Rangefinder by Roger Hicks and Frances Schultz, Happy New Year

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Archiver

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Wasn't sure if I should post this in the Photo Book section, or Roger's subforum, but here it is.

On Sunday, I returned to a lovely secondhand bookshop that I hadn't visited for over a year. The owners are an older couple who love books, and they have a wide range of everything from general fiction and antiquarian through to travel, art and architecture. They weathered the storm of lockdown with very supportive local customers.

In the Art/Photography section, a single book spine stood out to me - RANGEFINDER. I blinked a couple of times, then was even more surprised to see that it was by our own Roger and Frances, rest their souls. That was it, this book had to be mine. How it came to be in a secondhand bookshop in Melbourne boggled me.

The lady who owned the shop said that it had come from the collection of someone who had wonderful books. I explained how I was on an internet forum and had corresponded with Roger, and how he was generous with his knowledge. Heck, I even had my M9 across my shoulder at the time, and showed them how it was a rangefinder.

The husband grinned and said to me in a thick brogue, 'you don't find books, books find you. And now he's given you his knowledge to hang on to.'

This completely made my day. I haven't even read it yet, but it's sitting on my desk as a charm of happiness. Thank you, Roger and Frances. Happy New Year for 2021, everyone.
 
Great story, great find and even a great quote from the store owner...there is a reason you and the book have crossed paths...go find out the "Why" to the "What"...
 
Happy New Year to all!

Happy New Year to all!

Thank you for this wonderful story.

Let me add that you will not be disappointed by this book. I bought it quite a while ago and have read it numerous times. I am very fond of it.

Cheers! (as used to say Roger),

Abbazz
 
The Rangefinder book got me hooked on rangefinders. I was already using a Mamiya 7 but branched out into 35mm and Large format Rf all the way up to 5x7!
 
Archiver said:
...In the Art/Photography section, a single book spine stood out to me - RANGEFINDER. I blinked a couple of times, then was even more surprised to see that it was by our own Roger and Frances, rest their souls. That was it, this book had to be mine. How it came to be in a secondhand bookshop in Melbourne boggled me.

The husband grinned and said to me in a thick brogue, 'you don't find books, books find you. And now he's given you his knowledge to hang on to.'

This completely made my day. I haven't even read it yet, but it's sitting on my desk as a charm of happiness. Thank you, Roger and Frances. Happy New Year for 2021, everyone.
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Lovely story. Thanks for sharing. Makes you wonder if Roger and Frances were 'reaching out'.

Enjoy the book and the memories.
 
Archiver said:
How it came to be in a secondhand bookshop in Melbourne boggled me.

Thank you, Roger and Frances. Happy New Year for 2021, everyone.
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A very nice story. When in Melbourne for a few months I found it rangefinder friendly...make of that what you will.

Also do Michael's Cameras still have a sort of Leica Museum on the first floor?
 
I recently got one of Roger's books (Medium Format Photography) and after reading the posts here checked to see what else he had written. Turns out I had one of his books already (assuming it is the same Roger Hicks) called Motorcycle touring in Europe and I met the man years ago. Is it the same chap do you know?

I'll be picking up Rangefinder too.
 
moggi1964 said:
I recently got one of Roger's books (Medium Format Photography) and after reading the posts here checked to see what else he had written. Turns out I had one of his books already (assuming it is the same Roger Hicks) called Motorcycle touring in Europe and I met the man years ago. Is it the same chap do you know?

I'll be picking up Rangefinder too.
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Yes, it's the same chap.
 
Thanks for sharing this nice story. I was lucky enough I met Roger and Frances a few times in Arles, they were very friendly people.
 
Dralowid said:
A very nice story. When in Melbourne for a few months I found it rangefinder friendly...make of that what you will.

Also do Michael's Cameras still have a sort of Leica Museum on the first floor?
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Melbourne has a fair number of rangefinder friendly shops. Michaels Cameras in Elizabeth Street does indeed have a fantastic camera museum upstairs, I visit at least once a year and marvel over the range of things they have on display. Not just Leica, but every brand and format you can think of, as well as some early digital gear. They are a licensed Leica dealer with a fully decked out Leica section on the same floor as the camera museum. Here's the awesome Leica S in a cabinet at Michaels.

GXR - ME WANT COOKIE by Archiver, on Flickr

Until recently, Camera Lane was just a stone's throw from Michaels, a tiny shop with a huge and specialized inventory. They specialize in Leica and Nikon as well as secondhand gear, but have a good range of Olympus, and a bit of Canon and Panasonic. I've bought numerous things from them. They recently moved to Spotswood, and I have to drop in some time.

Just around the corner from the former place of Camera Lane is Digidirect, who are another authorized Leica dealer. Last I saw, they had cameras from the M, Q, SL, CL and TL range.

About 40 minutes from the CBD is Camera Exchange, who used to be in the CBD near Michaels. Going in to their shop is like entering an Aladdin's cave of old and new cameras. I can't quite describe the experience of walking into a place lined with display cabinets stuffed with secondhand gear, and tables festooned with more.

And of course, Melbourne has a Leica Boutique in the St Collins Lane building, also in the CBD.

So now that I think of it, we've got a decent number of rangefinder shooters and owners in Melbourne, so it's not impossible that Rangefinder would have found its way into someone's bookshelf. But I would like to think that this maybe was Roger and Frances saying hello. :angel::)
 
What a lovely story, thanks for sharing!

Shakespeare had Marc Antony say, "The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones." But this is evidence that the good things that people do, and the knowledge that they share, can indeed live on after them and continue to do good, helpful service.

Even nicer to think that, as someone speculated above (and the bookstore owner seemed to hold) that Roger's spirit, and his good work, drew you to such a wonderful find.

Happy New Year, and best regards!
 
Archiver said:
Melbourne has a fair number of rangefinder friendly shops. Michaels Cameras in Elizabeth Street does indeed have a fantastic camera museum upstairs, I visit at least once a year and marvel over the range of things they have on display. Not just Leica, but every brand and format you can think of, as well as some early digital gear. They are a licensed Leica dealer with a fully decked out Leica section on the same floor as the camera museum.
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Michaels closed tonight for the last time. From here on they are online only. As far as I could tell I was the last customer/non-staff member out of the store. They hope to donate the camera museum collection to an institution. Sad.

Marty
 
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