RE: [Leica] I missed it.

["Paul Klingaman" <pklingaman@hotmail.com>]

Robert,

Thanks.  I think that clarification was an important one.  I myself was 
quite confused as to what you were going for.

I posted the original message, "I missed it."  In making the switch from 
AF to rangefinder, I was looking for advice on how to focus faster, but 
thankfully, I received so much more.  Thanks to everyone who posted a 
response.  Your advice is much appreciated.  Just in case you're 
curious, I did get the shot, and the results are fantastic.  I have 
decided to practice the method of pre-focusing to infinity, then turning 
down to the subject distance.  This makes the most sense to me, as most 
of my subjects are 5-15 feet away, and my summicron lacks a focusing 
lever.

Thanks again, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your responses.

Sincerely,
Paul Klingaman

>Eric:
>
>I was the originator of this eye contact thread.  To clarify it, it was 
in
>comment to Nathan's Belgium market scenes where some of the pictures 
just
>showed the backs of peoples heads, not people looking off somewhere.  
The
>exception on this page are the one of the little girl ,Tongeren 10, and 
the
>two boys checking out a find, Waterloo 88C.  It may have been better to 
say
>that the viewer has to connect with the expression of the face in a
>photograph.  It matters little whether or not there is eye contact as 
long
>as there is some connection to the viewer.  
>
>http://members.xoom.com/wajsman/belgian.htm
>
>My Noctilux page has some of both eye contact and the subject looking
>elsewhere.  For example, Jennifer, Boyd, Bruce and Kim are not looking
>directly into the camera and the pictures work.  The Baby picture has 
the
>the little girl staring right at me.  This picture works because of 
this.
>Look at the basket ball picture at the bottom of the page.  It is 
player
>42's expression that makes it. All of these pictures on this page are 
not
>staged.  I just press the shutter relase when I like the composition.  
None
>of them are posed.  
>
>http://home.istar.ca/~robsteve/photography/Noctilux.htm
>
>As Eric knows, when you have a camera to your face people around just 
get
>used to it and start to relax.  The lack of flash also helps, as they 
are
>not self concience about you taking pictures since there is no flash to
>announce that you just took a picture.  This is where Leica excells.  
You
>can use fast lenses and get decent images where others need flash or 
faster
>more grainey film.  My Basketball shot on the Noctilux page was taken 
with
>E200 pushed to EI 320, while most other photographers were using EI
>800-1600 print film.  On my R6 I was using F2 lenses which were still a
>stop or more faster than the other photographers lenses.  This still
>allowed me to use the EI 320 slide film.
>
>Regards,
>
>Robert

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