Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/05/31
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>I do subscribe to this. THE forte of M-Leicas is that it enables >one to be almost invisible photographer. just a bystander. So why >counter this by hanging all sorts of other gadgets in you neck. Sure >you miss a few shots here and there because you don't have long >glass etc. but the fact of life is that you always lose shots. If >you look like a christmas tree with multiple bodies dangling, you >loose a lot of them, in spontaneous situations anyway. Kari, If I carry two bodies, I carry one "normally" around my neck, hanging against my chest. I carry the second one on my shoulder, so that it hangs at my side, kind of like a purse. An old trick is to sew a button on the shoulder of your shirt or jacket, to help keep it from slipping off. I find that this is very inconspicuous, and is less obvious than changing lenses if you need a different focal length. You can pick up either camera, shoot and then let it drop back. The cameras are small and flat, and very few people know what they are; to most people, the black M-cameras look like P&S cameras, since they are obviously not SLRs. If I work like this, I will maybe have a lens or two and film in my pockets, but won't take a camera bag of any sort. If you shorten one strap and lengthen the other, so that the cameras hang one above the other, you can also carry both on the shoulder. I find, however, that I end up with a stiff shoulder when I do this, because I tend to be conscious about the straps slipping off and keep that shoulder tense. The cameras are very inconspicuous when carried like this, however, and you can use your arm to keep them from swinging. I personally find that it works best to be open about taking pictures, but not showy about it. If it looks like you are trying to secretive and furtive, you call attention to yourself and put people on their guard. On the other hand, if you have a lot of hardware hanging on you and make a big deal about it, you call attention to yourself and make people self-conscious. Being open but casual, I find, works best for me. HCB, of course, usually used one camera very discretely. W. Eugene Smith used to sometimes carry a ridiculous number of cameras at once. After being aware of him clanking and fussing with them, the people he was shooting often ended up ignoring him completely, since he seemed to be in his own little world. Eisensteadt talked about a similar tactic, where he would fuss with his cameras and act like a rank beginner, even being slightly obnoxious about it, until the people around him tuned him out. - - Paul