Camera present to yourself for 50' birthday?!

I was hoping for the new Leica M digital which would have been a stretch considering the waiting list. Now with it being held up to the end of April...I think not.
 
Immobility doesn't stop photography

Immobility doesn't stop photography

The turn of the discussion to reduced mobility with age brought to mind a young patient of mine. He was in his 20s. He was paralyzed from the waist down, and wheelchair bound. One day, he showed up in the office with a tripod and an 8x10 view camera strapped to the back of his wheelchair. I asked him about it.

He said, "Well doc, I was out shooting this morning, and I didn't have time to take the gear off my wheelchair before I had to come to see you".

I wondered how hard it was for him to set up the camera. He said "Oh, it's really easy!"
He proceeded to show me how.
With one twist of his body, he grabbed the tripod, and set it up.
With another twist in the opposite direction, he got the camera off the wheelchair, mounted it on the tripod, extended the bellows, and had the ground glass visible for shooting.

The entire sequence took perhaps 3 minutes to set up.

I was impressed, to say the least!

He has a home darkroom for developing, and he prints by contact.

"I started with 4x5, but the prints are too small for my likeing.
So, I got the 8x10 instead".

The moral of the tale:

If you have a dream, you can fulfill it!
 
This makes my thoughts about the faff and inconvenience of large format seem pretty pathetic. I have been considering it for some time, but never quite got around to it. I think I'll have to make sure I do.

The turn of the discussion to reduced mobility with age brought to mind a young patient of mine. He was in his 20s. He was paralyzed from the waist down, and wheelchair bound. One day, he showed up in the office with a tripod and an 8x10 view camera strapped to the back of his wheelchair. I asked him about it.

He said, "Well doc, I was out shooting this morning, and I didn't have time to take the gear off my wheelchair before I had to come to see you".

I wondered how hard it was for him to set up the camera. He said "Oh, it's really easy!"
He proceeded to show me how.
With one twist of his body, he grabbed the tripod, and set it up.
With another twist in the opposite direction, he got the camera off the wheelchair, mounted it on the tripod, extended the bellows, and had the ground glass visible for shooting.

The entire sequence took perhaps 3 minutes to set up.

I was impressed, to say the least!

He has a home darkroom for developing, and he prints by contact.

"I started with 4x5, but the prints are too small for my likeing.
So, I got the 8x10 instead".

The moral of the tale:

If you have a dream, you can fulfill it!
 
Well, I waited 39 years for my first Leica ! I lusted after an M3 ( and a Nikon F and a Mamiya RB67 and a Nikonos) .

When they told me 3 years ago I was borderline diabetic, I decided to get the things I'd wanted so much when I was younger. In the last 3 years I've pretty much done that.

If you keep putting off things,you run out of time to get them in.

Face it, none of us are getting any younger.

Go out and get your M9 and enjoy it while you can.
 
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