[Leica] focotars

["Gary and Dawn Klein" <gdklein@bytehead.com>]

When I interned one summer at a small daily newspaper, I had the honor of
working with a leitz focmat 1c.  What was interesting about this is that it
had a focotar II lens on it.  That lens was absolutely stunning at f5.6.  It
had to be as we made at the time separations with that enlarger using a
special paper that Kodak made at the time, called Resisto Rapid Pan paper.

What you did to make color separations with this system was to expose three
identical images to a special black and white paper in total darkness.  In
the first of four sheets of paper, you would use a red, then a green and
then a blue filter (RGB).  Then on the fourth sheet you would use a set of
times to crank out a black printer. It was an exacting process that required
a vacumm easel and good concentration.  I could crank out a set of seps in
20 minutes on a good day.  The editor would have to have the photo scaled
and ready to go no questions asked.  It was through that nightmare of a
process that I learned how good the focotars were and how superb Leitz
enlargers were!  We would make all the prints full frame with a verification
boarder around it as that was a registration mark.   It was really cool.
That was back when papers weren't afraid to be individual.  We printed many
photos full frame so it influenced how you shot.  It was a dream that for me
lasted as long as the internship.  It was wild.  One of the former
photographers who worked there, was a dyed in the wool Leica man.

He had M and Leicaflex stuff.  All the way to telyt 400 f6.8.  The guy went
to Ansel Adams workshops and could print like no one I have known.  He could
print circles around anyone I knew.  However, the emotional quality of his
work was not as strong as it could be, but the technical quality, took my
young breath away.  I can still see in my mind's eye his wonderful prints.

I think in the older all black and white age, I think it was harder to
master the medium than it is today with the computerization of color.  I
still love black and white a great deal as you can do so much with it in
subtle ways.

gck