[Leica] STORY SERIES AS A TEST FOR THE NEXT BOOK? :-)

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (tedgrant at shaw.ca)]

OK ! Glad so many liked the first couple. :-)

The Rocket Car

 When  film motor drives' for the 35mm camera appeared on the market, it was

the answer to the action photographer's prayer. So many thought!

 

The motor could advance film at 5 or more frames per second, allowing the

photographer to capture peak action every time; well it was thought to.

 

Many photographers found to their sorrow, by relying only on the motor and

not their reflex instinct to release the shutter,  were missing the precise

moment of the action.

 

A story from a small town in Ontario, Canada of an old time photographer 
shooting

with a 4 X 5 Speed Graphic and how he bailed out a so called super "hotshot" 
big city news

photographer explains it all. :-)

 

An inventor in the town had built a rocket engine car that caught the

attention of a big Toronto newspaper.  The paper's regional editor phoned and

arranged a test of the car to allow a writer and photographer to do a story.

 

On test day the news photographer mounted three motor-driven cameras along

the track to ensure he would capture the moment of engine ignition.

He tested them with several bursts to ensure they were synchronized ready

for the fiery blue flame spurting from the exhaust upon ignition.

 

While the hotshot was going through all the testing, the old timer made

ready.  He removed the dark slide from his Speed Graphic film magazine,

cocked the shutter set for action with his "one sheet of 4 X 5 film."

 

Finally everyone was ready, car and driver, motor driven cameras, Speed

Graphic and one sheet of film.  The engine ignited, there was a brilliant

flash of blue flame, the  hotshot fired his three rolls of film, the old

timer's shutter went, "Click!"

 

The hotshot asks for a restart of the car one more time, "Just in case we

missed it."  Same sequence takes place, three cameras burning up film at 5

frames per second: The old timer and Speed Graphic goes, "Click" !

 

The next day the old timer received a phone call from the photo editor of

the Toronto paper. "Were you shooting the rocket car startup?"  "Yep" the

old timer replied.

 

Photo editor, "Our guy missed the flame, did you get it?"

 

Old timer, "Yep, which one would you like?"

 

Moral of the story:

Equipment isn't everything.  Photographers must still have an acute sense

of timing to make it work.