Leica LTM Show off your Leica I/II/III/LTM Camera

[Erik van Straten]

...and I do not like the heavy ones with aperture rings (can't remember codes) which I always understood to be designed for use in the darkroom, in the days when your taking lens became you enlarging lens.

VALAU? Not very heavy, though.

Erik.

 

[Dralowid]

VALOO was the one I was thinking of, from memory it is combined with a hood. I haven't had VALAU, does it have a hood or is it just a ring?

Can you remind me of the name of the aperture ring that sits inside a clamped on filter?

 

[Erik van Straten]

VALOO is a black hood/ring (probably the successor of the VALAU) to regulate the diaphragm of the Elmar when this is used as an enlarging lens. This is a bit too heavy to be used as a lenshood-f/stop ring for ordinary photography. Falls off all the time.

VALAU is indeed a ring, but with a certain dept, so it can be used as a lens hood. It includes a ring that is to be coupled to the f-stop ring of the lens, like the C&P hood. Quite handy, but I prefer an ordinary FISON. A black one please.

The aperture ring that sits into a clamped on filter is the VOOLA. I don't have one of those I think. I never use filters.

Erik.

 

[Dralowid]

I suppose one could put VOOLA inside a black FISON. The problem is that one would have to either loosen the hood clamping ring or twist the hood on the lens (if it is a hood without clamp) to adjust the aperture.

Surely it is is easier just to stick one's finger inside the hood?!

 

[Erik van Straten]

Yes, that is why I prefer the FISON. I just stick my finger in the hood and take care not touch the glass. A good thing is that I don't drink alcoholic beverages. I have no trembling hands.


Erik.

 

[davidnewtonguitars]

Thanks Erik, this stuff glows with vintage charm!

 

[Erik van Straten]

Yes, and definitly British indeed. Thank you!


Erik.

 

[Dralowid]

A good thing is that I don't drink alcoholic beverages. I have no trembling hands.


Erik.

I suspect you enjoy using as low a shutter speed as possible?

Meant to ask for ages, are you a fan of the American artist Edward Hopper? Your pictures, like many of his, leave me wondering about the relationships between the people pictured. Nothing is ever said and if anything is ever hinted at it is in the mind of the viewer.

 

[Erik van Straten]

No, I don't like Hopper that much. He is a book cover painter. In painting I like Ingres, Raphaël, Piero della Francesca and some others. In photography Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank ("The Amercans" period), Koudelka and Junku Nishimura.

I never think about the relationships of the people on my photographs. It is difficult enough to get everything sharp and well composed.

Erik.

 

[Dralowid]

Ah, Federico de Montefeltro's nose is something to be admired!

 

[Erik van Straten]

Yes, and do you know the Flagellation of Christ in Urbino? That is a Cartier-Bresson in color. Here in b+w.

Erik.

 

[Dralowid]

I do, you have re-awakened an old fascination for me. At school (long time ago) this painting was used as an example to teach us about vanishing points and perspective.

You can come back to these images time and time again.

 

[Erik van Straten]

The scourging of Christ. The composition is very photographic. The most important person, Christ, is in the background. It is as if the photographer was not allowed to come closer.

It is an allegory of the fall of Constantinople. The pillar to which Christ is bound is exactly like Cemberlitas in Istanbul, the gigantic column where once stood a statue of Emperor Constantine. Pontius Pilate is a clear portrait of the then Turkish sultan. Christianity in Constantinople was defeated. It is also true with the dating of the painting, around 1455.

It seems that the people on the right have nothing to do with the scene in the back, just as often happens on a photograph.

Erik.

 

[Dralowid]

It seems that the people on the right have nothing to do with the scene in the back, just as often happens on a photograph.

Erik.

I used to have a cropped print of their feet on my wall but never knew who they were.

 

[Erik van Straten]

They are unindentfied, but they are surely portraits.


Erik.

 

[Dralowid]

Great stuff but reluctantly I suppose we had better get back on topic. Let us talk about the texture of paint...or the lack of it. The word 'patina' is banned.

IMG_1253 by dralowid, on Flickr

 

[davidnewtonguitars]

I have avoided the black-painted Leica. My nature demands that I smooth down the remaining paint and brush on new enamel. I know it would take the value down, but I must do it.
So I won't buy one.

 

[Deleted member 65559]

I have avoided the black-painted Leica. My nature demands that I smooth down the remaining paint and brush on new enamel. I know it would take the value down, but I must do it.
So I won't buy one.

but David, would you re-finish a vintage '30s Martin guitar? 😱

 

[Erik van Straten]

Black cameras are nice, they do not attract much attention. A chrome camera can be seen from miles away.

Erik.

 

[davidnewtonguitars]

I happily obey all the vintage rules with guitars that I repair. Since I only own the best guitars (guitars that I build myself) I will never be tempted with a truly valuable vintage guitar.
Cameras are my hobby.

but David, would you re-finish a vintage '30s Martin guitar? 😱