Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/05/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Folks During my recent visit to the US, I met up with a group of folks from the Musketloaders Gun Club. Now these guys were really passionate about their guns and many of their guns were hand made (DIY to some folks) from scratch. Crude as it may appear, there is actually great precision in loading the exact quantity of gunpowder followed by the lead shot. When the gun was fired either through the firing cap or flint, it made a great noise and produced a lot of smoke. Even more surprising, these vintage styled guns are capable of great accuracy within 100 yards or even more. It led me to wonder why on earth would anybody want to dabble with vintage style guns when there are advanced systems automatics, magnums, AK-47s, M-16s, high powered rifles with precison sighting scopes and what not? They invited me to handle one and I fired a shot. There was hardly any recoil as the gun was heavy. The hair trigger was amazingly soft and sensitive and the heavy gun felt good enough to fondle and to play with. That's right! It was the play factor that gives such great appeal. Slow as it may appear to operate, there was tremendous play satisfaction. Reminds me very much of a Leica M. As I reflect on my darkroom, there is also tremendous play factor and satisfaction from exposing and pulling out wet B&W prints. I have nothing against digital darkrooms but I cannot see myself getting the same play satisfaction if I have to struggle through manipulating the images on my computer sometimes for hours (I am a little slow with softwares) before getting the right hard copies. I recurrently read how folks who have switched over from traditional darkroom to inkjet printing speak glorious volumes about their new found wonder and how they regretted for "not doing it sooner". Similarly, while it might be natural for anyone to sound excited about a new relationship, is it really necessary to bad mouth the ex-spouse? There are 5 year olds shooting at the musket loading club. They too are enjoying tremendous play factor going through the motions of cleaning, loading, and firing and enjoying plenty of family time with mum and dad. My 7 year old loves taking pictures with my spare digital camera. She can appreciate the composition on the LCD screen immediately after exposure. She also loves to be with me in the darkroom; "play chemicals" as she puts it. Her job is to fish the prints out of the fixer and place them into the wash. One day I will teach her to expose the paper and develop. Lots of fun and play. Dan K.