Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/08/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi, Steve, I used to take motorsports shots back in the early 70's - I think these were around '73 or '74 at Mosport near Toronto, back when they had the F1 races there: http://www.urbancaravan.com/images/perkins_car.jpg http://www.urbancaravan.com/images/elf.jpg Not as dramatic as yours, to be sure (great shot, btw!), but hell, I was around 17, shooting with a Praktica and a Soligor 200mm and 300mm. Whether your "dumbing down" comment is accurate, I don't know. As a relative neophyte, pre-focusing, getting the exposure all set, and anticipating a car's arrival to where I pre-focused wasn't that tough. Mind you, if one out of 10 shots turned out, I was happy. These ones may not be spectacular, but I'd say they're competent, anyway. And, were I shooting more than 360 frames in a weekend, and had press access, I'd say I could do a damn sight better. But, that's another story altogether... <vbg> regards, frank Steve LeHuray wrote: > ...well Frank, I do not know how you or Ted does sports action shots, the > way I use to do it 30 years ago was with two Nikon F bodies and two lenses, > a 50mm and a 200mm. No auto-focus, no motor drive, no program modes. Had > hundreds of photos like this published: > > http://www.streetphoto.net/images/im130.jpg > > Back when I took this picture of 15-time world champion Giacomo Agostini at > the Daytona 200 1974, sports photography was a craft that had to be learned. > You had to learn how to expose and learn manual focus. You had to learn how > to compose because you were not going to get many chances to make the shot. > It was a challenge compared to today's high-end, bloated point-'n-shoot > high-end Pro SLRs. I know that if I say that there has been a massive > 'dumbing-down' of photographers in the last 30 years I will upset a lot of > people, but there, I said it anyway. > > sl > > sl > > > > Ted Grant wrote: > > > >> Hello David, > >> I don't doubt that for a moment, however I don't re-call it ever being > >> something of concern simply because I never knew it existed until I heard > >> people with digi cams mention something about lag between tripping the > >> shutter and the picture being taken. > >> > >> Which I took to mean a failing with digital cameras. End of thought about > >> lag. UNTIL! Oops, it happens with a Leica? Well gee whiz eh, it never > >> happened to me. Or I believed so, maybe! > >> > >> However, what I still can't understand is, if it's such a big topic, OK > >> certainly with el-cheapo digi cams and some P&shoots, that it's never been a > >> high ticket item of using cameras until I start reading it on the LUG from > >> concerned folks. > >> > >> I'm not trying to be a nerd here, I just can't get overly excited over > >> something that in 50 plus years I'd never known about and yet still been a > >> successful sports photographer. I suppose in one's wildest imagination I may > >> have missed the "ultimate peak" action of a Carl Lewis or Ben Johnson, or > >> who knows. But what I did capture were still award winning photographs > >> without any knowledge of "lag time." Obviously not all of them, but a fair > >> number. > >> > >> Now if I should ever go digital, not likely, I am now fully aware of this > >> lag factor folks have explained. And to those who've coped with me during > >> the past 24 hours trying to get lag through my head as a real thing to > >> understand, I thank you for your patience. > >> > >> And once again the "old dog" has learned a new trick or two. > >> ted > >> > > -- > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html - -- "The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it is true." -J. Robert Oppenheimer - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html