Johannes Knightworth Posted May 15, 2007 Share #1 Posted May 15, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Having lunch today at my favorite Restaurant in Iseo I met an eldery Italian gentleman carrying a rather beaten Leica IIIf with a red-scale Elmar lens. We got talking about photography and apparantly this man (a Doctor) has been photograping with this Leica III and 50mm Elamr since 1958. It is the only camera he has ever used, and he said he used on a daily basis always taking it with him wherever he went. He never longed for another model or lens, kept up with all the new stuff, like M3, 2 etc (new stuff hehehehe) but never wanted one. Anybody else here just uses one single configuration .... It does seem sort of romantic to me... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 15, 2007 Posted May 15, 2007 Hi Johannes Knightworth, Take a look here Single Camera/Lens career. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
gberger Posted May 15, 2007 Share #2 Posted May 15, 2007 I bought a IIIc with the 3.5 collapsible Elmar in late 1945 (Germany), I used it exclusively until we bought our M4 in late 1968. Our son-in-law sti.ll uses it as his principal film camera. George Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angora Posted May 15, 2007 Share #3 Posted May 15, 2007 Having lunch today at my favorite Restaurant in Iseo I met an eldery Italian gentleman carrying a rather beaten Leica IIIf with a red-scale Elmar lens. We got talking about photography and apparantly this man (a Doctor) has been photograping with this Leica III and 50mm Elamr since 1958. It is the only camera he has ever used, and he said he used on a daily basis always taking it with him wherever he went. He never longed for another model or lens, kept up with all the new stuff, like M3, 2 etc (new stuff hehehehe) but never wanted one. Anybody else here just uses one single configuration .... It does seem sort of romantic to me... Wow... respect. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted May 15, 2007 Share #4 Posted May 15, 2007 I've got a lllf and Elmar too, it's a superb combination and I can see where the gentleman is coming from. I recently bought a more modern camera too, an M2, to use a 35mm lens. But I'll keep using the lllf for the Elmar. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejd Posted May 16, 2007 Share #5 Posted May 16, 2007 Using a single camera and lens is a very attractive idea. I aspire to it. But starting off from the position of being ridiculously over-equipped, I'm not sure it could ever be completely convincing. Rather like wanting to become a virgin. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johannes Knightworth Posted May 17, 2007 Author Share #6 Posted May 17, 2007 Using a single camera and lens is a very attractive idea. I aspire to it. But starting off from the position of being ridiculously over-equipped, I'm not sure it could ever be completely convincing. Rather like wanting to become a virgin. True, but the simplicity of it.... after a while I'me sure it would improve ones photography. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted May 17, 2007 Share #7 Posted May 17, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) It sounds neat, but it is incredibly limiting. Let's say you choose an M6 with a DR Summicron 50mm, to get a little extra flexibility, and a lens which is sharp as well as good for portraits. No (pseudo-)macro photography, a-la 90 Macro. No interiours (WATE) No Wildlife photography (can be managed within strict limits with a Apo-135, or with the Visoflex) No product shoots (90 Macro again) and so on. There is definitely something to be said for simplicity, but going this far will only work for people who do very limited photography. By the way, I do have the above setup and that is how I use that camera, exclusively. The M8 is for the rest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Antony Posted May 17, 2007 Share #8 Posted May 17, 2007 My first Leica was a IIIC with 50mm F3.5 Elmar, and that was the only lens I ever used on it in the 22 years I had it. Sure it was ultimately limiting, but the way I used that camera (as my street walker) was perfect. I'm sure that as the camera had no frame lines and the finder was 50mm that added to the decision not to go for other lenses. I now have a M4-P 35, 50, and 90mm lenses and the 35 does 75% of my work so I'm sure it was a Finder thing-= the view you see being the one you capture, no external finders to worry about lose in pockets or whatever. just my 2¢ Mark http://photo-utopia.blogspot.com/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Sanchez Posted May 17, 2007 Share #9 Posted May 17, 2007 NPPA News Photographer Magazine had a feature story last month on photojournalist James Whitlow Delano, an American-born Tokyo-based photographer who sees the world through one - and only one - lens, the 35mm f2 that's always on his Leica M-2. The article isn't available, but this is his website: http://jameswhitlowdelano.com/ Also see http://www.lightstalkers.org/jameswhitlowdelano Seems like