RFF Featured Photos

[back alley]

i've been waiting for THIS conversation...

joe

 

[RayPA]

i've been waiting for THIS conversation...

and...? 🙂

🙂

 

[Toby]

I believe a very eminent photographer said "the colour of photography is black and white" it might have been david hurn a magnum photographer who was involved with my college course back in the late 20th century. But I digress I think it's a good idea to shoot 100 asa colour transparency it's the acid test for any snapper/camera/lens

 

[back alley]

i'm just pleased with my powers of prognostication...but where this conversation goes is anyone's guess.

i think anytime a selection is made, no matter what the criteria, motivation or intent, that it opens up the inevitable possibility for dissention, hurt feelings and just general negativity.

i'm not saying this discussion is a bad thing.

joe

 

[Toby]

And what of the folks who can't shoot street photos?
They don't qualify as legitimate RF users?

I thought RFF's mission was to promote the use of RF's, whatever the subject.
I'll now retreat back to my workbench.😉

I totally agree with you *but* on the front page of the website shouldn't we promote the unique strengths of the rangefinder and draw in more innocents into our sordid little obsession? 🙂

*I think I'm becoming the photographic equivalent of a radical evangelist*

 

[TPPhotog]

My view is that everyone knows that RFs are street shooters. So anything else such as macro, still life, portraits, nudes, landscapes, etc all shows the versatility of the RF 😉

 

[Toby]

My view is that everyone knows that RFs are street shooters. So anything else such as macro, still life, portraits, nudes, landscapes, etc all shows the versatility of the RF 😉

If I'm shooting a portrait an RF is not the first camera I reach for -different tools for different jobs

 

[TPPhotog]

If I'm shooting a portrait an RF is not the first camera I reach for -different tools for different jobs

But a RF can be used for most things that a SLR can but the RF is more fun, so why not promote that side 😉

 

[Toby]

Well I don't use a 35mm SLR to shoot portraits I use a Pentax 67 with a 165 lens a *small* extension tube Two bowens 500's and a tripod etc... If I have a couple of drinks and think of england it's almost like the real thing 😀

 

[TPPhotog]

LOL Only a couple of drinks? 😉

 

[canonetc]

Landscape and still-life images still sell better in the art market and attract more buyers than "street" or photojournalism images (which can attract controversy of a political or moral nature, and has, sadly, a small niche of afficianados compared to the rest of the photo world). I believe that choosing a photo to "represent" RFF on the main page requires careful consideration, such as the dealers who have ad space here, as well as other persons (possibly art buyers and students) who come to RFF to check out the works.

So, choosing an image to represent RFF as an excellent forum takes more thought than just random selection.

Chris
canonetc

 

[richard_l]

My view is that everyone knows that RFs are street shooters. So anything else such as macro, still life, portraits, nudes, landscapes, etc all shows the versatility of the RF 😉

Who in the world would do macro on a rangefinder nowadays? That's pushing rangefinder fanaticism dangerously near monomania.

Richard

 

[Kin Lau]

Who in the world would do macro on a rangefinder nowadays? That's pushing rangefinder fanaticism dangerously near monomania.

Richard

That would be the "how to get a macro shot not in the middle of the frame" school 🙂. Or the "that's an interesting way to crop a closeup".

 

[RML]

Admittedly, when I think of rf cameras I think of street or PJ photography. But when I try to think of what exactly constitutes street photography, I can't come up with a solid answer. Is this ( http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=4027&cat=3352&page=11 ) shot street photography? I don't think so but it was taken with an rf camera. Or this ( http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=6201&cat=4935&page=1 ) one? Also taken with an rf camera but hardly your typical street photography.

My point? It doesn't matter here on RFF what subject you shoot, as long as it was done with an rf camera (or rf-less vf cameras, and a few other exceptions we looooong ago semi-agreed on).

Keep those featured photos coming!

 

[TPPhotog]

Who in the world would do macro on a rangefinder nowadays? That's pushing rangefinder fanaticism dangerously near monomania. Richard

Who would use a fully manual camera nowadays? My point is that a RF can be used for many subjects if the photographer wants to invest the time and practice to use it in that way. I've even macros shot with LF over the last 12 months 🙂

I would use an SLR myself but that doesn't mean others might not want to try with a RF 😉

 

[VinceC]

I use rangefinders for all of my film photography. I transitioned from Nikon manual SLRs about 15 years ago (Fs, F2s and FM2s), and I haven't shot one of the SLRs in three or four years. I do use a digital point-and-shoot for quick snaps and macro work.

My RF decision is based almost entirely on the size of the cameras and lenses. I never liked carrying around big threatening gear. I don't think my photography improved by switching to RFs. It just became a little different. And in the telephoto realm there are now shots I routinely miss. But I just like carrying around a small (but surpisingly heavy) rangefinder camera instead of a big whompin' SLR. I may eventually get a small digital SLR, but that would be for convenience. I can take any photograph I need to take using an RF.

As a former photojournalist, I'm well aware that in the 1950s, rangefinders were capable of handling just about any assignment. In the 1960s, photojournalists switched swiftly to SLRs, just as they switched more recently to digital. The SLRs required a little less skill to get a passable picture and were more flexible. Being able to view through the lens was the "killer app" of its day. On the other hand, a skilled RF shooter can handle any assignment, too. Just differently.

Cameras are tools, and you can match a camera to any job. But I prefer to just use one type of camera so that I can focus on how to capture the image on that particular platform. In the example of macros, it's been pointed out that only a masochist would attempt it these days. But an interesting workaround, for me, is to shoot a 135mm at closest focus with bounce-flash. In my Nikon RF system, that gets me a strong close-up about the size of a sheet of writing paper. Not macro, but still pretty darned close for a rangefinder.

 

[varjag]

n the example of macros, it's been pointed out that only a masochist would attempt it these days. But an interesting workaround, for me, is to shoot a 135mm at closest focus with bounce-flash. In my Nikon RF system, that gets me a strong close-up about the size of a sheet of writing paper. Not macro, but still pretty darned close for a rangefinder.

Actually I've shot a couple of still lifes this way using my Kiev, in an anxiety for arrival of FKD 13x18 🙂 You need to be certain that your finder's parallax compensation is precise, but otherwise it's not too hard.

Another issue though is that the finder, while compensates for parallax, still renders a slightly different perspective than the lens. Good thing however is that if you need control that precise, Kiev can be mounted on tripod with the back taken off and a piece of groundglass installed in the film gate.. a taste of large format in 35mm 🙂 Just make sure that tripod stays in same orientation after you screw in the camera with the back on.

 

[Toby]

Part of the fun of RF is working around its shortcomings and exploiting its strengths. It puts more of the photographer into the photograph. I've been very impressed by a lot of the simple family photography in the gallery, the available light work in particular give a real feeling of intimacy that you just don't get with compacts or slr's -especially as its so tempting to use the built in flash

 

[JoeFriday]

my final thought on this is a quote from HCB... "sharpness is a bourgeois concept"

and so is defining what a rangefinder photo is supposed to be

 

[Kin Lau]

So far there have been one street shot, two still lifes, and one architecture/landscape. Not a bad representation of the versatility of the rangefinder. Maybe it's time now for another street shot or two, and maybe a "pure" landscape, and an abstract, and definitely some color shots. But it's really up to Jorge and his preferences, isn't it?

Richard

I finally remembered the 1st one, an XPan shot of a family discussion in the kitchen. Definitely an RF type shot. So it's 2 out of 5 so far.