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Candid Camera (2)
Blend in... become a day-tripper
Perhaps it’s not so strange that I read of more instances amongst lurkers on internet forums praising the merits of Leica rangefinder cameras for street candids. And that when we’re meant to be in transition from the auto-focus age to the digital age! However, with Leica having announced the digital M8 model, and there being many more users of rangefinder cameras since the Voigtlander/Bessa models arrived on the scene a decade ago at remarkably affordable prices, it is no wonder that candid photography presents a challenge that is taken up by so many. And I think I know why the Leica school of street shooting is continuing to get great results... not because of it’s legendary quietness, but because modern cameras (auto-focus SLRs and digital SLRs) can be so big with a zoom lens, flash and extra battery grip added!
I don’t know why the idea is so ingrained that one needs a high-spec multifunction camera and a fast wide-angle zoom plus a flash on top to be any kind of photographer... I know where the idea comes from (camera sales brochures, photo magazines and certain internet forums)... but it certainly makes me nervous when a 35mm camera-toting snapper comes within a few yards of me wielding equipment which could be used as an offensive weapon. If you have seen the size of the latest 16+ megapixel Canon EOS 1D MkII, or whatever it’s called, you will know what I mean. I remember one photographer/writer, having that type of DSLR thrust in front of his face at a PMA trade fair responding with, “Actually I prefer smaller cameras... that’s why I use medium-format!” Quite a put-down and at the time typical of one of the most experienced photographers and knowledgeable writers around.
I used to use Leicas for my candid photography... and although all of the M-series are perfect for the subject, my favorite was an older screw-type... a Leica IIIf fitted with a collapsible 5cm Elmar which, importantly, without a neck-strap easily slipped in and out of my jacket or trouser pocket for unconcerned candidness on my part. After all, the best way of not looking like a photographer is to be seen apparently without a camera. I could take the bijou IIIf Leica out of my pocket, extend the collapsible lens and lock it in one movement, quickly frame and pre-focus by turning the lens focusing lever to a predetermined position which gave a good sharp focus range without having to raise the camera to the eye to focus, then fire the shutter, collapse the retractable lens and have the camera back in my pocket before the person had any time to raise any objection. If they gave me the nod or a knowing smile which said, “Hey, that was a neat trick... you certainly caught me out there,” I could repeat it and probably get away with a second shot or a third. Although it sounds a long-winded process, it was quickly done and went, usually, unnoticed by the subject.
As I did with the lady eating a sandwich in a quiet spot amidst the crowds thronging around Bourton-on-the-Water, a popular day-trippers “you can get off the coach for an hour” spot in the English Cotswolds. It was a great little scene with the lithe, naked statue seemingly edging towards her snack... and I got three “keepers” from half a dozen different shots I took whilst moving closer and closer. I chatted and laughed, without stopping shooting, and I know she didn’t feel threatened in the least by my approach especially with such a small camera in my hands. She probably thought I was another day-tripper from her coach party with a simple point-and-shoot... which, despite having being noticed, is when I know I’ve been a candid cameraman.
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