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How do you wear your street gear?


atlfoto

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Wandering around with a camera with no aim in mind is senseless.

My advise is to think before you go, about what your are going to do, with what lens or lenses and film, and then take just what is needed and forget about changing lenses.-Dick

 

Hmmm, I always go out and wander with my camera with no aim in mind. One man's ceiling is another's floor...

 

Eric

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Hmmm, I always go out and wander with my camera with no aim in mind. One man's ceiling is another's floor...

 

Eric

 

Me too. Half the fun of it. I fully agree about planning ahead and previsualising when you have an objective in mind, but that's not always the case.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

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Guest AgXlove
Hi,

 

I was wandering which is the easiest way to carry two (or three) M lenses (say 35 & 50) and a M body while trying to capture these marvellous street scenes... It should let you change them as fast as possible and many times being stand up in the middle of the street without any place to put them down. What do you use?

 

For 2-3 lenses and one body, one of these is hard to beat - Domke | PhoTOGS Vest - Large (Khaki) | 734-003 | B&H Photo Video

 

or one of these -

Domke | J-803 Digital Satchel | 701-J83 | B&H Photo Video

(get the sand color for hot weather, black for night shooting)... ;)

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Like Bill I should have remembered that the Benser plate doesn't fit the M4 onward.

 

However if the camera is on a neckstrap and it's not raining, two hands are plenty for changing lenses, e.g.

  • Hold new lens in left hand, remove rear cap and place in pocket or between teeth
  • Remove current lens from body with right hand (right thumb presses lens release)
  • Attach new lens with left hand
  • Transfer old lens to left hand, retrieve and fit rear cap.

My problem is that I cannot hold both the baseplate and the rear cap in my mouth at the same time.

 

In he film days, we had to remove the baseplate often to change film. Here in Sweden we learnt to hold the baseplate upside down (hollow down) between our teeth. Else, saliva would collect in the hollow, freeze and make it impossible to replace the plate.

 

The old man from the Age of Glass Plates

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My problem is that I cannot hold both the baseplate and the rear cap in my mouth at the same time.

 

In he film days, we had to remove the baseplate often to change film. Here in Sweden we learnt to hold the baseplate upside down (hollow down) between our teeth. Else, saliva would collect in the hollow, freeze and make it impossible to replace the plate.

 

The old man from the Age of Glass Plates

 

I agree, it takes more than two hands to change lens and film simultaneously. Rather than using my teeth, I always used to put the baseplate in my pocket when changing film on the move.

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Camera bag, pockets, courrier bag, whatever I think will be convinient that day. Latelly I prefer to carry camera in pockets or in bags which doesn't look like camera bags, or in bags in which I can carry other things beside photo equipment.

 

Well, with my SLR and MF I usually use camera bag, with 35mm RF as I said above.

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First of all, it's incumbent upon Leica photographers to dress well and look the part. You're carrying a Leica. Don't dress like you're the quintessential photographer douche bag with stuff hanging all over you, or worse, like you're part of a SWAT team. I see it all the time.

 

Years ago, I would carry two Leicas around my neck with one camera strap shorter than the other. I was traveling to some petty bad areas and my thinking was that keeping the cameras in front of me was safer. Besides having a sore neck, one time I saw a photo of me dressed like that and I was horrified. I looked ridiculous. That was the end of two cameras around my neck.

 

The key is to look subtle, but be responsive. An acquaintance of mine, who is a very well known professional photographer, always carried either one or two cameras each one hanging from his shoulder with the lens pointed toward his body and the camera dangling behind his arm. Kind of tucked in such that the lens and camera were close to the body. That seems to work well.

 

If you're using an M camera, two bodies is probably the way to go as changing lenses is a drag. With a SLR/DLSR and a zoom, you can get away with one body usually. I still like to wear one camera around my neck when I'm carrying a single body/lens. It's hands free. Two lenses/two bodies, then the should carry works in my opinion. Just remember to look the part; you're carrying a Leica.

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I was reading the thread just for fun, but when I came to the Dress Code above, I decided I should ssay something.

 

I make a point of dressing like a slightly goofy tourist. Partly this comes naturally; partly from wearing baggy cargo pants & an old cloth hat. If anyone objects to having their picture taken, I just say 'Oh, I'm sorry - I'm a tourist, & we take pictures of everything.'

 

My cameras don't seem embarrassed by my appearance. I doubt they even notice.

 

As to wearing cameras: I always wear an M8u with a compact lens in a tummy pouch. It's on a wrist strap. If I'm out explicitly for shooting/capturing, I carry another one with 21 lens & external finder on a shoulder strap. This way if the scene becomes interesting, you can literally drop one camera & raise the other in a couple of seconds.

 

Recently I sold a pristine M8u, hoping to beat a price drop & get by with 1 body while waiting for M9. While I generally enjoy working with one lens, I find that changing lenses is a pain in the butt during serious shooting.

 

Kirk

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First of all, it's incumbent upon Leica photographers to dress well and look the part. ...

What 'part' would that be? :) It sounds dangerously like you're suggesting that you are your camera's fashion accessory but of course you wouldn't be suggesting that and I must be mistaken. :rolleyes:

 

Pete.

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