Who was that shooter??

[Jonas Adolfsen]

****, i always heard and figured that a nice Leica will get you loads of attention amongst females. I know the Hasselblad SWC i regularly use attracts men. But come to think of it, i have never seen anyoe shooting a Leica...

 

[peterm1]

On the rare occasion that I see someone with a rangefinder they generally behave like a frightened rabbit - or perhaps they think I am about to bang them on the head and steal their pride and joy. Or maybe they are just shy and wary of being thought of as odd. Or most likely they are just so bound up in their picture taking process that they don't like being interrupted by some stranger. Never the less I try to say something about me being a Leicaphile too but seldom have the chance to say much more before I read the body language and leave them to their business. Truth is I am a bit wary of strangers approaching me on the street too. But I always give them a nice smile and a say a pleasant "have a nice day"or whatever before moving on. I generally have a camera with me at all times - it used to be a Leica film camera and now it is a digital SLR. One day it may be a Leica again (an M8 I hope) but it is truly quite rare to see someone shooting a classic camera of any sort. Maybe this is why.

 

[johannielscom]

I'm seeing leica shooters quite often in Prague.

End April, early May, you might have seen me.

Like Spleenrippa, I never see RF shooters in the wild either. I have friends shooting DSLR's and they don't get it. The other day, I met a guy who actually knew what camera was around my neck, I've been spotted once in the supermarket (always a camera with me).

You guys & gals are my link to reality when it comes to RF shooting🙁

 

[benlees]

When I was in New York last year someone at one of the museums I was at had one. The only time I've seen one around someone's neck. Definitely an M (had a red dot) but that is all I know!

 

[johannielscom]

...
You'll also see far more digital cameras than halide, but at the exhibitions, you'll see far more pictures taken with halide than with digital...

Cheers,

R.

Aren't those shot with camera phones and passed off as halide shots then?😛

 

[.ken]

I've only seen one person in Vegas with M8... no other RF's. It's a rare breed.

 

[victoriapio]

I was shooting at Buckinham Palace in London last summer and came across a Leica II user (who claims it is the best Leica ever made) and an M6 (or possibly M7) shooter but we did not get a chance to talk. Every other camera there - there were thousands - was either a digital p&s or DSLR.

 

[hydroquinone]

I am living in Vietnam for three years, and here I have seen quite a lot of M6, one M8, and even a Bessa R, all peoples carrying these camera were Japanese tourist.

 

[PMCC]

Spot RF shooters in downtown SF from time to time, photographing innocent bystanders going about their business unawares, nocturnal revelers, and instances of social injustice, but mainly just each other. The right tool for the job.

 

[maddoc]

I have bumped into two Leica shooter here in Sapporo, one time ~ 4 years ago ~ it was a Japanese photographer using an M3 and last year into a foreigner using an M7. It turned out that he was one of my flickr contacts and we knew of each other but had never met in person before. 🙂

 

[Michael Markey]

I forgot . I saw a chap with an M6 and TLR at Whittington point to point in April. his wife had an M8. Also met a chap with a CL at Badminton in May . He spotted me first with my M3. I noticed him standing and pointing at me. Not bad out of a crowd of 100k plus.We chatted and bumped into each other later in the day. He wanted to know what my 90 Elmarit would feel like on the CL so swapped lenses and he took a few shots.
If you want to meet Leica shooters get a horse !

 

[LChanyungco]

i've seen quite a few out in the wild. not hard to spot despite black dots, no dots, and black paint 😀 its fun to try to i.d. the cameras and lenses without disrupting their (our) stealthiness 😀

 

[nksyoon]

This year in Zurich at the Spring Festival I saw an M8. I also saw an Asian tourist (I assume) with an M5.

OT, but a construction worker complimented me on my Rolleiflex the other week.

 

[amhildreth]

The only other one I've seen was at the community darkroom here. I had just removed the film from my Vivitar 35es, and the gentleman next to me was unloading from his old Kodak Medalist II. We talked for a few minutes, and joked that we were the only 2 rangefinder users left in Rochester. I'm beginning to think he was right.

 

[DGA]

Last October I was on a short week visit to Paris.
During the whole time I haven't spotted not a single film shooter, not speaking of RF.
But, on top of the Montmartre, at the main entrance of the Sacré Cœur, A guy approached me and said "nice camera" while pointing at my Black Zeiss-Ikon.
It seems that I was spotted shooting RF in the wild 🙂

 

[Cron]

Vienna is a good place to see Leica of all breeds in the inner city the whole year, many tourists, seldom spotted other RF brands or MF.
Venice also, not only during the Carnevale

 

[caperunner]

Saw a Rollieflex user in Venice last month and I had my Canon GIII.

 

[Wallo]

I see rangefinders quite often in Central Europe.

I was approached twice on a recent trip to Bremen, Germany because of my Epson rangefinder. Both were Leica users. I was too surprised to ask any questions from the first gentleman, but he said he carries a Leica M in his bag. The second gentleman had an M6 with two Summicrons.

 

[Nando]

In Coimbra Portugal, I encountered a few photographers using rangefinders. Two had what looked like FSU rangefinders, one a Yashica and one had a Canonet. I had the opportunity to have a nice talk with the Yashica user. I didn't approach the others as I spotted them from a distance.

I never ran into any photographers using rangefinders 'in the wild' here in Sault Ste. Marie Canada but I know two local photographers that shoot with rangefinders; CapitalK above and another good friend and co-worker named John. I first met John the day he was hired as a teacher. The principal of my school brought him up to my classroom to introduce him to me since we had a common interest in photography. I asked him what he used and he said that he used a film camera made by this great, old company that I probably never heard of; a company called Leica. I then reached inside my bag, pulled out my MP and asked "Something like this?". You should have seen the look on his face. At the time, John thought he might be the only Leica shooter in our town. I thought that about myself too. Since then, CapitalK got an M5 and I've also encountered a Leica R8 shooter.

 

[Muggins]

Obviously I'm the odd one out here! I work with a Contax G2 (I think) shooter, and someone who collects Oly 35s. I got into photography (though you wouldn't believe it, looking at my pics!) through a friend with a Super Baldax. I've met at least three Leica shooters (all black Ms of some description), our local Snappy Snaps employs a guy who shoots with a modern Voigtlander, I've met a chap with a Contax II, and seen a Fed-4 being used. All in one small city...

Adrian