Re: [Leica] Birthing. Chalk another for the old campaigner! ;-)

[Gerry Walden <gerrywalden@cwcom.net>]

What a really great insight into the workings of a true pro!

Gerry

Ted Grant wrote:

> Hi Guys & Gals,
> I realize we had conversation on birthing in the past, so be it, simply
> because every birth is different despite what some of you may think, I
> thought there maybe something from this one! ;-)   Please try to not
> complain about the topic coming up again, as you may just learn something,
> besides this is about "using Leicas!" Not talking about them. ;-)
>
> Yesterday spent 8 hours in a birthing room: Neopan 1600 & Delta 400,  2
> R8's - 2 M6's.
> 15 mm Voigtlander, 28 mm 2.8, M&R, Noctilux f. 1.0, 80 R 1.4, no twinkie
> light! ;-)
>
> 14 rolls later, an aching old bod, very tired legs, headache, hungry and
> thirsty! I went home and crashed! Hey come on, the mom isn't the only one
> who gets tired in these things. ;-)
>
> I wasn't standing around doing nothing, as I was shooting the little nuances
> during a birthing, you know the nurse carrying out various things, the
> husband holding the mother to be's hand or caressing her brow.  It was
> standing there, however it was a camera always at the ready in hand and
> watching every little thing going on. Mother's facial expressions as a
> contraction began, me waiting camera to eye for a particular expression.
>
> Not only that,  there is a kind of  "mental strain" of staying absolutely
> alert and not falling into a "bored mode!"  I over come this by locking all
> body senses into neutral, relaxing and  forcing a complete visual
> concentration of "high vision reaction time."
>
> If you do this, much like covering the Olympics where you have absolutely no
> control over the time, I clear my mind of anything but, "I'm here until
> everything is over"  it's much easier to cope. You can't be standing there
> looking at your watch entertaining any thoughts of, "when the hell is this
> going to be over?"  Simply because, it's over when it's over and the baby
> starts hollering!! ;-)
>
> As the afternoon dragged into evening, the lighting became worse, loosing
> daylight from the window. To make things worse, the duty nurse turned the
> soft room lighting down to softer. Like how about ASA1600 at 1/8th and
> 1/15th at 1.4 and 1! Talk about "real available darkness!" And some with the
> 28 at 1/4!
>
> The R8's were used similarly to the M6. It means you concentrate on the
> camera handling at the moment of release more so than one might when shutter
> speeds are higher. Do I expect to have "squigglys?"  Yep, no doubt about it,
> no one is 100% perfect at those shutter speeds. What one hopes for, a
> squiggly isn't on one of the "good ones!"
>
> To cover this kind of event when you have no idea what the time will take, I
> do the following to make it easier on oneself.
>
> Do not drink a lot of liquid before you start!  Wear very comfortable shoes
> and clothes, the kind you can get out of in a hurry if the patient is moved
> to the OR and you must change to OR garb. Loose clothing is best, no neck
> ties or constraining clothing, a small bag of raisins in the camera bag to
> keep the hungrys away.
>
> Stay relaxed at all times, you ain't going anywhere! Don't take the doctor
> or nurses word that ":nothing is going to happen for some time!" It's
> Murphy's law, that if you leave for a coffee or food.... the baby will
> automatically know you've left and arrive while your away!  If you stay ...
> the little son of a gun will take for ever, just as the doctor told you!"
> Trust me the bambino knows you are out there waiting! :-) or not! ;-)
>
> Take lots of film and avoid at all costs running out of frames on all 4
> cameras at exactly the same time!  Very bad scene trying to re-load in a
> panic when everything is happening!  Just like covering the Olympics keep an
> eye at how many frames are left on each camera to avoid this.
>
> Bottom line? Stay cool and relaxed! The end results will be better if you do
> and the proof of how well you did will be when the film is developed.
>
> Oh yeah and a shoot like this always reminds me of how bad a physical shape
> I'm getting into! Whomever said the "Golden Years are great,was an idiot!"
> :-)
>
> There you go eh? Piece of cake. Hopefully you learned something. ;-)
> ted
>
> Ted Grant Photography Limited
> www.islandnet.com/~tedgrant