Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/06/10

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Leica bug (as short as I can manage)
From: Alex Hurst <corkflor@iol.ie>
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 13:23:16 +0100

Alastair wrote:
>
>I hope all of you will take the time to give us a summary of you and Leica
>photography, especially those of you who lurk in the shadows or may feel a
>little inhibited by lack of English. Please uncloak and let us hear about
>you. There should be over 500 stories to tell. Please use the Subject Leica
>bug and your name so that we can file and search them. thanks

I found Alastair's post fascinating, so here's my 2 punts' worth.

Alex Hurst
Ex-adman/marketing consultant/number-cruncher for this biz.
Born 13/3/45, Kent, England

1. First bite of the photo bug.

Aged 13, with something called a Dacora Dignette (f3.5 lens, front cell
focussing). Started developing and printing my own b/w film at 14.

2. First close encounter with a Leica

Aged 18 at Cambridge University. Picked up a Leica III/Summar with all the
brass showing for the horrendous price of UKP22.00. Used this for 3 years
as a staffer for the university newspaper, Varsity. Great way of meeting
pretty girls who wanted their portrait in the paper. Also useful for
gatecrashing parties - a press pass gets you a long way.

3. How the addiction grew

Present r/f line-up consists of 2 M3s, an M2, a CL, a IIIf RD, a IIIa, a
Standard, and a Canon 7 (sort of LTM M4). Lenses (LTM and M) too numerous
to mention from 21mm up to 280 mm.

4. How the Leicaflex SL hooked me

Saw a nice chrome SL with three lenses (35/50/180) and a 2x extender in my
friendly Cork dealers at a very reasonable price. Prior to that I was ( and
still am) a great fan of old Nikons (2 Fs and 2 F2s)

The SL is the nearest thing you can find in SLR terms to the feel of the
M3, and most Leica SLR glass is definitely in a different league from its
Nikon equivalents - warmer and more plastic results. The spot meter system
(as opposed to Nikon's centre-weighted) is also very positive and accurate
if you use it in the right way.

Since then, thru the good offices of fellow LUGgers, I've acquired a second
SL body, a 21/4 SA, and a 90/2 'cron.

A great SLR system, tho' hellishly heavy - but then so are the Nikons.

5. Channelling the bug

My first love is portraiture, so the 90/2 tends to be my standard lens, but
with the spectacular landscapes and skyscapes which abound in this small
island of Ireland, I seem to be shooting scenery a lot more than I used to.

My darkroom is now entirely digital, using a Mac, Photoshop, and a Nikon
Coolscan II at the front end. An Epson Photo Stylus printer brings up the
rear. Still develop my own b/w film, tho'.

In summary, I think the pleasure and challenge for me is to produce good
photography with all those old-timers which were the classic cameras of my
youth, and way out of my price range at the time.

The SLs and the M2 are coming with me to Mallorca next week, but I won't be
climbing any mountains with them!

Slan

Alex

Alex Hurst
Cork Florists
19 Winthrop St, Cork
Republic of Ireland
Tel: +353 21 270 907
Fax: +353 21 271 248
email: corkflor@iol.ie
Website: http://www.flowerlink.com/corkflorists
Home website: http://homepages.iol.ie/~corkflor/