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M9 cuba problem

andreas_thomsen

By andreas_thomsen
in Leica M9 / M-E

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andreas_thomsen

andreas_thomsen

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i am going to cuba soon. today my girlfriend told me that she don't want me to 'shoot' the poor people with such an expensive toy. waaaah.

she told me ' for that kind of money a poor family could survive for months.

true?

what to do?

buy an digilux4?

cheers

andy

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swamiji

swamiji

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The way I see it, by using the best equipment to take there photo's, I am giving them greater respect. If I were to use a P&S, or my cell phone camera, I am saying they are not important enough to warrant, such quality. Perhaps it's time for a new girlfriend... Just my two cents...

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pascal_meheut

pascal_meheut

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i am going to cuba soon. today my girlfriend told me that she don't want me to 'shoot' the poor people with such an expensive toy. waaaah.

she told me ' for that kind of money a poor family could survive for months.

 

Find another girlfriend. With the cost of you trip to Cuba, you can probably feed a lot of people too.

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pelagia

pelagia

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Not going to judge your girlfriend, and she is almost right -- a poor Cuban family could survive years not months with this money (consider free medicine and education in Cuba). I travelled there a couple of years ago and would definitely recommend you to take the M9. Absolutely. You will get very good image opportunities, therefore take the best tools you have. Beware of theft, but it is so in every country.

 

But I want to say something about the attitude. Maybe it is not your girlfriend's, maybe (sorry) it is induced by you (or broader by us, the M9 owners)? I mean the tendency to see the M9 as an expensive toy, not as a good working tool. Too often, in my opinion, people consider M9 to be a piece of luxury, which needs special admiration, good crocodile skin, colour matching (outside, not in the firmware), ageing of paint etc etc.

 

M9 is a fantastic photo camera, and let it serve its purpose.

 

Good luck in Cuba, it is a wonderful country, great people! Greetings to them!

 

Tom

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James R

James R

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Leave her home and donate the saved money to a Cuban charity. Seriously, going to Cuba puts badly needed money into their economy. A P&S is a luxury to a poor person in any country. Use the Leica and enjoy. Your girlfriend in just having guilt feeling because she is wealthy (comparably). Being poor doesn't make being poor any better.

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Bo_Lorentzen

Bo_Lorentzen

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My girlfriend knows better than even uttering such a concept... there ARE single woman in Cuba, make life easy and donate the ticket to a good cause. :D

 

But really as everybody says, the Leica is a tool for a particular type of photography, use it. otherwise you could not use a Bosh powertool to build houses for homeless in Africa.

 

.

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Nicoleica

Nicoleica

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Take me instead! I promise not to complain at all about you using an M9, and I'll even clean the dust from your camera & lenses. :D

 

Seriously though, as others have suggested, give the people that you photograph a print afterwards. I take a little Canon printer with me when away from home, and often give people prints within minutes of making the photograph. They don't cost much, and are worth their weight in gold for the goodwill that they can provide. (And you can make your own postcards too.)

Edited by Nicoleica
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Guest Bernd Banken

Guest Bernd Banken

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finally we found a solution.

the argument with the flight was not that efficient as it is a miles&more ticket. but we are going to donate some money - doesn't change the world but maybe it helps.

cheers

andy

 

Andreas,

 

as a young guy I photographed normal and sometimes poor people in the big cities of Europe. There was a lot of respect for them in my behavior even when close to their faces.

The most of them now live only in the pics I have from their faces.....

 

Please do yourself and your girlfriend a favour and note as much adresses as you can get from people in Cuba. Start conversation and now do what I couldn't in the seventies:

 

Send them prints as a small Thank You when you are back home. It's not soo easy but you give something back which has more value in Cuba than here in Europe.

 

Enjoy your trip!

 

Happy 2010

Bernd

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arminw

arminw

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These people might be poor, but most of them are happy and love to be photographed ... I had a girl following me around a market for some time until I took a picture of her. They don't have much in cuba but they are proud of who they are ... show some respect when you take pictures and be kind and friendly ... If your girlfriend can't cope with that she should not go to a place like that ... it'll show that she is not confident and therefore those people wont warm up to her... As I said it's how you shout into the forrest , it'll come back the same way .. I was invitet into peoples home with my at the time still Leica M8 and there was no bad feeling at all .

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andym911

andym911

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How better can your respect the Cubans than by taking their pix with a fine instrument? How can anyone complain.

 

 

Bill with all respect are you serious?

 

Taking pix of the (insert nationality here, e.g Brits-Americans-Chinese etc.) with an M9 shows respect?

 

Wow.....

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