Tony Rowlett Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 A photo-pen pal has written, "Thou shalt never use a Light Meter" as his 2nd commandment of his photoreligion. He continues, "A meter is the dumbest crutch on earth. On a Leica it's a disgrace, like training wheels on a racing bike. Those who use a meter are camera operators, those who don't are photographers." Bold statements, I know, but he is a masterful street photographer who has sent me quite a lot of his work (all fiber-based, mostly 8x10, some cut/cropped from 11x17 and sent as "post cards" through the mail). He's sparked in me a train of thought. Perhaps a better way to go with the M8 is to go so far as to remove the meter and have only a manual exposure mode. (That is tongue-in-cheek.) I wonder if I should set down the M6 and pick up a 4 for awhile and see if my photography becomes less bland. And ask him what his 1st Commandment is. Backups? We don’t need no stinking ba #.’ _ , J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivek iyer Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 "..but he is a masterful street photographer who has sent me quite a lot of his work (all fiber-based, mostly 8x10, some cut/cropped from 11x17 and sent as "post cards" through the mail)." I would ask him for tips on printing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_chan4 Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 His comment is going to receive a lot of flak so I'm staying away from this one. As for his probable 1st, I suspect he'd stick with a single prime lens with a focal length of his choice. That lens is glued permanently to the body. Multiple-lens gig would be a henious crime. And any zoom found in your bag would render you to be banished into the twilight zone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug herr Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Might as well guess focus too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray . Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Well, most of the great photographs being done today are being made by camera operators then. Whatever dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray . Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 <i>he is a masterful street photographer</i><p> Any chance this masterful street photographer's work might be, uh.. <i>visible</i>? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_m__toronto_ Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 sounds rather pompous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivek iyer Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 "Might as well guess focus too." Lomoleica, Doug? :) Heck, why bother with a camera? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony_brookes5 Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 He has apoint. For the first ten years of my Leica III I never used a meter. I only used Ilford XP1/2 and I knew that in sunlight I would always get an acceptable picture at f9 1/500th. Out of the sun i would use F6.3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_scheitrowsky1 Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Commandment #1 is: Thou shalt not use digital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_nesbitt Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 What snooty posturing! We should use whatever tools help us achieve our seperate visions. If you don't need a meter to get the maximum performance from your camera, God Bless! But I often do and shoot chromes more often than not. Why bracket chromes when you don't have to? Why wonder about exposures? I've used a simple incident meter for half a century and have no reason not to, especially when one quick reading usually carries me through many exposures. To each his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Let's see him do it with color transparancies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_epstein Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Sounds like your friend has a bit of a self security issue. Not only is what he said idiotic for it's boldness, it just makes no sense. A light meter has as much to do with picture quality as a clutch does with how well one drives. It's a tool to be used in the creative process. The meter simply says "here's what I see" and you have the choice to work with it or not. Ansel Adams used the 8x10 format AND he used a light meter. Was he simply an operator? Not for nothin', but your pal is a ninny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_chan4 Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Thought he was using Polaroid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff_drew4 Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 The above provokes another thought: Why do filmmakers still print exposure info on the inside of the boxes or on accompanying spec sheets? Who reads them and does anyone actually refuse the meter and use the instructions? Hmmm. Shouldn't the barcode be enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dankapsner Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 This individual has passed the feistiness test and should be admitted without delay to the Leica area for further provocative postings. While it can be fun to guess the light--and with practice I can get pretty good at it--sometimes I'll get it wrong. A light meter is an excellent tool for judging the intensity of light and getting good exposures. Why should I, or anyone else, be deprived of such a useful tool? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex_Es Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 If this credo works for this particular photographer all the more power to him. There are "masterful" photographers who do use light meters on or in their Leicas. End of discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtk Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 There aren't many "masterful street photographers." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray . Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 <i>see if my photography becomes less bland</i><p>Tony, they'll be as bland or unbland as they always were. You're stuck with yourself and your vision, for better or worse. All a light meter does is aid in the accuracy of exposure. The rest is voodoo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobatkins Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 If you want to make life hard, why not also remove the rangefinder and cover one eye with a patch? Could also wear a loincloth made from a potato sack while shooting. I'm afraid that doing things the difficult way doesn't make them any better, nor does using a 50 year old camera and lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albert knapp md Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 This is April 1 stuff..... Can't believe it was posted one month and two days later... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobtodrick Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 I totally agree with your pen pal Tony...though I own a good meter and rely on P all to often. I remember when I first got involved in photography...about 1969. I had saved up my money to by a then popular Agfa 120 folder that didn't have a meter. I went back to my camera salesperson to buy one a few weeks later (this back in the days when the guy behind the counter really cared about photography...something harder to find these days). He showed me the tables on the side of the box of Tri X I had and told me to go out and shoot a roll going by that table. He told me to do this every week for a couple of months...and then he told me that when I had got to the point that my exposures were all reasonable WITHOUT using a meter...then he would sell me the meter. Some of the best advice from a salesperson I ever received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_epstein Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Resonable, yes. But that's working within the exposure latitude of the film. Yes, I could eyeball color neg and get "reasonable" results. If I were aiming for "reasonable" would I shoot with a Leica? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffery_pool Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Reminds me of my dad. Refuses to use the dishwasher even though it saves water and time. I guess its a way of proving to yourself you are useful but if you think that way you might as well sell the car for a horse and move into a lean-to in the woods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dg1 Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Legend (and perhaps fact) has it that Eggleston at one point in his career removed the viewfinder from his Leica. No meter, No finder... No winder! It's Leica koan. Dang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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