Re: [Leica] an idea for a contest

[Damian Dlugolecki <damian@teleport.com>]

Brian,  Why not have people pitch in, buy the camera from you cheaply,
and donate it to Stanislaw Stawowy, our recent new member from Krakow
who we can be sure will use it well.
Damian

Brian Reid wrote:
> 
> I have a Leica IIIf, red dial, with 3 lenses (35/3.5 Summar, 50/2.8
> collapsible Elmarit (I think), 90/4 Elmar), 3 finders that I believe are
> called "imarect" (they attach to the flash shoe). I also have a Tower
> 135/5.6 for it that is not wonderful. The 50/2.8 is an unbelievably good
> lens and the finders, especially the 50 finder, are amazingly wonderful.
> 
> I am the second owner of this camera; I bought it used around 1970 from a
> Baltimore Sun photographer who was retiring. The Sun permitted the use of
> Leicas in those days; most papers didn't. I have shot about 2000 rolls of
> film with it through the years, mostly Tri-X. The camera looks like what
> you'd expect it to look like after being owned by a newspaper photographer
> and then me. Not a museum piece, but not damaged in any way.
> 
> I have an M6 now, for which I am very thankful. So I don't use the IIIf any
> more. I don't believe in owning cameras that I don't use. But this old IIIf
> means a lot to me, so I don't want to sell it. However, I think I might be
> willing to give it away as the prize in a Leica Users Photo Contest. Before
> I announce such a contest I'd like to see some discussion about what sort
> of contest it should be and what restrictions I'd place on the winner. For
> example, I don't think any working or retired professional photographer
> should be eligible to win. My goal here is twofold:
>     1. To get this camera into the hands of some needy person who will
> really use it, instead of putting it in a display case. An engineer with a
> mortgage who lives in Arizona is probably not needy; a student who lives in
> the former East Germany and who works in a grocery store is probably needy.
> But only if he's really going to use it.
>     2. To increase the amount of discussion about photography, instead of
> cameras, in this forum. I'm absolutely delighted at the pictures that some
> of you post; I keep hoping that someday I'll have something new I'm willing
> to show you all (I'm very proud of my old work, but I haven't managed to
> take a picture that makes me quiver in a long time). Maybe this contest
> would stir the pot.
> 
> Any ideas for rules? I have a pretty good idea of who I'd want the judges
> to be, but the decision would be based both on photographic quality and on
> need. I want the entire setup to go to the same person, rather than having
> the kidney go here and the liver go there and the corneas go over there.
> 
> Brian Reid

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