Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/07/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Carl Socolow wrote <<<<<I used to do daily news photography I worked with guys who had grown up using Speed Graphics. For them, they had one good chance at making the photo; a second sheet of film was often a luxury.>>>>> Hi Carl, How true a posting! I know just the kind of guys you are talking about. I was influenced by and learned more from the gang I worked with than any other group. We had 12 sheets of 4X5 film and 12 assignments! And if you shot a second sheet on the same subject, there was a possiblility the old guy who did the printing might kill you for making more work for him. :) He just put the fear of the great God of the Darkroom in you if film was wasted. He wouldn't print any of those "toy negatives (35mm) so don't bring them in here!". There was only real film, 4X5 and toy film. Toy, meaning anything smaller than 4X5.:) <<<<Of course lens changes were next to impossible. This brought to them a discipline which they instilled in me. Namely, that you could do just about anything with a 50mm lens on a 35mm camera. If you wanted a tight shot move in closer; a wide shot, move back.>>>>>>>> This is such a simple way of thinking and shooting that it gores right by many of the younger crowd today because they've grown-up with zooms and and carrying quick interchangable lenses. Many of them wouldn't think of backing-up for a wider shot, lean back maybe. Walk back 20 feet? Forget it. :) <<<<<Timing, awareness, subject knowledge, discipline and interaction were the qualities they continually emphasized. So, too, were lighting and a sense of narrative or story telling.>>>>>>> They're still the best basic commodities for shooting today! However, many still have the idea the "best ___camera__ in the world takes the best pictures!" :) ted Ted Grant This is Our Work. The Legacy of Sir William Osler. http://www.islandnet.com/~tedgrant