Re: [Leica] The rangefinder challenge

["Joe Stephenson" <joeleica@email.msn.com>]

Alex,
I don't really know if you were asking a question or just voicing
frustration. But I, too, like to photograph the sort of things you describe
as being diffiuclt to focus with the rangefinder. IIn such situations I
usually estimate the distance and set the distance scale based on my
estimate, making good allowance for DOF. It usually provides good results.
The problem is not peculiar to range finder caneras, it is also a problem
with SLR's, but perhaps to a lesser degree. Wide angle lenses greatly lessen
the problem.
Happy range finding,
Joe Stephenson
- -----Original Message-----
From: Alex Brattell <alex@zetetic.co.uk>
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Date: Friday, October 02, 1998 1:38 PM
Subject: [Leica] The rangefinder challenge

>Two recent episodes of possible interest in my development as a Leica user:
>
>Photographing in the military cemetery at Etaples, Northern France (WW1
>British base camp). Officers get more space than men. Many died in December
>1918. All so cruel, what can you do but cry in such a place?
>
>I've had repeated problems using the Leica to photograph repeating shapes
>(stairs, railings etc), I'm a bit of a sucker for such things, though I
>often ban myself from wasting film on them, brick walls too! Massed rows of
>identical tombstones are a nightmare with the rangefinder, but to my
>pleasant surprise I found the focussing to be only a slight problem - after
>8 months of carrying a Leica I've finally got some sort of feel of where
the
>distance is on the 35, 50, 90 lenses, so I could get close by feel ,
leaving
>only a couple of tombstones to sort out - which one exactly overlaps in the
>rangefinder window? - and that was eaisly sorted out by looking for fine
>details. 6 months ago that would have taken me ages ( it's still not quick
>enough!). Also, the exposure on so much white was a factor  - tonally it
was
>like a snow scene.
>
>I was photographing near where I live in East London - entrance to the
>Blackwall Tunnel there is 'hell's bus stop'. You go down piss stink
>graffiti'd stairs to a sliver of hyper-polluted pavement where you wait for
>a bus in a deep cutting where a two lane choked highway enters a tunnel. I
>had railings in the foreground as I looked down at the tunnel road and the
>bus stop. Lots of fine alignments going on - the legs of people at the bus
>stop, the positioning of white lines in the road below between the
>foreground (out of focus) railings. Waiting for the right shapes of
traffic.
>The negs are rubbish, none of that came out - parallax error,  I'll have to
>go back.  As the foreground obstructions (railings)  were so close, even
the
>slightest distance between eye and lens makes a difference. Old news for
you
>veterans out there I'm sure, but now I've learnt another little habit -
when
>there's a close (obstructing) foreground, and you're using a Leica M, just
>move a tiny bit to your left before you make the exposure.
>
>Alex
>