TLR on streets - who's done this?

[duchan]

Interested in reading about your experiences in using TLRs on the

street, am thinking about now and then using TLR in street

photography. If I remember correctly, Diane Arbus gave 6x6 format a

try. Can you recall names of other photogs who did same?

 

Greetings,

Duchan

[bruno]

I used a TLR on the street in the last months... it is great if you want to connect to your subject, like Arbus did. I am very happy with the results so far. I also tried it for candids, but it's not the right tool, at least not for me. You can find some pics from the Yashicamat in my portfolio on photo.net.

[gib]

you might want to take a look at the work of David Malcolmson, he has used a Mamiya TLR for a lot of his street photos.

 

http://www.photo.net/shared/community-member?user_id=549318

[kent_tolley2]

Imogen Cunningham & Robert Doisneau both used Rolleiflex on the street.

[elliot_n]

Re. Arbus.... She did more than give 6x6 TLR 'a try'.... most of her best-known work was

created on 6x6 TLRs (Rolleiflex and Mamiya C33).

[j_sevigny]

I used a Mamiya C33 for some street work in Guadalajara and it was interesting -- not

better or worse than working with a 35 mm rangefinder, just different. First, because the

image in the waist level finder is in reverse, it was pretty tough to track action. