Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/06/29
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 01:44 PM 6/29/98 -0700, you wrote: >a computer never >controls my Leica. I have never used P, A, or T mode for creative >photography. I do the creating, not the camera > >Well... I tried. You all seem to completely miss my point. Did anyone out >there understand what I said? Indeed yes, Jim. The Leica Ms' manual features and intuitive feel give me more control of my image-making too. There's an article along these lines in the latest issue of Camera Arts magazine by Jim Hughes, who was editor of the orignal Camera Arts, if anyone else here remembers that magazine. His piece mentions Leicas but is really about the advantages of rangefinders and how resuming their use -- in his case, some Cannon 7s and an early Retina -- helped him regain joy in photography. Here's a quote of the passage I found most meaningful, and I trust I'm not violating copyright laws in passing this along: ''I understand the interpretive intricacies of exposure today because bracketing, or depending on a built-in computerized instant-off-the-film automatic meter, was not an option when I was learning. I find that pictures tend to be better the harder the photographer, not the camera, has to work. Call it concentration, or intensity, or focus. Light is what the photographers need to see, but it takes practice to see it well.'' He says a lot there, I think. That's not to say auto modes have no place. But this old technology can allow more control, if you want it and know how to use it. Bill Welch