[Leica] KISS/Slide Film/PhotoPerWeek

[BOB KRAMER <BobKramer@COOPERCARRY.com>]

Right on, Ted!  Simple is good.  That's why I like my M3 & M4 and an
incident meter (I have grown to love my Seconic 308).

The slide film discussion is interesting as well.  When I first got my
modern Summicron to replace my fungus-funked 50mm Elmar last January, I was
horrified at the contrast of that lens when I ran a roll of Ektachrome
through my M4.  Looked like crap.  No, worse than crap!  Black-hole shadows
and washed out highlights.  Sharp as a scalpel, but my god that contrast!

So I go to the local film emporium and demand the lowest contrast slide film
they have, and walked away with Agfachrome RSX II 100.  Promptly slapped it
in my M4, and let it sit for a month and a half.  Just never got the urge to
shoot color.  And didn't want to face the results.  Well, last Sunday I woke
up to a beautiful day and tossed on my robe and my camera, resolving to burn
that darn slide film.

Shot the sunrise from my deck and took a few snaps of the hounds.  Then went
on a long walk with Jazz and my M, feeling the unadulterated pleasure of
springtime in Atlanta, hunting for color.   It became an occurrence of pure
joy in the moment for a guy and his faithful four-legged companion!  A
stopsign screamed color.  Broken statuary whispered softly.  A painted
sidewalk and telephone pole smiled as we passed.  A chimney across the
street yelled "hey, come check out this skull!"  One of those mornings you
just want to never end; where the rest of the world ceases to exist.

And when I got the slides back, I loved the results.  Here are a few of the
shots:

http://www.mindspring.com/~rnkramer/photoperweek.html

Click on week three.  As usual my scanning and PhotoShop skills leave much
to be desired (that learning curve feels like Mt. Everest!), but you ought
to give this film a try the next time you ponder which E-6 film to use.
Nice stuff.  Now, back to B&W.  Well, maybe just one more roll or the RSX
...

Regards,

Bob Kramer

> -----Original Message-----
> 
> From: Ted Grant <tedgrant@home.com>
> Subject: Re: [Leica] =?iso-8859-1?Q?R=E9ponses?= Photo - Salgado special
> 
> Hi folks, the operative words from Nathan's post are:
> 
> >>>>>>>>>>It is very interesting and humbling to realize that he creates
> > >his outstanding images with relatively simple means, both at the taking
> > >stage and in the darkroom. <<<<<<<<<<<
> 
> If you recall what I've preached for the past 4 years,  "KISS! Keep it
> simple stupid!" it appears Salgado knows exactly what that means. :)