Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/03/01
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>D Khong wrote: >> >> Friends >> >> I have just returned from a photo shoot up in the hills of north Thailand. >> The Karen people, whom I photographed, are the largest tribal group of hill >><Snip> >> After having used both systems, I have found that they are complementary. >> Aesthetically, I'd prefer the leica but then that's an emotional matter. >> >> Dan K. >> >I am very involved with an indigenous Karen person, Karen Rabiner my wife who >lives with me and who shoots with a Leica M6 and who almost clobbered me when I >tried to buy here a Contax instead. Don't try photographing her with your G2 >you'll end up for dinner! >Mark Rabiner >Aesthetically and emotionally if I were photographing a rare indigenous >endangered indignant people I would not bring a Contax G2 when I had a Leica to >shoot with. If any situation demanded the quiet dignity and quality of the Leica >system it would seem to be that. Do indigenous peoples respond better to point >and shoots? I think they would respond better to integrity. > I like that Mark. When I first read about the Karen tribe, I wondered why they have the name of a woman. Actually the tribe is best pronounced as KAY-RAN. That was my 5th trip to photograph them and they are so used to me that I can photograph them with almost any camera. I have used an M3 and 50 summilux but only about 80% of the shots were well exposed. As I photograph them on the move, lighting conditions can vary markedly from one scene to another. If I take an exposure reading everytime, I lose a few good shots. If I got the shot, I sometimes gamble with the exposure settings. The G2 gives me more freedom and better exposures under such cirsumstances. As my eyes get older, I find the diopter adjuster on my G2 more and more useful. To end up for dinner, try the Ibans in Sarawak (Borneo). Until about half a century ago, they were still head hunters. The Kuching (Sarawak capital) museum has a collection of shrunken human heads on display. Nowadays they are a jolly good bunch who like their drink of "Tuak" (a potent rice wine) to get stoned. Dan K.