Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/06/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]InfinityDT@aol.com wrote: > > I'm planning to spend a (too-)short time in Europe soon, all the time in > cities, on foot and on busses, trams, trains etc. I want to take my Leica M > outfit because it is more compact than my reflex outfit... SNIP Any LUGers who shoot a lot of reversal film with an M system can help me out here? > > Also, another quandary I'm in is: I want to take no more than 4 lenses, > perhaps even 3. I'm a long-time 50mm kind of guy, so that's in the bag for > sure. Question is, for European urban-type photography, which 2 or 3 other > M lenses would you consider "essential" choosing from 21 ASPH, 28, 35 > Summicron ASPH, 90 Elmarit and 135 APO-Telyt. > > Thanks for any help. > D.T. (which is what everyone calls me) D.T., Reputations have been built on Leica Ms and reversal film. Look at William Albert Allard's work in Nat'l Geographic for example: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/media/photography/allard/index.html What really blows me away with his work is how he uses color and lets it shift all over the place. I do commercial work and I'm always obsessing about color criticality. I wish I could do what he does and have my clients accept it. Or check out Nina Berman's work on Times Square where she comments on her camera of choice: "My Times Square work is quiet, and I don’t use a flash. I feel very strongly about not wanting to bring any other light into the place. I shoot with a Leica M6, and that helps." http://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/berman/qanda.html Anyway, when I travel abroad I've learned two things. If I take too many lenses I get caught up in figuring which lens to use instead of just making photos. I've learned to make the lens fit the scenario. That being said, I bring a 21 Elmarit, a 35 Summicron which I almost always have mounted on the M6 on my chest, a 50mm Summilux for when I want to deal with low light. This I keep mounted on my M3 for focusing accuracy. I just bought a 75 Summilux (whoopee) which I plan to bring as my long lens for portraiture. Odds are I'll probably end up using the 35 Summicron as I usually do most of the time. Have a great time. - -- Carl Socolow http://members.tripod.com/SocPhoto/