Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/02/26

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Subject: Re: [Leica] A camera is a box with a hole in the front.
From: "Greg J. Lorenzo" <gregj.lorenzo@shaw.ca>
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 18:56:58 -0700
References: <NDEIJCBGJPIEPDFEENCMMEBECKAA.kitmc@acmefoto.com> <008a01c2ddf7$c907fe00$87839eac@aoldsl.net>

Good one Sonny!

(SonC) Sonny Carter wrote:

>Hah! He's probably on the LUG and going back through his papers and marking
>you down right now!
>
>S.
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Kit McChesney | acmefoto" <kitmc@acmefoto.com>
>To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
>Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2003 6:18 PM
>Subject: RE: [Leica] A camera is a box with a hole in the front.
>
>
>>Rob--
>>
>>Well, I wish I could say that most of what I learned was as valuable as
>>
>what
>
>>you learned, but most of what I had to do was busy-work. This man was
>>obsessed with himself and even more impressed with himself, and it was
>>drudgery working with him. He was also pretty verbally abusive (the kind
>>
>of
>
>>person who feels that negative is the only kind of criticism worth dishing
>>out) so it took a while to get over that! Thank goodness all my other art
>>professors were kind and genuinely helpful artists!
>>
>>There's always a rotten apple in every barrel!
>>
>>Kit
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
>>[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Rob Heyman
>>Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2003 4:31 PM
>>To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
>>Subject: Re: [Leica] A camera is a box with a hole in the front.
>>
>>
>>Kit,
>>I can identify with that. I began working in a photographic studio for a
>>Dutch
>>photographer who put me in the darkroom printing his negatives for
>>
>portrait
>
>>clients. Day after long day of making slight variations in cropping to his
>>already beautifully composed portraits from perfectly exposed negatives. I
>>cursed every day printing in that darkroom, when all I ever really wanted
>>
>to
>
>>do
>>was get out into the studio, or anywhere else, and take pictures.
>>
>>It took me some years to realise that that was the greatest training I
>>
>could
>
>>have received. Staring day after day at the printing easel taught me to
>>identify
>>a good composition. I transferred this subconsciously to the viewfinder
>>
>and
>
>>found that I had learned to crop in the camera. To this day I rarely crop
>>
>an
>
>>image except to change the proportions to, perhaps, a  panorama.
>>
>>Great lesson, learned hard.
>>
>>Rob
>>
>>
>>Kit McChesney | acmefoto wrote:
>>
>>>Speaking of boxes with holes in them ... you're absolutely right! When I
>>>
>>was
>>
>>>in college and majoring in photography, in what was a scandalously bad
>>>program somewhere in the South, my professor, who was the tyrannical
>>>director of the program, would not allow his students to use anything
>>>
>BUT
>
>>a
>>
>>>pinhole camera, one that we had to build from scratch from balsa wood,
>>>
>>with
>>
>>>a precisely measured hole drilled into a small piece of sheet brass. Not
>>>only that, but we had to create our own gray cards, gray scales, test
>>>
>for
>
>>>reciprocity failure, and a whole host of other arcane tasks that had
>>>
>>already
>>
>>>been done by Kodak and god and goddess knows who else, and surely didn't
>>>need to be done by a cast of poor, overworked undergrads who only wanted
>>>
>>to
>>
>>>learn to take a good picture and learn to use a Good Camera. This horrid
>>>
>>man
>>
>>>fancied himself as The Most Knowledgeable Authority on The Subject of
>>>
>The
>
>>>Pinhole Camera, and was one of the most unpleasant individuals I have
>>>
>ever
>
>>>met in my entire life. He did more to kill the creative spirit of droves
>>>
>>of
>>
>>>enthusiastic young photographers than anyone could possibly have
>>>
>imagined.
>
>>>(I'm still in recovery).
>>>
>>>However, I did learn that a camera is indeed a box with a hole, and that
>>>
>>you
>>
>>>can take some very interesting pictures with such a box.
>>>
>>>Makes working with an M a lovely and well-deserved reward for doing
>>>
>>penance
>>
>>>in that dismal darkroom 25 years ago.
>>>
>>>Kit
>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
>>>[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Beddoe,
>>>Neil
>>>Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2003 10:03 AM
>>>To: 'leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us'
>>>Subject: [Leica] A camera is a box with a hole in the front.
>>>
>>>My M6 is in a pretty sorry state with external bits falling off and the
>>>superglue stuck to the chrome from when I glued the leather back down
>>>
>and
>
>>>used too much.  Strangely it takes pictures just as well as it did when
>>>
>I
>
>>>first bought it.  My lenses are still mint in every way as I wrap them
>>>
>in
>
>>>cotton wool and tuck them up in bed every night with a lullaby since
>>>
>they
>
>>>are the means by which light enters my camera and strikes the film and
>>>
>as
>
>>>such are sacred and wondrous objects.
>>>
>>>I hope all the black paint, titanium and other silly variants on the M
>>>camera all fall under Mr Cassidy's bastard file and the people who buy
>>>
>>them
>>
>>>realise that this WON'T AFFECT THE QUALITY OF THE PICTURES IN THE
>>>
>>SLIGHTEST
>>
>>>AND THAT'S WHAT COUNTS.
>>>
>>>Neil
>>>
>>--------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>--
>>
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>>>
>the
>
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>>--
>>__________________________________
>>Rob Heyman M.Photog
>>32 Binyara Street
>>CHAPEL HILL   Qld   4069
>>Ph   07 3878 3884  fax 07 3378 6639
>>__________________________________
>>
>>
>>--
>>To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html
>>
>>--
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>>
>
>--
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In reply to: Message from "Kit McChesney | acmefoto" <kitmc@acmefoto.com> (RE: [Leica] A camera is a box with a hole in the front.)
Message from "\(SonC\) Sonny Carter" <sonc@sonc.com> (Re: [Leica] A camera is a box with a hole in the front.)