[Leica] Which camera would you NOT CARRY IN YER POCKET

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant)]

Subject: Re: [Leica] Which camera would you NOT CARRY IN YER POCKET
ted said:
>> I put an M on my left shoulder and I feel no different. It's part  of my 
>> attire. Actually I feel undressed if it isn't there. And the  strap is 
>> set specifically to allow the camera to come up to my left  eye and go 
>> "click!" And down before anyone realizes I've done it.;-)<<<

Ric Carter asked:
> why left?
> > left eyed?

Hi Ric,
that's the only eye that works! ;-) The right eye just goes along for the 
ride!;-)

Besides it goes beyond bad eye good eye to when we used Speed Graphics with 
big Multiblitz strobes with battery/power packs that weighed a ton usually 
carried on the left shoulder.

Much like some folks have a dominant left eye, no different some folks have 
a dominant right eye. They also have a dominant shoulder they'll carry 
things on.

I've always carried my camera gear bag on the left shoulder. So it's 
automatic for the single M to go on the left shoulder.

In my case depending what I was shooting, sometimes I'd be working with 3 
M's off my neck, stacked one above the other so they didn't bang together. 
Usually top to bottom 21-35-50, 35-50-90 or 21-28-50. Two motor driven R's 
on the left shoulder and one R off the right shoulder. Most often all the 
same film but different lenses.

However one should always keep in mind.... "Never carry more gear than you 
can run with!" :-) And yes many a time I had to run with all that stuff and 
try to keep it from clanging and banging to-gether. Most times I could.:-) 
Then there was the odd "OOPS!"

One of the most significant pieces of M equipment that came into my hands a 
number of years ago in relation to my eye was a Tom Abrahamsson RapidWinder. 
It allowed me to continue shooting an M without taking the camera away from 
my eye to advance film.

I've tried Leica M motors, actually each time they came out with a new and 
improved version I bought, tried and got rid of them!  They were all junk, 
still are as they thunk-clunk and make the shutter release pop up and down 
like a yo yo.

With Tom's RapidWinder I can get 3 frames a second if need be ... manually 
and without any noise nor batteries!

So now you know why I shoot left eyed with a right eyed camera! :-) Actually 
it's a bonus because as I look at the scene before me, I see it as a flat 
surface print! Handicap? Not on your life! :-)

ted