[Leica] Sharing "talent"

[AlastairF@bhs.grampianshealth.org.au]

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I know some of you must view your Leica as a means (the tool) to an end
(unique photographs).  Equipment aside, I'm interested in what you think
the 2 or 3 most important techniques are that made your best pictures
your, well, best pictures.  In other words, what have you learned/what
do you know now, that you wish you knew when you started?

Thanks for sharing your talent,
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Bruce,

This is the sort of question I like --- can't keep a big mouth quiet, but
you must take the comments on face value, and remember, that in general my
talents lie elsewhere. Since I joined the LUG group 4 years ago, I've learnt
a lot and experimented a lot, I've met some fantastic people, and shared
some great times. The first thing I've learnt, is that you can upset people
on e-Mail newsletters very easily. Temperaments differ, and though we share
the use of the English tongue, my Australian is a different language, so
I've learnt, not to try to be funny. Photographically ;-)

1. I've really benefitted from learning to use the rangefinder as a
rangefinder, the SLR as that, the TLR etc. In particular, I've learnt and
studied techniques that allow you to mimic HCB. I can now judge exposure
[out doors] to within a stop in most lighting situations [this has had the
added benefit of me questioning my SLR readings -- and being right ;-) ]I
can now set the camera's exposure by feel. I've learnt to judge distance and
to be able to use the knob to set the lens without looking at it, and I'm
trying to learn to see and frame the world without looking through the
viewfinder and to move the camera "silently" into and out of position. When
I use these techniques I can outperform a "point and shoot" camera. I'm
faster, my exposures are more "suitable" ie balanced for the subject, not
the "scene", and my "hit" rate for "decisive-moment" images is vastly
better. 

2. As part of the above, I've learnt that some of the equipment used on
older cameras can have benefits for this kind of photography. The external
meter on an M3, can measure light without the need to bring the camera up to
your eye, and "brilliant" external viewfinders are brighter, quicker and
"quieter" that the built in jobs. These make the older camera in some ways
more suited to "street" photography [with black and white film especially]
than the newer models. I prefer the M3 to the M6 for this kind of work, and
I'm searching for 35 and 50 external finders.

3. I've learnt to use and love the Noctilux, and along with Ted's gang to
use available light to greater effect and benefit. I love to combine the M6
[now with HM] the Noctilux [f1 model, Kodachrome [now 200iso], and dusk. The
saturation of colour remains high, the mood is very evokative, and the
images are often "unique". I know lots of you out there use high speed b/w
film and the same combination [substituting artifical light for dusk] and
that is why I've tried to explore the "colour" option. I am far from
"mastering" this, but the improvement is proportional to the number of
frames exposed. 

4. I've learnt to look at landscapes both natural and man-made in new ways.
I've begun to re-embrace black and white photography of landscapes, spurred
on by George's ideals --- f16 and be there, and I've begun to realize that
"selective focus" is not the only way to isolate detail, and that it is a
technique that I'd been using too much -- and to my images great cost. I'm
looking at "city" scenes in new ways spurred on by works displayed by
LUGGERs on the web

5. I've begun to use [often badly] fill in flash as part of my SLR armoury.
If the R8 remains functional, I expect to see improvements in the new
millenium.

6. I've dabbled with older lenses, especially the Tessar on my Rollei T for
portrait work, but feel very hampered with 4 and 6 by the lack of a
darkroom. This is the next great area of work for me, and I am hoping to
solve the problem soon --- the sad news yesterday is that my idea of a
mobile caravan darkroom has struck and iceberg and is sinking with the
Titanic :-(

There are a myriad of other bits and pieces; to filter or not to filter,
lens cleaning with the "Y" fronts, avoid the rear ends of cows, tripod use
and stabilization, T-max development and film rating for more saturated
images etc etc etc

Thank you all, and heres to the coming new year. Love luck and laughter to
you all

cheers

Alastair