Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/03/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]The remedy is obvious to everyone but Leica people: use flash. What! And spoil the beautiful Leica blur? Allan On Tuesday, March 12, 2002, at 05:30 PM, Alastair Firkin wrote: >> In trying to photograph my ACTIVE fourteen month old daughter, I'm >> losing a lot of well-composed pictures with great facial expressions to >> camera shake. I think that my daughter's constant movement, which >> forces me to rush for pictures and prevents the use of a tripod, is a >> contributing factor. Trying to get down to her level also seems to >> increase the problem, but I am able to capture her facial expressions >> better from down there, I think. The Leica sling made by Lutz >> Konermann >> would, I believe, allow me to grip my M6 better and improve results, >> but >> he seems to be out of town indefinitely, and I've tired of missing good >> moments while I wait. Is there any technique or gadget I could use to >> improve my photographs? Thanks in advance for any help you can give >> me. > > I face this problem with my younger dog, who wiggles wobbles and spins > all the time. For me there are a couple of techniques. > > 1. I focus at 1m, hold the camera away from my eye, watch the dog not > the camera and snap when the moment is right. The camera is held at > arms length which seems to steady it > > 2. faster film might help, but the flash will "stop" the action. I > often use a 3/4 flash (I hate washed out flash images) and expose for > the ambient light. Slower film can actually be an advantage here. > Sometimes I use really slow film, open the lens, incite the dog and > fire the flash my hand. > > 3. stand back a little and enlarge the image > > 4. Tripods are not really part of the deal, though I will occasionally > "ambush" the prey by setting up the camera on a tripod, wait for the > critter to reach the allotted "spot" and fire -- I have to say that it > did not work too well at the Grand Prix -- I was too fast on the > button ;-) > > Cheers > -- Alastair Firkin > > http://www.afirkin.com > > http://www.familyofman2.com > -- > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html > - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html