It was the dog, honest!

[Skyring]

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About six years ago my wife and I - and our dog, an aging "Skittish Terrier" - moved from our large family home in Campbell in Canberra one suburb over to Reid. Must be the gypsy in me. 

Our new house was a little ex-government cottage in a heritage area, and not much changed since 1927, though the kitchen and laundry had been thankfully upgraded, and they'd laid down carpets sometime in the Eighties over the old japanned floorboards.

Our dog grew older and more incontinent, and when she eventually took her last walk, we lifted the old carpets, repaired, sanded, and polished the floors, and went hunting for coverings against the chill of Canberra's winter.

As luck had it, there was an auction of Persian rugs at the old Olim's Hotel a block away, and the auctioneer was virtually giving the things away. Everyone wants neon polyester these days, it seems, but these were fair dinkum: hand-knotted in Persian villages decades ago. This guy didn't want to sell his rugs so much as talk about their design, their history, their wools and dyes and traditions, and he was fascinating.

We bought a carpet or two, but when we found that he led tours to Iran each year, we signed up. The thought of this chap - and he's got fifty years of experience in the Persian carpet trade - telling stories for two weeks was irresistible.

We went on two trips, as it happened. Beautiful land, friendly people, good food, beer not so much.

Last tour, there was a lady using a Leica to photograph stuff. I was pretty much an Olympus guy - EM1 with a 12-40, Pen-F tricked up with a silver 17mm to look even more retro - and the tour guide would peer at the F and ask, "Is that a Leica?"

The lady with the Leica - the special 100 edition D-Lux 6 - seemed very happy with her camera, and all I really knew about them was that they took great photographs and cost enough to make my hair stand on end.

I looked into the range when I got home. Bought a D-Lux 5, tried it out. Good lens, poor screen and controls. Sold it and got a 109 and a Q. Only had them a couple of weeks, liking them very much, hoping that I can kick my photography up a notch, especially with a full-frame camera and a decent lens.

Found my way here by googling​ on a focus question for the 109. The discussion sorted me right out. Glad to be here!

Pete

My first Leica
The perfect travel camera?

[Gibbo]

Welcome 

[wda]

A special welcome to the forum, Pete, and thank you for your fascinating introductory story. With your two new Leicas you are well placed for some versatile photography. Have you tried using the D Lux for macro of your Persian carpets?

 

Since you have your late dog to thank for the listed sequence of events, we would like to know whether he/she was also replaced.

[Skyring]

A special welcome to the forum, Pete, and thank you for your fascinating introductory story. With your two new Leicas you are well placed for some versatile photography. Have you tried using the D Lux for macro of your Persian carpets?

 

Since you have your late dog to thank for the listed sequence of events, we would like to know whether he/she was also replaced.

Thanks, David!

 

We're probably overcarpeted now. Stacking 'em two deep in places. I should try to capture some of the details; carpets can be the most intricate creations, and I wince when I see some of the rubbish churned out by factories. Daytime television has pretty much done for village weaving. In the old days, the ladies would get together for coffee and gossip over the carpet looms and spend the afternoons together. Nowadays, they watch Iranian soap opera.

 

Sadly, the dog has not been replaced. We're getting on a bit, and our married daughter's dog scratches that itch. We do, however, have a cat, and she reluctantly poses. On occasion.