[Leica] NHG 800 and lessons learned

["gbicket" <gbicket@email.msn.com>]

Hey LUG,

Thanks again to all those put me onto this film.

I got talked into doing a wedding, and this film, with its good color, very
impressive grain, given its speed, and exposure latitude, really worked out
great.  In the soft light [outdoor wedding], the R19, R24, f4 R35-70, R50,
and R100 got quite an afternoon's workout, and the winder on my R8 and SF 20
[outdoor fill at -1 2/3 on a few shots] went through 10+ 36 exposure rolls
without hesitating.

There were fresh batteries ready, given the volume of film shot, but things
were working at the finish as they had at the start, and they weren't even
fresh batteries to begin with.  Photos were very good, with a very high
"keeper" percentage.  A good project, all things considered.

Happy family, relieved me.

I thought about all the pros on the LUG during the wedding, as this was a
family thing, and despite my recommendations, they surprised me by not
hiring a wedding photographer.  There was a lot of pressure because of this,
and after being into various chrome films almost exclusively for the last 20
years it was really a relief to see these results.  My screwing up the
wedding pictures would have been remembered at least as long as the wedding!

Wow!  What a great thing this R8 is.  The more I use it, the more I like it,
and the more I like it, the more I use it.  A real workhorse, with a meter
that helps me put the shot I "saw" in my mind, on film so faithfully.  This
project's results really finally put away the ambivalence I've felt about my
old F3HP since buying my R8 in 1997.

What a camera.  I really love this R8.

Another lesson learned:  To all our pros out there, I gained a real
appreciation for the pressure you are under to get to the right spot with
light at the right angle, and get the right shot on film.  My photography
has been such a leisurely pastime, a relaxation inducer rather than a
tension producer, this wedding project was a real eye opener for me.  Hats
off to you.  Not to worry about this amateur encroaching on your rightful
turf.  I may back up a pro again, as a favor to the family, but I will not
as the sole shooter.  Got plenty of pressure in my day job, thank you!!

On another note;

For those who'd have preferred to fuss at Erwin, snarl at Stephen, dump on
various nationalities, and indict people in 2000 for heinous behaviors of
various nationalities in 1942, sorry.  I won't go there...we are eroding the
substance of the LUG when we do.  I am no wuss, but let's mix it up on
issues that matter, and discover a little tolerance for one another.  Blind
intolerance of human differences will cost people their lives today, as they
have for thousands of years.  We are letting the LUG erode into damned
foolishness, firing electrons at each other instead of stones bullets.

LUG can be a learning forum.  What we have been learning about each other is
tragic.

Enjoy the light.  Semper R.

Greg