Peter Souza: The Way I See It
Oct 18, 2020 16:43:41 #
wmcy
Loc: Charlotte
JD750 wrote:
Speaking up about what?
Here is my (Nikon user) comment. I say use the gear you like best. If you like Canon, then use Canon. If you like Sony, then use Sony. We are living in the golden age of camera tech. It's foolish to argue about brands when it comes to results. They are ALL good cameras and any one of them, when handled properly, is capable of delivering stellar results. It's the nut behind the lens that makes all the difference with the results.
Here is my (Nikon user) comment. I say use the gear you like best. If you like Canon, then use Canon. If you like Sony, then use Sony. We are living in the golden age of camera tech. It's foolish to argue about brands when it comes to results. They are ALL good cameras and any one of them, when handled properly, is capable of delivering stellar results. It's the nut behind the lens that makes all the difference with the results.
Oct 18, 2020 16:51:57 #
Camera buyer
Loc: Las Vegas
Pete Souza is just a wonderful, gifted, and knowledgeable photographer who is sensitive enough to capture great moments. Whatever instrument he used doesn’t make a difference. He’s just a true artist. I happen to be a Canon user, but if you value your craft, you master your tools.
Thank you Pete Souza!
Thank you Pete Souza!
Oct 18, 2020 16:53:55 #
spaceytracey
Loc: East Glacier Park, MT
DTjossem wrote:
I'll bet he took a LOT of photographs and only showed us his very best. :)
Well, that's what I'd do.
Oct 18, 2020 18:23:36 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
An amateur shows you all his photos, a pro only shows you his best.
Lots of folks don’t get that. The best take thousands of exposures, but are known for dozens. Ruthless self-editing is at the root of all creative processes.
Oct 18, 2020 18:49:58 #
aellman wrote:
Obviously if he used Nikon, his photos would be crap.
If I was to buy into that logic, after looking at your work I would assume you were a Nikon user.
Oct 18, 2020 18:52:13 #
burkphoto wrote:
Lots of folks don’t get that. The best take thousands of exposures, but are known for dozens. Ruthless self-editing is at the root of all creative processes.
Wasn’t it Ansel Adams that said something to the effect of if he got a dozen good images it was a good year?
Oct 18, 2020 18:55:13 #
Oct 18, 2020 19:12:37 #
scubadoc wrote:
Why are the Nikon folks not speaking up?
A bulldog can beat up a skunk any day but it’s just not worth it!
Please take this in good humor.
I am Nikon only because that’s what Sams club sold 8 years ago when I had a credit there.
Oct 18, 2020 19:19:48 #
SuperflyTNT wrote:
Wasn’t it Ansel Adams that said something to the effect of if he got a dozen good images it was a good year?
His standards were higher than most!
Oct 18, 2020 20:27:20 #
JD750 wrote:
On the other hand it's not dishonorable to ask for help and does not indicate a lack of moral character or an abdication of responsibility.
Oct 18, 2020 20:35:25 #
My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed the film.
I think Pete Suza, before and during his gig at the White House is one damn good photojournalist.
I was never the official photograher for PODUS, however, I have covered several presidential state visits and have done lots of work in the office of the Prime minister of Canada. Believe me, it's "photography hell"!
Even if you are the official guy or gal accreted to the assignment, everything and everybody is in your way- other media shooters, TV crews, SECURITY PEOPLE, aids, crowds, noise, other VIPs. and everyone is in a frenzy moving at 100 MPH. You need to really know waht you are doing to be a "fly on the wall" and come away with a good job under your belt, let alone with emotional and spontoons content, not just a bunch of grip and grin images.
OK- so the official PODUS photograher has better access than the workaday photojournalist but he's gonna witness some pretty heavy stuff-war/peace, life/death, decisions that are gonna impact the entire world and he has to keep his mind on his work and not be negatively affected.
I doubt some of the folks, on this thread who are making negative criticisms and nasty remarks would survive well under these conditions and not end up fumbling with their gear and being swept aside by the rest of the media folks.
Considering all this, Suza has many great images- good use of lighting, natural and spontaneous situations, and decent composition to say the least.
David Hume Kennerly was another outstanding White House photograher- during the Ford administration- chosen for his outstanding work during the Vietnam war.
I liked the fact that they had a "jumbo" photo gallery in the White House as an ongoing project.
I liked that a photographer was depicted as a good guy or quite a hero in the story, rather than the bad press and excentric characterizations we get in the movies and TV shows. Remember Jerry Lewis in "The Family Jewels" Mickey Rooney in "Breakfast at Tiffiny"s! At least those were funny. Many movies stereotyped photographers as loud-mouthed press shooters, invaders of privacy, the marauding paparazzi, or in TV Police dramas as voyeur and pornographers- UGH!
Politicization? Yeah- but nowadays, in the current political environment, you could present a documentary about a window cleaner or a chicken-flicker, and someone would superimpose politics on it.
Call it waht you want- photojournalism, PR photography, political stuff, candid family photos, recording of history- it's a litte of each but Mr. Suza is a wonderful craftsman and a nice man.
Anytime photographers are shown in a good light, y'all should be pleased.
Maybe we will all get a more welcoming attitude when we are out and about- shooting and folks will quit calling the police if you go near a schoolyard with a camera- not even shooting!
Attached is a shot I keep on my desk- my favourite VIPs. Former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin- at the airport. They both broke away from the security net and did a little dance among the spectators. The security guys were not smiling!
I'll have to dig up my Ronald Reagin images- he was very personable and knew how to approach the cameras.
I think Pete Suza, before and during his gig at the White House is one damn good photojournalist.
I was never the official photograher for PODUS, however, I have covered several presidential state visits and have done lots of work in the office of the Prime minister of Canada. Believe me, it's "photography hell"!
