesn't add dynamism to the scene)... 30 seconds of PP would have fixed it.

a few are very interesting: the one with the 3 cops, the man with the umbrella, the fat guy on the chair... imho the others are not strong enough to describe the event.


ps: I'm very sad for your stolen 5D...

...
To the critics, I would challenge anyone to rush around to this many locations and return with something decent from each one.

I think you got the point: imho he didn't returned with something decent to be published on a newspaper.

 

[newsgrunt]

anyone know which paper Swoop works for ? would like to see how they run his photos

thx

 

[isorgb]

Doing news photography is largely just going out and getting a shot, getting back to the desk & handing it off to an editor. Editors don't like artsy shots. How many truly compelling shots have you seen in a newspaper recently? The photos are there to add a visual dimension to the story, not to be art. Long form photojournalism can have compelling more artistic photos while daily news is largely snapshots or photos like snapshots. There is a difference between news reportage photography for a job and the compelling documentary style that people love. In a nutshell, a lot of news photos are boring but they are there to add context and another dimension.

Phil Forrest

I can't agree with this. Why news photo would not will be art? Is news photo must be boring? I don't want to say that swoop photos from this thread are boring.
I have often saw interesting picture which ilustrate less interesting story, even boring story in newspaper.
I think daily news will not have to only snapshots.

 

[Jamie123]

These look like my uncle Larry took them.

Larry Towell? Larry Sultan?

 

[Jamie123]

People are mostly not interested in direct critique from amateurs about the stuff they do for living.

I think it's pretty much pointless to ask for any kind of critique from strangers on the internet. One should always seek critique from people whose opinion one respects. In real life I know better than to ask the person who just got a dslr and shoots flowers and sunsets for critique on my work. I simply don't care about their opinion and it's irrelevant to my work.
Most of the time on the internet you have no idea what the other person's taste and background is so why should you ask them what they think? It just doesn't make much sense.

 

[JoeV]

Umm, about that "critique"
Quote:
Originally Posted by filmfan
Most of these photos clearly lack many things. I don't care who his employer is. These look like my uncle Larry took them. Sorry, but no one ever accused me of not being honest, and I think it's for the best here.
[Edit: I hope the poster recognizes the value of critique and does not take this as anything personal]

Any camera is a capable tool in the right hands. 🙄

dude, if you want people to see this as a critique, rather than the broadside it clearly is, you should need to offer something more insightful than it "looks like my uncle Larry took them."

Maybe Uncle Larry is a good photographer!

I like many of these images posted; my biggest gripe is there's too many of them, the OP should have submitted a link, or culled down the selection.

Best wishes to the OP, hoping you find continued professional success with your Leica.

~Joe

 

[Spyro]

I think it's pretty much pointless to ask for any kind of critique from strangers on the internet. One should always seek critique from people whose opinion one respects.

Getting a bit off topic, but you can respect someone over the internet too 🙂
You can be surprised by the backgrounds of people represented by silly avatars.

 

[Jamie123]

Getting a bit off topic, but you can respect someone over the internet too 🙂
You can be surprised by the backgrounds of people represented by silly avatars.

I'm (obviously) not saying you should disrespect people on the internet.

Sure, you can be surprised by the backgrounds of people on the internet but the key word here is surprise. Most of the time you just have no idea who you're talking to so there's no way you can put their critique into the right perspective.

 

[kbg32]

I live in NYC and recognize a lot of the images from stories I saw on the news. Being a paid photojournalist is not an easy job. One has to be prepared to move from one story to the next without having the time to make to informed decisive judgements in composition. Your job is to get images and get the job done quickly to illustrate the story at hand. One might not ever have the chance to come back with award winning imagery every time or have the time to spend getting them.

 

[figfoto]

I think the point of what the OP was making is that you can make do with a M9 for news reportage, and he proved it. Not all news photos have to be Pulitzer prize winners, some reportage photos do look like snapshots because they are there to help illustrate the article.

 

[swoop]

Wow, this thread took on a life of its own. First of all the thread was just supposed to be a display of some M9 images. That's all really, but used in a "photojournalism" sense. But I guess me being a photojournalist is up for debate.

