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Do you always carry your camera? - I got lucky today!


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Returning home form photographing a small event at our local war memorial, I came across a bright red "Virgin" London air ambulance helicopter, touched down 300 yds from my house!

 

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A worker had fallen off scaffolding at a building site and I was the only guy there with my Leica photographing this spectacular heli' fly majestically out of our local church car park - the pics are on the way to the local rag! A minor scoop but how many of you always carry the Leica, just in case?

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Weird posting considering the lunch I just returned from. Left work

just over an hour ago to go for lunch. Three block from work I'm

sitting at a red light, a minivan going through a green light taps

the front end of a car making an illegal turn. The minivan flies

into the air, lands on it's roof and ploughs into another car. My

Rollei 35 was on the seat next to me. Got out, along with others to

see if anyone hurt (non seriously). All this within 25 feet of me.

The last thing on my mind was poking a camera into these peoples

faces. I have a great respect for journalists (not to be confused

with ambulance chasers), but I definitely am not one. The minivan

was probably going no faster then 35 or 40 KPH - watching it fly

through the air dissolved any thoughts of ever owing one.

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I carry a camera w/me as often as possible just because you never know

when something interesting might happen. Last year, I had my Contax

IIa w/me & was 1 of the 1st bystanders @ the scene of a <a

href="http://not.contaxg.com/files/0017/0023_986665430-600.jpg">fire</a>

in my neighborhood. Unfortunately for my chances of getting anything

in the local rag, it wasn't long before the professionals from that

rag (the Washington Post) showed up w/their enormous digital cameras!

On a less serious note, a few months later, when <a

href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/image-display?photo_id=439318&size=lg">Tom

Cruise</a> & <a

href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/image-display?photo_id=439322&size=lg">Steven

Spielberg</a> were in town to make "Minority Report" & were filming

scenes in my office building, I had my M2 & was ready to go.

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never leave home without my Leica.even if photo not the morning

news,its my diary of my life.what is point of having one of the bet

boxes in the world,if one only keeps it for show.For me show and tell.

as for the Rollie 35,well i have dropped it so many times,it has new

shape!thats due to poor design and stupidity by me.First always check

the victims,then get your snaps.The fire,tom and steven perfect

xamples.Good work.i will not carry one of those dumb 80~200AF slr.

Maybe i'd get different pix but not better.i prefer the 50mm.

so saying yesterday caught these folks participating in movie for

wedding video.real fun snaps.those were taken with EOS,28~85mm lens...

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i usually have my konica hexar (black original) with me, not that i'm

trying to shoot accidents, fires, crimes - cause then i wouldn't much

else... i live in DC ;-)

 

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the purpose is rather to document moments of life in general

 

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cheers,

 

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pat

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Yes, After Sept. 11, now I always do. I witnessed the tradgedy first

hand, but was too stunned to even think of photographing the horror.

Needless to say my M6 was home safe and sound but too far away in

Queens to be of any use. Now my M7 stays with me everyday when I

commute to work.

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Hi Giles. I'm one of those who make it a point to carry my Leicas

around as often as I can. Or at least my cameras are always loaded

with film and mounted with lens ready for action. I have a similar

occasion where a car parked stationary caught fire for no apparent

reason. Nobody had a camera, I was lucky with my trusted M4+90mm lens

mounted and APX 400 loaded to capture the rescue scene and the buring

Car. The photos got published in the newspapers and I got a small

reward for it. Visit

 

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http://www.offstone.com/photo/messages/155/4520.html?1019099155

 

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and enjoy. I make it a point to bring my Leica to work on Fridays now.

 

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Greg

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Kristian

 

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I have my Alice, nice to contain 2 Leica bodies. It's so nice using

the bag and nobody really notice it or regard it as a camera bag

because of its design, its good water-resistant too (not heavy

down-pour). One of the reasons I could sling across my shoulder and

carry my Leicas with me most of the time.

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When I took up photography as a teenager I was never without my camera

- even carried it on my paper route. I used to wander around town doing

informal portraits. One day I saw a guy being pulled out of a creek. He

was an epileptic; he'd been fishing, had a seizure, and drowned. I was

a bit jumpy - I knew him from a 'portrait session' of several months

before - but I took pictures anyway. This displeased one of the cops,

who gave me a dressing down for what he saw as an invasion of privacy.

A professional photographer surely would've shrugged it off...

anyway, to answer your question, I still carry my camera around, but

I'm quite happy to have never witnessed another accident.

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I would add that the guy (happily) didn't appear to be seriously

injured, infact he walked to the helicopter. It will be flattering

if they use any pictures but should I ask for a fee? This is a

typical small London suburb "local issue" newspaper.

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Copyright is the most important issue here if they use your photo.

Make sure they don't reuse it anywhere else without your permission.

You need to make sure they return you the negs afterwards. Money wise,

I got a $30 voucher for mine. I guess I'm not really after the money

but I did make clear to them that they must return the negs and give

due credits. Good luck.

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