Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/08/24
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Alex Brutal rhapsodized: >As everyday transport, carrying a minimum of M6, one lens, >puncture kit, small pump, lights and notebook I am highly >mobile, part of what's going on around me and free to stop >and take pictures at any time or follow my nose in the back >streets and parks looking always for the weird, the idiosyncratic, >the beautiful, the unexpected. I nose around, talk to people, >feel at home. I love the potential of any journey to turn into >an adventure of image hunting (it often does - I'm often late!). >A major element of my non-commissioned photography is to work hard >at maintaining a view of the world as a miraculous and stimulating >place, keep that jaded feeling of the Normal at bay. It makes me >feel more involved with my surroundings, rather than on the outside >looking in as can happen with cars and long lenses in a world seen >distantly, through glass. How this would change if I lived in a >car-dependant city such as L.A would be interesting. Maybe I'd have >to walk, like our ancestors did! > >Camera, notebook and bicycle are essential equipment in the search >for the Miraculous! That is a stunningly pretty summary of how I feel about 35 mm in general, and the M in particular. I would add only that public transit is an interesting & useful adjunct to this type of journey. Perhaps I dig up some of what Andrea Codrescu has written about riding the bus & post a short excerpt. He seems to need only the notebook... but he may well be the Koudelka of poets. - -Alexey Merz http://www.clearcut.net