Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/12/17

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Subject: Re: [Leica] W. Eugene Smith
From: Johnny Deadman <deadman@jukebox.demon.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 19:06:40 +0000

on 17/12/99 4:27 am, Eric Welch at ewelch@neteze.com wrote:

> sometime around 12/16/99 9:52 AM, Mark Rutledge at markrut@ticnet.com was
> heard  to write:
> 
>> SInce it seems LUG'ers know everything(gratuitous flattery!), any ideas on
>> what camera W.E. Smith used, C-word or Leica? Saw some images of Jazz
>> musicians in the last issue of Doubletake on the stand, very cool, not the
>> stuff I,m used to seeing from him.
> 
> He used everything that was available. His last camera seems to have been
> the Minolta SRT. That's what he shot his most successful essay, Minimata,
> on.

Gene Smith ditched his rangefinders in favour of SLRs sometime around the
early 70s, I think. But he used a LOT of cameras...five at once, on some
occasions. As far as I understand it, he had two 35s and two 90s, one each
of colour and b/w. What the fifth lens was I've never been able to work out,
but I suspect it was a backup b/w body with a 35.

Am I alone in finding his work... not that interesting? Probably.

- --
Johnny Deadman

photos:      http://www.cinematic.freeserve.co.uk
music:      http://www.jukebox.demon.co.uk