Re: [Leica] What are your secrets to handheld shots?

[Ted Grant <tedgrant@home.com>]

Les Bonser wrote:
<<<<The thing I finally noticed (and it took me a while because
> it's become automatic) is that I wait until the bottom of each breath to
> trip the shutter at the natural pause in each breath.
> 
> That's a little trick I picked up learning how to shoot a pistol in
> competetion. As you exhale, there's a momentary natural pause before you
> inhale. To minimize muzzle weaving, pistol and rifle shooters are taught to
> squeeze the trigger at that natural pause. I hadn't been intentionally doing
> it, but I'd been applying the same principle to my camera technique. I'm
> routinely able to get excellent shots at 1/15th and sometimes good shots
> down to 1/8th or 1/4th of a second hand-held with a 45mm/50mm lens. I say
> "sometimes" because sometimes there are other factors involved (muscular
> shake from holding a position too long, or the subject is moving too).
> 
> Anyone else have any tricks like this?>>>>>>>>>>>

Hi Les,

No tricks applied... just don't think about it and shoot at the moment
you're motivated and frame after frame will be fine, even at 1/8th or
1/4.  Yep at these speeds you'll loose some on occasion, that's a given.

But if you're thinking about your breath rate, exhaling etc. every time
you're shooting, the peak moment of the situation could  be missed.  I
suppose over 50 years as a photographer, I've had to watch my breathing
during very slow releases...1/2 sec or winging a 1 second exposure. But
usually these are a moments when one can get a few frames off before the
situation disappears.  The extra frames are called, "covering your ass
exposures! " :) 

<<<<I say "sometimes" because sometimes there are other factors involved (muscular
> shake from holding a position too long, or the subject is moving too).>>>>>>>

This "holding a position" too long with your arm locked up is something
to avoid at all cost, simply because it does you no favors, the
"muscular twitchies" last longer than you think. It's much better to
relax arm and body than trying to maintain a locked-up position for a
shot.  IMHO.

ted