Re: Roll Call

[Hunt <huntmc2@fuse.net>]

Marshall Hunt, age 55, lawyer.
I am new to the group, and my college-going son is angry because all
your postings are crowding him out.  OTOH, he is starting to get
interested in Leica shooting.  He's planning to use the spiderlegs to
copy rare books.  
I started in 1959 with the usual Argus C3.  Then I bought a IIIa and
Elmar for $30.  Eventually I learned to pull out the lens before
shooting.  That lasted until I left the car window open and didn't
notice the camera on the floor until after the rain.  The rangefinder
turned real white!
I have used most of the Leica RF system over the years, including the
Focuslide and extension tubes.  I settled on the M's with 39mm lenses,
and I have some cameras and all the 39mm lenses.  That way I only have
to carry one set of filters.  Don't sell the Visoflex system short--I
have shot sailing photos from a boat, auto racing from the side, and
lots of opera from the audience with 200 and 280 lenses.  All you have
to do is keep moving the camera, just as in shooting skeet.  The slow
mirror setting on the Viso III is great for a quiet photo of the stage.
A monopod is a help, 'cause your hand can get real busy. I admit that a
IIIf with Elmar in a shirt pocket is a lot more fun to carry around, and
sometimes I do that.
I have sold some photos of sailing and opera, and actually used the
Leica to do interiors for a book, but I use a Rolleiflex for weddings
and forensic pix, in order to get the bigger negative.  My wife uses an
M to  shoot flash of her patients for lectures, and she says there's
nothing better.  So I have the perfect wife, and perfect camera--what
more could I need?  Marshall