[Leica] "They wanted tack sharp"

[Mike Johnston <michaeljohnston@ameritech.net>]

> One of the hardest jobs I've had lately was photographing kids in a
> playground for McDonalds.  I took 12 rolls of film with the R6.2 and R8 and
> got 10 good photos that could be enlarged to 20x14.  I liked some of the
> ones that showed the blur of the kids moving, but they wanted tack
> sharp.  I was exhausted after two hours following the kids around!


Tina,
Do I ever know what you mean. For a year or so I was a staff photographer
for a large public school system. This pretty much describes every day's
work--esppecially that "exhausted" part. Add to that the school system's
insistence on certain species of propaganda (there was a whole list of
subjects that couldn't be pictured and couldn't _appear_ in pictures, even
in the background--for instance, venetian blinds, because they looked "cheap
and institutional"--never mind that half the schools had venetian blinds on
half the windows) and the whole exercise was trying at best. Finally, add in
the wild card that I was always keeping half an eye out for personal
pictures...okay, maybe a bit more than half an eye....<g>

- --Mike