Even if you are the official guy or gal accreted to the assignment, everything and everybody is in your way- other media shooters, TV crews, SECURITY PEOPLE, aids, crowds, noise, other VIPs. and everyone is in a frenzy moving at 100 MPH. You need to really know waht you are doing to be a "fly on the wall" and come away with a good job under your belt, let alone with emotional and spontoons content, not just a bunch of grip and grin images.
OK- so the official PODUS photograher has better access than the workaday photojournalist but he's gonna witness some pretty heavy stuff-war/peace, life/death, decisions that are gonna impact the entire world and he has to keep his mind on his work and not be negatively affected.
I doubt some of the folks, on this thread who are making negative criticisms and nasty remarks would survive well under these conditions and not end up fumbling with their gear and being swept aside by the rest of the media folks.
Considering all this, Suza has many great images- good use of lighting, natural and spontaneous situations, and decent composition to say the least.
David Hume Kennerly was another outstanding White House photograher- during the Ford administration- chosen for his outstanding work during the Vietnam war.
I liked the fact that they had a "jumbo" photo gallery in the White House as an ongoing project.
I liked that a photographer was depicted as a good guy or quite a hero in the story, rather than the bad press and excentric characterizations we get in the movies and TV shows. Remember Jerry Lewis in "The Family Jewels" Mickey Rooney in "Breakfast at Tiffiny"s! At least those were funny. Many movies stereotyped photographers as loud-mouthed press shooters, invaders of privacy, the marauding paparazzi, or in TV Police dramas as voyeur and pornographers- UGH!
Politicization? Yeah- but nowadays, in the current political environment, you could present a documentary about a window cleaner or a chicken-flicker, and someone would superimpose politics on it.
Call it waht you want- photojournalism, PR photography, political stuff, candid family photos, recording of history- it's a litte of each but Mr. Suza is a wonderful craftsman and a nice man.
Anytime photographers are shown in a good light, y'all should be pleased.
Maybe we will all get a more welcoming attitude when we are out and about- shooting and folks will quit calling the police if you go near a schoolyard with a camera- not even shooting!
Attached is a shot I keep on my desk- my favourite VIPs. Former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin- at the airport. They both broke away from the security net and did a little dance among the spectators. The security guys were not smiling!
I'll have to dig up my Ronald Reagin images- he was very personable and knew how to approach the cameras.
Oct 18, 2020 20:55:23 #
Instead of the Canon/Nikon/lighting debates I focused on the very small note that he was 'Invisible' in the rooms/situations where he was shooting. Becoming invisible is an invaluable skill in getting any great candid.
If I could only be a quarter as good as he was.
Canon/Nikon is about what kind of hammer you use to drive the nail...You've got to hit the nail head, regardless of the hammer!
If I could only be a quarter as good as he was.
Canon/Nikon is about what kind of hammer you use to drive the nail...You've got to hit the nail head, regardless of the hammer!
Oct 18, 2020 21:44:09 #
Oct 18, 2020 22:29:15 #
The equipment has very litte to do with great photography- especially news and photojournalism. Back in the day, there were great times made with ger that most fols would laugh at. Beaten-up 4x5 press cameras, twin lens Rolleiflex that was on their last legs, Nikon F bodies will all the black paint rubbed off- now automation of any kind. The 4x5 shooter had to flip film holders and change flash BULBS and still mang to get incredible spot-new images. Sports action was shown with Graflex SLRs wig Big Bertha lenses that require 2 people to carry up to the press boxes above the stadiums. Some used Leicas when a lever film advance was a major convenience. The 4x5s and the Rollers had fixed lenses. You could change the lenses on a Speed Graphic, but very few did. The 127 Ektars or the 135 Optars lived and died with the cameras. I had a 135 Press-Xenotar- it was sharp as heck and considered "exotic"
When I went to 35mm for some of my work, I went with Nikon only because, at the time, their professional services were outstanding. Thy set up facilities at the Worlds Fair and the Olympics in Montreal and made all kinds of ultra-wide and super-telephoto gear available to the newspaper I worked for. Repair for pros was given priority. Nowadays, I don't care what brand I use as long as it works.
Many of the really great photographers I have run across, taken courses from, met in passing or read about, used straightforward durable simple unsophisticated equipment- well built, good glass and the rest was all talent and skill.
As for VIPs and celebrities. A very successful portrait photographer, one of the best in Canada and was extremely successful, offered this advice to me. He said as far as the public is concerned, as to your reputation, your price and your prestige, it's NOT HOW you photograph, it's WHO you photograph.
When I went to 35mm for some of my work, I went with Nikon only because, at the time, their professional services were outstanding. Thy set up facilities at the Worlds Fair and the Olympics in Montreal and made all kinds of ultra-wide and super-telephoto gear available to the newspaper I worked for. Repair for pros was given priority. Nowadays, I don't care what brand I use as long as it works.
Many of the really great photographers I have run across, taken courses from, met in passing or read about, used straightforward durable simple unsophisticated equipment- well built, good glass and the rest was all talent and skill.
As for VIPs and celebrities. A very successful portrait photographer, one of the best in Canada and was extremely successful, offered this advice to me. He said as far as the public is concerned, as to your reputation, your price and your prestige, it's NOT HOW you photograph, it's WHO you photograph.
Oct 18, 2020 23:10:50 #
Actually, if you look closely, he did have camera equipped with a flash in some situations.
He clearly is a master photographer. He knows how to adapt his equipment and technique to capture what he sees. It’s something all we photographers should work to achieve. Some of us will just be more successful.
He clearly is a master photographer. He knows how to adapt his equipment and technique to capture what he sees. It’s something all we photographers should work to achieve. Some of us will just be more successful.
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