I don't mind the criticism and when posting images online that's an open invitation to it. And I've been told many times before by people online that I suck. I'm used to it. I'll never be as good as Bresson or Winogrand, or Tyler Hicks, that guy can take a photo of anything in any light and it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I don't pretend to be, I just bring my camera with me and check stuff out. I am not offended in the least. I've already reached the top of the field. There's nothing more for me to aspire to other than trying to take a great photo day after day.

Not everyday working for a newspaper is exciting. Especially for a daily metro. It's not all conflict zones. A lot of it is boring. A lot of it is red tape trying to get access, a lot of the assignments are run of the mill. Especially real estate. Even murder scenes are dull. It's a lot of cops standing around and yelling at you. If you get within 50 yards of an accident or crime scene, consider yourself lucky. Not a week goes by that I'm not threatened to be arrested.

Below are some of the images I posted before but with links to the stories from other newspapers so that some of you can get an idea of the kind of images that come out of a large daily newspaper. It isn't always art. I do try. But the big limiting factors are getting there in a timely fashion. How much time I can spend there before I'm sent to another story. The lighting conditions, and how much access do I have. I also only get like 20 minutes to edit them before I have to submit. I wish I could put more post processing love into a lot of photos before they're sent in but I rarely get the time to.

All of the images in the thread were taken over a two week period. Also I use mostly a 35 'cron v4 or 50 'cron lastest version. I plan on replacing my Canon system with Nikon within the next month or two. A change may do me good. I've worked with both. And truthfully regardless of which DSLR I won, I end up using the M9 for 80% of my work anyway. Especially personal stuff.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/11/nyregion/11flatbush.html?scp=1&sq=flatbush gardens&st=cse

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/09/nyregion/09murder.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=merv's bakery&st=cse

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_...brooklyn_shot_dead_outside_crown_heights.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/nyregion/14stab.html?scp=1&sq=brooklyn parents&st=cse

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local...s_father_before_throwing_himself_into_su.html

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/maniac_kills_ma_jySGY0myb13qEzUCcOvjAI

http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/events/2010/092010a.shtml

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local...to_bank_in_brooklyn_driver_hurt_police_s.html

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/...sly_in_brooklyn_school_cn4W1FnlTrKlQaE75nSa3J

http://www.ny1.com/content/130520/five-injured-in-willliamsbridge-bakery-fire

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/flame_thrower_wlknaE7wd4MKhS25GXdGfP

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local...on_top_floor_of_burning_threestory_brook.html

http://www.nypost.com/video/?channel=PostUsFeed&clipid=1458_1105801&bitrate=300&format=flash

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local...oved_young_brooklyn_dad_on_deathtrap_str.html

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/drag_racing_blafor_fatal_queens_9buRTHnFpfWxDTbTdlcLIN

 

[mto'brien]

again, nice work. i especially like the emt grad salute shot.

 

[scottwallick]

Best yet

Best yet

Below are some of the images I posted before but with links to the stories from other newspapers so that some of you can get an idea of the kind of images that come out of a large daily newspaper.

This is the most interesting and thoughtful post I have yet to read on this forum. Thank you for sharing. Your images coupled with links to the stories, your own thoughts, very enjoyable. Well done and, again, thanks.

 

[newsgrunt]

but they're not his photos. I'd like to see a link to see how his paper, whether he's staff or contract or freelance, uses them. is it the nyt, daily news, ny post ? curious minds yano 🙂

 

[nobbylon]

Although I don't want to sound critical in any way toward someone who obviously makes a living taking pics, for me, this set does not sell or demonstrate a €5500 camera. They really could have been shot on anything. Perhaps that's what we are all missing? The fact that you can use an M9 as a point and shoot and get a reasonable image that's usable for paper work.
The more I see from the M9 the more i'm convinced it's an overpriced luxury item.
My friend has been a pro photog for over 20 yrs now, fashion, advertising, reportage etc and is a Leica film fan. He uses a D3x for most of his work these days and recently bought an M9. He shot 400 frames with it and packed it back in the box. He told me that the images just look too digital and the quality is not in the same league as the Nikon. He did qualify this statement by saying that the quality was good enough for normal use and for myself would be excellent however side by side to a D3x file there was no contest.