Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/07/26

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Subject: [Leica] Leica love fest... from Luminous Landscape!
From: scott at adrenaline.com (Scott McLoughlin)
Date: Tue Jul 26 14:06:02 2005
References: <l03130308bf0c2bc9452d@[129.89.124.186]>

Yes, I got the impression that the article was somewhat hastily put
together. But other than that, I thought (I do have a DSLR, BTW)
it was a nice article on simplification and quality. Clearly the fellow
has made a serious go at digital B&W and found it wasn't for him.

Leica offers "the best" (take that for what you will) optics, in a
small package. That lightens his load in the field.  Expose, focus
and shoot (OK, maybe pick a filter) - doesn't get much simpler
than that.  With a simple precision tool and just a lens or two,
mastery of capture certainly has fewer variables.

I wondered too about a possible need for a larger format, but I
presumed that Efke 25 @  ISO 6 in XTOL with the lux scanner gets
him fine enough grain and low enough noise for the size enlargements
he was planning to sell. Seems like a credible combo.

If anything, I'm surprised he is scanning (and presumably digi printing,
but I don't think he says so).  I'm swimming in "digital darkroom"
technologies and techniques and that, to me at least, hardly seems
part of any simplification strategy :-)  Just finding a great printer and
making him/her a close friend might be much simpler and yield
superiour results.

Hell, Ralph Gibson does just fine making "fine art" photos with an M6,
a few lenses TriX and Rodinal.  Why not?

Scott

Alan Magayne-Roshak wrote:

>I think Pete Myers is expressing what I feel too.  Leica rangefinders seem
>to be the most symbiotic cameras for many of us; they represent the most
>minimal instrument between us and our pictures. My hands and eye and psyche
>are most satisfied by the feel of an M.
>
>What I read in the text is that the end-all for him is high-quality with
>simplicity, portability, and pleasure of use.  View cameras are simpler in
>concept, but come with encumbrances needed for their use; i.e. tripod, dark
>cloth, separate holders...
>
>You can like the pictures or not like them, but I don't think one should
>tell another what the proper tool is for their art.  I got some my most
>interesting images of ice motorcycle racing with a 4x5 RB Auto Graflex and
>Verito diffused focus lens.
>
>Alan
>
>Alan Magayne-Roshak
>Senior Photographer
>Visual Imaging
>Univ. of Wis.- Milwaukee
>Information & Media Technologies
>amr3@uwm.edu
>(414) 229-6525
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Leica Users Group.
>See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>  
>


Replies: Reply from chs2018 at med.cornell.edu (Chris Saganich) ([Leica] Leica love fest... from Luminous Landscape!)
In reply to: Message from amr3 at alpha1.csd.uwm.edu (Alan Magayne-Roshak) ([Leica] Leica love fest... from Luminous Landscape!)