[Leica] WAS: What is the least amount of equipment? NOW " FAST GLASS!"

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant)]

Frank Dernie offered:
> Interesting how different Leica users are! My M6 is from 1985, it has 
> never had a flash on it. I pretty well never use flash, that is why I 
> bought fast lenses!><<

Hi Frank,
yep that's what it's all about! Fast lenses and no flash! And that routine 
has never failed me from the time I decided "if you can see it, you can 
shoot it!"  Well OK a few times in almost "total available darkness a flash 
might have helped for an exposure." ;-)

But then the mood would've been lost and the photo would have become a 
"flash picture like any other millions lit for exposure and not for content 
and feeling."

The toughest one was a situation where the news guy beside me on a count of 
three fired his flash as I shot at a 1/4 & 1/2 second and my camera on the 
longer exposure caught his light on the subject. Yeah it worked after 3 
tries. :-) A little thing to keep in mind for a disastrous moment where you 
must have an image of some kind. It was an exposure OK, but not a photo we 
used because hell it was just a flash picture. ;-)

My criteria has always been purchase "fast glass first," worry about paying 
for it later. Hell of a criteria, but it works. It'll make you money and pay 
for itself the moment you begin using it. Simply because, you'll have 
pictures from places and light levels others fear to go without a "twinkie 
light!" ;-) And your photographs sure as heck will look completely different 
and real life like than the twinkie folks.

Quote from a Photo Editor: "Your pictures always look so real and life 
like!" And that's what Leica photography is all about! ;-)

ted