Re: Black or Chrome?

[ted grant <75501.3002@CompuServe.COM>]

Donal Philby wrote:

<<<Do what we did in the 60s and 70s, buy whatever you can afford and spend a
couple hours putting black electrical tape all over the camera.>>

Hi Donal, 

During those times that was the mark of a "real photojournalist!" :) as nobdy
really wanted to have a shiny Lieca that made you look like an amateur.

I noticed someone asked what about the gooie sticky tape on a hot day?  Well
after awhile it stopped being gooie and sticky as it had all come off on you
hands to in turn wiped on an old hanky or rag under the seat of the car. :)

But a couple of black taped M4's looked like you were one of those cool
photojournalists from LIFE mag. :)

I see there were many posts about the chrome body in the positive sense of
"looking nice" but all that gets you is a ripped off camera or challenges as,
"Hey you! who you f---king taking pictures of!  F--k off or I'll wrap the
F---king thing around your neck!""And they mean it!

I'd rather be as unseen as possible no matter where I'm shooting. Yep the chrome
looks pretty and nice and all those wonderful superlatives of "pretty is good."
that create nice warm thoughts of "look at me with my nice shiny Leica camera".
But in the true sense of being an unobtrusive Leica using photographer, black is
best.

And as far as a few scratches, who cares?  They are merely tools of the trade
and as long as they keep working and recording through that wonderful glass, the
images that keep getting me more assignmnets, that is the bottom line!

ted
Victoria, Canada