he does pretty well.... ---Skippy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted May 17, 2007 Share #10 Posted May 17, 2007 Having lunch today at my favorite Restaurant in Iseo I met an eldery Italian gentleman carrying a rather beaten Leica IIIf with a red-scale Elmar lens. We got talking about photography and apparantly this man (a Doctor) has been photograping with this Leica III and 50mm Elamr since 1958. It is the only camera he has ever used, and he said he used on a daily basis always taking it with him wherever he went. He never longed for another model or lens, kept up with all the new stuff, like M3, 2 etc (new stuff hehehehe) but never wanted one. Anybody else here just uses one single configuration .... It does seem sort of romantic to me... Were you having lunch at "Il Volto" ? I would not be surprised if it's your favorite in Iseo... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddawn Posted May 18, 2007 Share #11 Posted May 18, 2007 Having lunch today at my favorite Restaurant in Iseo I met an eldery Italian gentleman carrying a rather beaten Leica IIIf with a red-scale Elmar lens. We got talking about photography and apparantly this man (a Doctor) has been photograping with this Leica III and 50mm Elamr since 1958. It is the only camera he has ever used, and he said he used on a daily basis always taking it with him wherever he went. He never longed for another model or lens, kept up with all the new stuff, like M3, 2 etc (new stuff hehehehe) but never wanted one. Anybody else here just uses one single configuration .... It does seem sort of romantic to me... I think that's not a single lens / camera career, but a single lens / camera hobby There're plenty of pros who worked this way, or who could quite capably live with a single lens. The 2 more prominent ones that come to mind: - David Alan Harvey (35mm on his Leica m6s before digital, 20mm on his 1.5x crop Nikon digital, 28mm on his loaner M8) - James Whitlow Delano (35mm on his M2s only, for over 10 yrs(?)) These photographers don't find it limiting cos they have powerful personal visions and knew the tool they needed exactly to create the kind of pictures they have in mind... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonpg Posted May 18, 2007 Share #12 Posted May 18, 2007 These photographers don't find it limiting cos they have powerful personal visions and knew the tool they needed exactly to create the kind of pictures they have in mind... I really admire the one camera / one lens professional shooters - they certainly must have "powerful vision". There is an Australian photojournalist (whose name I am ashamed I have forgotten) who uses an M6 with only one lens - a 21mm. What amazed me is that 21mm is such a "specific" angle of view and not one I'd suggest to be anything like a lens I'd shoot 100% of my images with especially if I were a photojournalist! And his work is wonderful and regularly featured in Leica galleries. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddawn Posted May 18, 2007 Share #13 Posted May 18, 2007 I really admire the one camera / one lens professional shooters - they certainly must have "powerful vision". There is an Australian photojournalist (whose name I am ashamed I have forgotten) who uses an M6 with only one lens - a 21mm. What amazed me is that 21mm is such a "specific" angle of view and not one I'd suggest to be anything like a lens I'd shoot 100% of my images with especially if I were a photojournalist! And his work is wonderful and regularly featured in Leica galleries. wow a single 21mm? That's amazing... any links to his work? Your post reminds me of David Hume Kennerly He took a Mamiya 6 (was it the 7) medium format rangefinder camera, and stuck a 21mm equivalent (35mm terms) lens on it, and shot a photo a day project for 365 days, and published a whole book Photo du Jour on it! He did crop his pics in the book (I own a copy), but it is still an amazing body of work. Check out interviews and a writeup of his work, together with a sample of the pics from the project heree (Photo du Jour by David Hume Kennerly - The Digital Journalist) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
visiondr Posted May 19, 2007 Share #14 Posted May 19, 2007 I recall reading in the NY Times about an American photographer who shot with a Leica M and a 28mm lens for his entire career (not Winogrand). I wish I could remember his name. I tried a search on the NYT website and came up blank. One of the images featured in the story was of a bird (pidgeon) or group of birds taking flight. Does anyone remember this artist's name? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stnami Posted May 19, 2007 Share #15 Posted May 19, 2007 .....................cough up Simon get that memory into gear Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest flatfour Posted May 19, 2007 Share #16 Posted May 19, 2007 Leitca wouldnt be around still if we all did that. It's a mood we have all had at one time or another. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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