A late introduction.

Welcome to our patch of friendly insanity.

Tradition in photography has a lot to recommend for itself. I'll take this moment to remind you of the Contax and Kiev tradition of rangefinders as well. I use a nice Kiev 5 as my daily carry camera and find it to be a wonderful experiance. A nice Kiev can be had very inexpensively and has some mighty fine lenses available for it too. But any of the FSU cameras can be a great tool, just buy from a known seller either here or elsewhere.

No matter what you get though, the important thing is to enjoy using it; to take it with you constantly and keep shooting. Keep learning and having fun - that's the best two things photography can give you.

Enjoy!

William
 
heya Stephanie... I had to also laugh at your 'traditionalist' comment, considering people here are still fretting over the new M6 design from 20 years ago

I'm sort of like you, btw.. I admired photography from afar (stalked might be a better word) while waiting for digital units to develop to an acceptable level.. bought a Nikon D70.. played with it for a while.. decided they suck compared to film.. and started my soon to be growing collection of film cameras.. I keep the digital stuff around 'just in case'

hope you enjoy Jorge's site.. and I bet if you're looking for volunteers for nude photography, you'll have lots of volunteers here.. LOL
 
Welcome, you have know idea what you are getting in to 😉 ......don´t worry, thats a good thing!

I´m halfway around the world from you - but this place is still "home"

Cheers,

Meakin
 
I've pretty much decided to speed right over the cheaper cameras and get myself what I really want: a Leica. I figure that this will help me get over camera envy much easier. A IIIf or IIIg with a Summicron may be a decent first Leica for me. I can always get the M3 when I can afford it. 😀

I'm really excited about being here. A positive environment is one thing that I need in my photographer's toolkit right now. However, I do have a feeling that you guys are going to get me into a lot of trouble equipment-wise...I'll be buying so many cameras I won't know what hit me. =P
 
don't overlook those 'cheaper' cameras.. there are some great values out there with very impressive lenses for under $50.. but more importantly, it's good to start out with a 'beginner' setup that you won't be afraid to actually use.. and stepping up to a Leica later on will make you appreciate them all the more

it's about the same as getting your drivers license and buying a BMW.. you won't appreciate what you have nearly as much as you would if you had a Toyota Corolla first
 
Welcome to the forum, Stephanie!

Stephanie Brim said:
I have good and bad experiences with photography. Not all my photos turn out as I've planned.
Click to expand...

Hey, some things never change. Been shooting for over 40 years now and this is still the norm 😀

Gene
 
Welcome Stephanie,

Go Hawkeyes!!! Although you are probably in Cyclone country. If you are wanting to get into darkroom equipment let me know. I have a bunch of stuff that you may be interested in and shipping wouldn't be that bad if you can drive to Des Moines.

Leica, Schmeica!!! What you really want is a Contax IIA. 🙂 Just kidding of course! I have handled Leica and it is addictive.

As far as getting a lot of volunteers for nude photography from this site, I don't know if it would be good for your health, you may pull some muscles in your stomach from laughing at the sights. (You may want to invite some of them for an outdoor photo session in say, oh, I don't know, maybe late January.)

I am all for the Nikon SLR's, but then I like Canon F1-N and A1's, and Pentax Spotmatic, and Olympus OM-1, and Bronica ETRS, and well you may be getting the idea that I have had, and still do suffer GAS attacks.

Wayne
 
Saving up the money for an M3 is my next project due to an almost overwhelming sense of the fact that it is the right camera for me. An M3 and a 'cron with a Leicameter would be lovely.

And the real reason I'm not going to do any of the cheaper cameras: I can save that money to go toward the better Leica instead of spending it on stuff I'll probably put aside and never use once I get it. I'm slowly developing GAS where compact rangefinders are concerned, but I don't have the same problem where interchangable lens cameras are concerned. And don't worry about being afraid to use it...I'll take that thing out and shoot with it no matter what, though it will be on a very short leesh. I'm not afraid to get right out and use a Leica even though it *is* going to take me some time to save up for one. I'll be proud to show it off, actually. Being the envy of my photography classes won't be bad either. 🙂

I have to say that I'm not one of those who believes that the equipment you use makes or breaks you as a photographer, but I do find myself taking better pictures with decent, old equipment such as the Nikon and the Canonet. When I had my digitals, I was just doing what I would consider stock-style photography. Textures, old abandoned buildings, etc. All in color, all touched up in Photoshop. Now, with the film, I do very little touching up of my photos and do more of the effects in camera. If I want something slightly over exposed, I just do it on the film. I don't have to worry about Photoshop as much now and use it mainly for slight contrast/brightness touchups and cropping.

I've been using film again for about 5 months and I'm really proud of how far I've come. I've learned so much in the past few weeks about my own style of photography that I'm finally getting into my own. I can finally say, with certainty, that I'm starting to see where my strengths lie.

Now all I need to do is get enough photos to put in a portfolio that are good and see if I can get into school. :x
 
Hi again Steph,

Don't feel too bad...I forgot to introduce myself to this great forum before just jumping in.
Hi, My name is Sam and I too own ____ cameras !!

The Nikon FE with the 50 attached is a great combo. I was given a FE with a Tamron 28-70mm and I fell in love with photography all over again. You'll love the way it meters.
I was always a SLR guy until I came across an Olympus 35-S with a fixed 4.2cm-f1.8 lens. I now own 3 of these cameras with a spare parts camera. I still have several SLR's but I do love this little Rangefinder and this Forum.
 
Heh. The needle doesn't seem to work in my meter. I'm going to take it in to get it fixed. To make matters worse, it seems to me that it's metering correctly when it's on A. Something's up with it.

But yes, I love it. I love my Nikon more than anything, but it'll be the first thing to go if I need a couple hundred dollars to go toward the Leica. 😀
 
Hey Stephanie

I'm not sure I introduced myself either, so you're one better than me, at least you fixed the situation.

I have to admit, hanging out here has had me seriously considering selling off the 1v-hs rig in order to fund a Leica...it's just that I spent sooo long wishing for it I can't bring myself to do it. Looks like I'll have to have both...

My best advice for improving as a photographer, other than to shoot all the time, is to really study the art itself. Learn about other photographers, and emulate what you like. Look at painting too, and graphic design. Just like in writing, developing a personal style is a long process which often involves quite a bit of derrivative work. My own take on that is: it may have been done before, but not by me! Have fun!

*note, the above statements should not imply that I know at all what i'm talking about. 😀
 
Last edited:
Another newcomer here! I'm getting back into photography after a few months' hiatus due to
relocating and that sort of thing. I don't think I formally introduced myself either, now that I think
about it! Maybe I ought to do that soon 🙂

And hopefully I'll have my Leica back in my hands soon... it should be fixed by now, but shipping's
been taking a lot longer than I'd hoped, which is slowing things down a lot.
 
Hi Stephanie, I'm new on this forum also.

Once you've tried or handled a Leica, you either love em or hate em. If you like em, you'll get one. I did.

I still can't believe that my digital kit gets very little use now. So much more thought goes into my film shots and I think the end result shows.

From working in front of a PC during the day the dark room is a welcome change. I'm not against digital though, just I get more of a kick from producing a good film image in camera.

Good luck on the Leica saving fund.
 
Welcome Stephanie! A Leica M6ttl was my first rangefinder camera almost two years ago. I got my second just a few weeks ago - a Canonet. Love it! 🙂
 
Stephanie, you'll do well by going directly for your first Leica, and with the money you'll save from the intermediate cameras, you'll soon find yourself investing into your second one 😀
 
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