[Leica] Loony for chrome

["Robert Appleby" <rob@robertappleby.com>]

BD wrote:
>>>>>
Next, a camera, unlike a home appliance or car, is, if one is serious
about photography, simply a tool. It's a hammer. It's a saw. Sure, you
may prefer the black hammer to the silver hammer, but it's not exactly
something you're going to spend a lot of time thinking about, or
discussing with the carpenter working next to you on the job...
>>>>>

Well, call me a whatever, but I think some cameras are cool to look at as
well as play with. How about the ALPA MF camera, the chrome Leica M4 or the
Hasselblad wideangle camera? They all look cool and they all make me imagine
using them for different things - the look inspires me.

The Alpa would be wonderful for shooting MF chromes on pilgrimages to
himalayan ice-caves, the M4 for BW portraiture of French diplomats and the
Hassy for street photography in the crowded markets of Babylon.

I passed up a mint chrome M4 a few months back and have been kicking myself
ever since. I'd only ever use it with a 50/2 with detachable hood, of
course. No rapidwinder please! This is a camera for the single frame that
counts.

The Alpa with transparent handles and gold trim would be ideal for those
Thesiger-like expeditions on foot to places I haven't even heard of. I'd
photograph virile camel handlers squinting into the sun and nautch girls
dancing lasciviously in veils of perfumed incense. I'd pack it right next to
my well-thumbed copies of "en l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs",
"purgatorio" and ibn Battuta.

As for the Hassy, I'd saunter down to the markets with this incredibly
recherche piece of kit that the poor buggers I'm photographing couldn't even
begin to imagine how much it cost and - with the occasional angry glance at
intrusive touristas - nonchalantly elevate the ordinary to the ranks of the
sublime, secure in the knowledge that the keen blade of my visual
sensibility and the unbeatable optical precision of the lens are perfectly
matched.

Loony enough for ya?

Rob.