[Leica] Re:Black ZI

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant)]

B. D. Colen offered:

> Yes, the M is wonderfully quite, and I like that fact. But there are many
>cameras that are wonderfully quite - (as I think I posted a while ago,
>when I fired off my M, and then my E-1 DSLR to demonstrate the M's quiet
>to my students, they all thought the M was "louder" than the DSLR. I
>think they're about the same, but the sounds are 'different.') Certainly
>Rollei TLRs are quieter than the M.

Hi B.D.,
I've tried the same thing with people listening for the "quiet M shutter" 
and had similar re-action. However, I think what happens is, people 
"turn -up their hearing" and are distinctly listening for a sound, therefore 
more aware in the "click of the M." Where in fact, if their minds are 
involved with something else and normal peripheral sounds, they do not 
distinguish the shutter sound from anything else.

I've shot during meetings with a dozen people around a board room table and 
never once had anyone re-mark about camera noise, nor my movements about the 
room while changing shoot positions.

The secret of changing positions is to have cased the room first, know 
exactly where you are going to move to, then watch the eye direction of the 
people and when they're pretty well all looking in the opposite direction to 
you, move quietly and smoothly to your new position, sit down, wait and be 
still. In most cases you have changed position and sitting on the other side 
of the room and the majority of the people at the table never know you've 
moved.

Just like a stealth bomber. ;-)

>What matters in unobtrusive, stealth if you will, photography, is NOT
>the shutter noise, but how you handle the camera, and how you conduct
>yourself. If YOU are quiet and unobtrusive, and if you don't keep
>bouncing the camera up and down from your face, you can shoot with a
>shoulder mounted rocket launcher and no one will notice you. <<<<<<<

Absolutely right on the mark!!

I've watched photographer's attract attention to themselves like a bull 
elephant in a china shop. While others move with the smooth silent motion of 
a ghost. It's about motion and movement, and one can stand or sitting 10 
feet or less from someone and shoot without ever drawing attention to 
themselves that they're actually shooting.

When I first acquired Leica's many years ago I was fascinated with the 
photography of the greats of the day in "how could they shoot so close and 
people not know they had taken a picture?"  It's a learning process by doing 
it over and over again. Then when you get it right you can sit on a park 
bench while shooting the person sitting at the other end and they never know 
you've actually made an exposure of them.

You never look at them and there's never any direct eye contact at anytime. 
You only see them in the view finder! And if they look at you, you just keep 
the camera to your eye as if you're taking a picture beyond them. When you 
put camera down you look right past them into infinity. In many cases the 
subject will look in the direction you're looking to see what you're taking 
a picture of. ;-)   KISS baby! ;-)

Once you have that down pat you can shoot almost anywhere and be invisible. 
:-)

ted