Re: [Leica] Street photography

["Dan Post" <dpost@triad.rr.com>]

Erwin-
Who in their right mind would challenge you on that account!?
I can state from actual experience that a person peering into the viewfinder
of a Rollei 2,8F ( or any waist;eve; viewfinder, for that matter!) is
usually not taken by passersby as taking a photo- I used both the Rollei and
an Hasselblad for weddings, and often shot candids without anyone being
aware of their photograph being taken- and shooting candids at a wedding can
be an awful lot like street photography in a crowded street!!
I think that the sight of a person peering down as if looking at their shoes
makes the subject practically unaware that their photo is being taken.
The natural thing for a person, and any animal is that directly looking at
someone is akin to a challenge- in the animal kingdom, a steady gaze, or
stare is taken as a 'hostile' behavior, and I think that man still preserves
that interpretation down in the primitive core of the 'old brain'
It is no wonder that some people cannot bear someone staring at them, or the
fact that some women get very uncomfortable when looked at intently--- hence
the phrase, "whaddaya lookin' at?!"   :o)
A person peering DOWN is no challenge, and the subconcious raises no
'hackles' nor does it sound an inner alert.
Yes, a Rollei is a pretty nice camera to use for street photography! I miss
mine, but then I have given myself the challenge of becoming 'proficient'
with the 35mm Leica, and so limit myself. I wonder if I can find one of
those Leica Waist Level Finders real cheap?
Actually, anything that works for the photographer to get the image he/she
wants is fair!
Dan ( Jus' call me 'Sneaky Pete'!) Post

- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Erwin Puts" <imxputs@knoware.nl>
To: "L U G" <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Sunday, July 30, 2000 12:34 PM
Subject: [Leica] Street photography


>
> My state of mental health has been questioned when I cited that the
> Rolleiflex and the Speed Graphlex were good instruments for outstanding
> street and documentary photography.
> If photographic history is a guide, I may mention Boubat, Doisneau, van
der
> Elsken as exemplary street photographers with Rolleicord and Rolleiflex,
> with a quality of dynamics and available light scenes than many a
> contemporary Leica photographer would have put to a challenge.
> For larger format photography the history is even longer, spanning from
> Lewis Hine (Graphlex) to  Walker Evans (4x5 inch) to Weegee (Graphlex),
> Berenice Abbott, August Sander, to the Japanese Araki with a 6x7 camera.
> I do not deny the excellence of the 35mm format for this type, but my
> reference was meant to broaden the perspective.
>
> Erwin
>