Roll Call

["Steven Blutter" <sblutter@worldnet.att.net>]

Roll call sounds militaristic - but Leica has a history there as well as
pretty much all of man's current experience on Earth.

Steven Blutter, 43 yrs old, single (had a brief   'coffee didn't cold'
marriage 10 yrs ago - but her brother was a very good art photographer at
the time - skewed my judgement?)

Started darkrooming age 11 with a freind - was using a Kodak Sprite which
had a cute single bulb flash integrated in the body. 127 verichrome pan

Received Nikon F at 13 from encouraging parents.

Built on Nikon system through playing poker on rainy lifeguarding days,
loved the nikkormat.

Was always main photog. through high school, built the school's 1st
darkroom (with the help of a stack of blank purchase orders and a helpful
engineer.

1st serious teacher was at prep school - Don Snyder (where are you!?), who
was very much a humanist - was very strict on museum quality prints.
Remains an influence.

Went to Northwestern briefly - no art photog. and on to the Art Institute
of Chicago.  Had Barbara Crane, Harold Allen, Joyce Neimanas for profs. 
None especially influential - but school was great, but left early to be
'starving artist' in NYC (1974) with painter girlfriend.

While still in Chicago, stopped in a little camera shop in a neighboorhood
owned by a Chinese man, who told me not to be so impressed with my Nikons
as there is a better line, Leica, which was 'the best'.  Traded Nikkormat
for 111f w/50.

From reading about HCB eventually migrated to M-3's.

Made living with M-3 shooting P.R. for a few years, settled back in
Chicago.  

Had shows at least 1 a year - people, B & W.  Occasional performance art
peice, slides and words.

For 9 yrs made living shooting architectural interiors and exteriors - 4 X
5, occasional 8 X 10 - this destroyed my artwork at the time.

Went in with Dad as a manufacturers rep in textiles - still do that, on own
now - shooting and printing more!!
Working on retrospective book - slowly.

Favorite kit:
M-3 DS
Collaps. Summ 2.0 50. w/shade w/vents
Sooky-M
MR-4 meter
Polorizer (B+W), yellow, orange, skylight filters
Tri-x or Plus-X (do a lot of push processing for gritty grain)
Swiss army shoulder bag

2nd Favorite:
CL w/40 & 90C

Used summi. DR for years, but when I discovered the Sooky-M, went that way
for compactness, need close-up for faces.

Other stuff:
'cron RF 35 2.0
'ron RF 35 2.8
collaps 90 4.0
Hect. 135 4.0
Komura 28 3.5 w/Leitz finder LSM w/adapter
'cron 50 2.0 DR (as above)
Elmar 50 2.8 colaps [great lens!] (does anyone know if the new one can fit
the Sooky-M?)
2 more M-3's, 1ss, 1 ds (prefer ds)
meters etc.
table top Leitz with short head
every filter anyone ever made in 39mm (love filters!)
Canon Delux V-1 with Leicavit type winder (cool camera!)
2 1/4 Minotla
Rollei 35 S ? the little one
4 X 5 Calumet (workhorse), lenses
Ricoh autofocus to pass around at parties

Omega D2V, lenses
Omega B66XL

Darkroom can do 16 X 20 B&W archival (new last summer!, 1st in 10 yrs.)

Why are we doing this?

Steven Blutter