[Leica] Re: M8 WONDER MACHINE! :-)

[jsmith342 at cox.net (Jeffery Smith)]

Ted,

I've felt the same way after looking at some of the B&W Rolleiflex shots
from Capa and others in the 40's and 50's. I have picked up a few Rolleis
from the 50's era and find them to be as much fun to shoot as rangefinders.
And I sure wish that Kodak had not stopped making Super XX film. While I
have heard that it resembles Ilford FP4+, I've never seen a side-by-side
comparison.

Jeffery Smith
New Orleans, LA
http://www.400tx.com
http://400tx.blogspot.com/



-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+jsmith342=cox.net@leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+jsmith342=cox.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Ted
Grant
Sent: Friday, September 22, 2006 5:14 PM
To: Leica Users Group
Subject: Re: [Leica] Re: M8 WONDER MACHINE! :-)


Jeffery Smith asked:

> Ted, inasmuch as you were shooting during the golden age of 
> Rolleiflex,
> did you ever use one on a regular basis? Most of the folks on the Rollei 
> Users Group seem to have an instinctive attraction to the venerable TLR, 
> but I've never heard the word "Rolleiflex" uttered in any of your LUG 
> posts.

Hi Jeffery,
Actually my very first newspaper picture that launched me into this wild 
wild life of photojournalism was a Rollieflex! :-) Not a Leica!:-) The Leica

cost too much for a guy earning $50.00 dollars a week and married! :-) I 
bought a Rollicord, had it for 28 days and knew without question because I 
didn't have a Rollieflex, I wasn't taking the best pictures possible! :-) 
And because Fritz Henle, a California photographer of some note in those 
days used a Rollieflex and he was terrific, I had to have one. :-)

This of course had absolutely nothing to do with computers and 
internet....1951 photo magazines and LIFE!

I traded the Rolliecord in looking as good a condition as it did the day I 
took it out of the store and the caring dealer?  gave me 50% of what it cost

and I bought the Rollieflex 3.5 Tessar, $310.00 and away I went!

I shot 120 Super XX film most of the time and souped in the sun porch with 
the heavy blankets off our bed nailed over the windows after sunset.:-) Now 
that's an experience in itself. :-)

Trust me a very young "she who must be obeyed" who at the time didn't know 
how to put the fear of loosing my life in her words, thought it was 
wonderful and I'd surely become a great photographer! Young brides are like 
that! :-)

Today ? She just says... "yer not buying one of those M8's whether you like 
it or not! :-) Older brides are like that! ;-) Well after 57 years next 
month she knows how to put the fear of the Almighty in me with just a look! 
;-)

So Jeffery the Rollieflex did play an important part in my career 
development. I have very few of the negatives due to lost in home moves and 
the rest are in the National Archives of Canada Ted Grant collection.

A point of interest on the Rollie, we had to always have two of them because

the magazines wanted both colour and B&W on all the stories we shot.  That 
was life in the good old days.:-) Computer? Digital?What?

Most of the guys and gals today have absolutely no idea how lucky they are 
in this beautiful world of photography! My very good fortune in my 78th year

is...." I'm still doing it with as much, if not more passion in 1950 when my

beautiful wife of 8 months gave me my first camera!  Which I still have!:-) 
Argus A2 35mm!

And the very neat part?  I still have her! :-) Gotta love that girl! :-)

ted



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