Re: [Leica] preferred lens for a riot

["Ted Grant" <tedgrant@home.com>]

Kyle wrote:
>>. no telephotos. a helmet maybe. a gas mask maybe. a telephoto?
> never. get in there and get bloody.<<<<

Hi Kyle,
I'll pass on the bloody part as you can't see anything through the view
finder with it filling yer eyes after a good whack. :-(

However, in my crazy youth of thinking it was a cool assignment to be
involved in demos and then being whacked a couple of good ones on occasion,
today I'd rather watch it on TV at the expense of someone else's skull. :-)

But without question, a long lens will get you into big time trouble as it's
much too easy to be blindsided while isolating yourself from the immediate
and surrounding activity.

We, some wire guys and newspaper shooters, carried a Canon Sure Shot for
this kind of activity as it was cheaper to replace the Sure Shot if broken,
than a Leica, Nikon or whatever.

But the bottom end is, if you want to shoot this kind of stuff there is only
one way to do it effectively, short lenses and right in the middle of the
melee and tear gas! However, I don't recommend it to any one.
ted

Ted Grant Photography Limited
www.islandnet.com/~tedgrant