Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/08/10
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Well put, Adrian! But I still can´t help being envious... but not for the cameras. All the best! Raimo photos at http://personal.inet.fi/private/raimo.korhonen - -----Alkuperäinen viesti----- Lähettäjä: apbbeijing <apbbeijing@yahoo.com> Vastaanottaja: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us> Päivä: 10. elokuuta 2000 4:42 Aihe: Re: [Leica] 9 Leicas >on 9/8/00 10:04 PM, Miro Jurcevic at miroj@ozemail.com.au wrote: > >> Use poorer members of the LUG can only drool at the idea of 9 M's. That's >> more than any dealer normally has in our neck of the woods. > > >Miro, > >What makes you think I am any richer than you? You know nothing about my >financial circumstances other than the number of cameras I use. Perhaps you >get jealous of the guy at the garage for his having a set of tools you might >only dream of? Or the truck driver with that huge vehicle, so much bigger >than what you get to work in... > >My cameras are the tools I use for my work. I use them because they work and >because I like them and because I know they accomplish what I set out to do >with them. I do not have the option of rental or of going out to buy a >replacement when I need it since that involves too much time and expense. > >When I started out in China I had a suitcase and a couple of Nikons that I >had bought second hand, paid for with money I had earned from selling my >photographs. I also had nowhere to live in this totalitarian state. Many >years of hard work, hard travel you can barely imagine and a passion to >create ever better images has led me to the situation where I have acquired >9 Ms. I am sure I spent less on these than the majority of LUGGERs spent on >their car(s). I am not a collector and every camera has to pay for itself or >it is on the block. My film costs BTW dwarf my equipment costs and always >have. Maybe instead of drooling you should take some photos that are worth >the attention and $s of others and you too could have what you want to make >the photos you dream of with the best tools on the market. > >I have no idea what you do for a living but I can assure you that the vast >majority of photographers make far less than most other professionals, >including plumbers, truck drivers and garage mechanics so don't assume a guy >with a set of tools is loaded. It is cheaper for me to have 9 Leicas than 1. > >The funny thing is that to start out as a professional photographer does not >involve a large initial outlay: if you have a $200 camera and a $60 flash it >can be very clear very quickly whether you have what it takes to make a >living. To be able to do a wider variety of work and grow creatively most >(but not all) photographers choose to use more equipment to realise their >vision. The vast majority of my clients do not specify even what format they >want for the jobs they give me: they explain their demands and expect me to >do what I feel is best. If my preferred way of working was to shoot with a >Holga and make digital prints then so be it. It better be good or I don't >get any more work. There are photographers who do very very well using such >equipment and others who do miserable trash and fail to make a living with >hundreds of thousands of dollars of fancy Swiss cameras and lighting >systems. > >Oh and how many Leicas do you suppose the dealers have in stock in my neck >of the woods? > >Bests > >Adrian > > >-- >Adrian Bradshaw >Corporate and Editorial Photography >Beijing, China >tel/fax +86 10 6532 5112 >mobile +86 139 108 22292 >e-mail apbbeijing@yahoo.com >OR adrianpeterbradshaw@compuserve.com > >Please note my new mobile number (as of August 1st) > > >_________________________________________________________ >Do You Yahoo!? >Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com >