LenKowitz.com: Saul Leiter

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Saul Leiter

British Journal of Photography

Last year as I was surfing the web I happened across a site that was looking for donations to help support a film being made by Tomas Leach about the photographer Saul Leiter.
I had gotten a copy of perhaps the first book published about his work. Saul Leiter early color by Steidl.
The work is beautiful and I was smitten. It's street photography at it's best and in color long before color was cool. So I contributed a small amount to Leach's effort. I return I was going to get a CD of the film when it was finished.
Months passed and I was beginning to wonder if I had made a mistake, then the mail arrived and I had my CD. I watched it with great interest and came away with great satisfaction. I had contributed to a very worthwhile project that had been executed with passion, skill and love of subject. I was pleased.
It wasn't long and I was told that film would be shown by Leach at a film festival in Denton Texas.
I made the trip and was even more proud of what Tomas had allowed me to be a small part of.
If you make photographs and get a chance, don't miss In No Great Hurry, 13 life lessons with Saul Leiter

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It occurs to me...

I've been thinking about the business of making photographs and I'm going to use this forum as a place to share some of those thoughts.
I'll also post new pictures as they get to the "finished" state and provide information on how you can go about having your very own copy. Taking a cue from Duane Keiser, http://www.duanekeiser.com/ , I think marketing my own work is the best way for me to go, at least for the time being

As I think about becoming a "photographer", I've spent some time with people who have made that choice long ago and are now working very hard at it.The work they have produced is in many cases, excellent. What I have noticed is that the profession has a very low return on the time invested. It's far cry from my previous career where the return on my time was actually very high.
Great credit is due those individuals who choose to become photographers and then actually make a "living" by making pictures.

One night last week I took two "portfolios" to the Houston Center for Photogrphy to have them "reviewed". It was an interesting experience.
I was told that the landscape work had no relationship to the short set-up comments I made and that I should keep working on the blk&wht, "Ode to O'Keffee" portfolio.
It was pointed out to me that "landsape" work is highly competitive. Interesting observation, how did I fail to see that?
It occurs to me that showing my work to strangers is a productive activity, at least for me. Unfortunately, I probably gain more from the experience than those who see the pictures for the first time. Maybe it's a fault of the work, not strong enough or unusual enough? Maybe it's the "reviewers" problem?
In any case, it's all just opinion and not fact. I will continue to seek out the opinion of anyone who is willing to look at the pictures, I will also continue to make pictures that I like.