Would you punch Bruce Gilden in his face? :)

[cmo]

It's a perverse schtick, much like radio shock jocks, with the same one note approach. He's like a vulgar neurotraumatized Weegee. Just proves that Magnum has a sense of humor.

If you want fame you need enemies

"You are without doubt the worst pirate I've ever heard of."

"But you have heard of me."

 

[guitstik]

Yeah, I'd chop him in the wind pipe then a round house sweep to knock him off his feat and as he is laying on the ground gasping for breath I would snap a bunch of photos of him with his own camera

 

[Sirius Glass]

I would not think to punch him but might deck him with a reflexive punch if I was startled under the right situation.

 

[26x30]

No. Most of the people he selects wouldn't either, and he knows that. He seems to relegate himself to pretty typical situations: busy people heading to work, old people trotting about, vagrants that are not really in the moment. There are various definitions of street photography, much as there various levels of the definition of "street". Come poke around East Atlantic or 37th Street here in Savannah. Good luck making a concise description of your stolen gear through a mangled mess of teeth and lips. I admire some of his captures, though they seem to be more about balls than content. When looking for content, I pick Vivian Maier...

 

[Miskuss]

No way. Have you watched him work. There is nice Magnum Podcast called "Bruce has a Ball" or "Coney Island" Bruce is a people person that can photograph in your face like most of us wish we could. Check out the podcasts, he's just a pro at work. A very accomplished pro.
http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP=XSpecific_MAG.Biography_VPage&AID=2K7O3R148CS8

 

[Bateleur]

I would not punch him, I'm not like that, but I would be pretty angry, I don't mind having my photograph taken "on the street" and it has happened quite often. I have always felt a certain respect from the photographer and I like to reciprocate when I turn the camera on others. Gilden has an attitude of flippancy which is downright rude!

 

[26x30]

Bruce is a people person that can photograph in your face like most of us wish we could.

I don't argue that he is not a pro, but he is a people person as much as a mugger is a people person. Getting the jump on someone who does not see him coming is what he does.

 

[benjiboy]

Not immediately, I'd put my brass knuckles on first !

 

[daleeman]

Mace him

 

[Mike Crawford]

Never met Bruce myself but friends know him and report he's a great chap. Photography would be a bit more boring without him I think, though we could do with a few less of his imitators! He spent some time in Derby in the UK not so long ago and I think remained un-punched.
http://vimeo.com/20467479

 

[darkosaric]

Kudos to Him

 

[railwayman3]

Never heard of him.
Best punch him anyway, just to be on the safe side....

 

[guitstik]

Never heard of him.
Best punch him anyway, just to be on the safe side....

 

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

Not sure if I'd punch him, or just ask him for a free print, but he wouldn't be the only one--all those "concerned" photographers touring the third world shoving their camera in the face of hunger who also believe they have a connection with their subject equally deserve a free kick in the noots.

 

[Miskuss]

I don't argue that he is not a pro, but he is a people person as much as a mugger is a people person. Getting the jump on someone who does not see him coming is what he does.

And the photographic world is a better place for it.

 

[rphenning]

Not a chance. I would follow him around until he invited me back to his man cave and we would develop tri-x together and put more batteries in our flashes and belly laugh.

 

[rphenning]

One of my rolls on a reel and one of his rolls on a reel, same tank. That's how close we'd be.

 

[jglass]

Well, this thread is pretty enlightening to me. It seems pretty obvious to me that his work is boring and that he has nothing to say other than, "check it out, this is how people look walking down the street, some of whom have a flash pointed at them!"

I guess that's not a universal feeling, but it seems obvious. I would not praise his balls; more of an ass-hole situation if you ask me.

 

[Colin Corneau]

He's a modern day WeeGee.

Not at all the approach I'd take, but it's his. No punching, I'd just talk to him.

 

[billbretz]

His jump-in-face-and-flash photos are just one of his styles. If you don't like those or find the technique offensive, check out his other stuff. More interesting, and without the assault.

 

[lxdude]

One of my rolls on a reel and one of his rolls on a reel, same tank. That's how close we'd be.

I hope that's not some kind of euphemism.

 

[Sirius Glass]

He's a modern day WeeGee.

Not at all the approach I'd take, but it's his. No punching, I'd just talk to him.

No, WeeGee was a class act.

 

[waynecrider]

I'll wait for the day that he gets into the face of someone with PTSD, and for his sake I hope it's not a Navy Seal or Special Forces guy.

 

[26x30]

And the photographic world is a better place for it.

I agree! It takes a village, right? Some people fawn over that "deer in the headlights" capture. Some people think Banksy is God. Some people love Nickelback. To each his own.

 

[26x30]

Well, this thread is pretty enlightening to me. It seems pretty obvious to me that his work is boring and that he has nothing to say other than, "check it out, this is how people look walking down the street, some of whom have a flash pointed at them!"

I guess that's not a universal feeling, but it seems obvious. I would not praise his balls; more of an ass-hole situation if you ask me.

+1