HCB and his lenses

[Mark C]

I don't have a romantic notion of some bohemian figure with a single camera and lens, but have never heard anything that implied he traveled with a lot of gear. Obviously he would have had a backup.

I don't have the newsletters here, but Fred Picker said something I found amusing when talking about the gear he was taking on a trip. It was something like a Leica with a 35 and a Nikon with a 105 (maybe some view camera stuff too). He said that way he was covered; if one of the cameras broke down, he'd still be able to take pictures with the Leica.

I'm easily amused I suppose, but really Leicas (and Nikons, of course) were surprisingly reliable. And HCB did shoot the vast majority of his work with a 50mm lens. We're looking at a different era. I think he did very little work past the 60's and quit entirely in the mid 70's. Look at DDD's list of gear he took to Korea.

 

[Doug]

According to Patel's account, cited above, there was one spare Leica body on the train trip they took together.

Yes, plus a 35mm lens. And film in bulk from which he'd reload his cassettes in a 1hr ritual each evening. When busy on the street he'd shoot a roll every half hour or so. Interesting account...

 

[TXForester]

Professionalism and ethics, in photography, must involve a lot of Backup equipment.

I agree, but that is not what you said.

HCB was a photographer by profession, therefore he had to own a vast array of equipment. His professionalism and work ethics would have dictated that.

You and I have different notions of what vast array means. 🙂 Besides see what Richard G and Doug said regarding the link to the article about HCB's time in India at the NID.

 

[leicapixie]

Only folks who worship their Leicas would worry what he used.. I simply like the photos. Some i love. some are so remarkable, i look in awe.
Using a Leica is really no guarantee of success! My last roll was a tragedy.
Not having used my M3 for a few months, i made every conceivable mistake on every frame of the film..A Leica i've used since 1967, daily at times.
Appreciate the work, not the box and glass.
Looking at my last result, maybe my LAST roll in that box!

 

[Richard G]

The mathematics on backups would be an interesting Wired magazine article. When I had only one M9 battery I was fine. I have come close to having no power only since I got a spare battery, months later. You have to have one backup camera. But too many backups spreads the responsibility in an insidious way. This M6 has been playing up a little, but never mind I've got the M2 along as well. It's fine. When did I last use that...? At least it was recently serviced (?) in 2007...or maybe 1997...

One backup is probably not just the most realistic protection, it might even be the best protection. Why, it even did for HCB.

 

[DNG]

This story says a few interesting things:
- first, he took MANY photographs - 20 rolls a day make 720 frames, therefore there was little luck involved, it was mainly hard work
-

This is true, he was talented, but, he also knew that a certain amount of luck was involved as he stated in an Interview that can be found on You-Tube. His famous photo of the man jumping over a puddle was taken through a fence opening that was not large enough to allow him to use the viewfinder. He just aimed his camera the best he could and took a photo when he thought was the best time to.

Not to nullify your post.... just, that, because our mind-to-shutter, has a lag-time.. HCB understood that, and tried (very successfully) to fine-tune his timing. But, knew that many images he got where also luck.

He, like all of us, prepare and execute the best we can. But, sometimes, we just get lucky... our preparation has made those 'luck' images successful.

He was just a man with a camera that changed our world 😎

 

[someonenameddavid]

Perhaps it is no coincidence that the most famous of French scientists coined the phrase "fortune favours the prepared mind". So HCB prepared his mind and gets lucky....

 

[DNG]

Many of my SP is of people that are "Stalled" for a moment in time. That makes it easier to have more keepers.
It is more diffecult to observe a situation develop and "Guess" when the "Right" moment shows itself.

HCB said in many interviews, that you just "wait" for the right moment.
This, to me, is a harder skill to develop.

Whether a 50mm or 35mm or 40mm or 28mm was used, is of little importance, other than, how close you get, or how much of a scene you want in the image.

A 50mm can allow a good distance if want a full length people in the image, and still stay invisible to some extent.

But, it all relative to what you want as a final image.