Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/06/10
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]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/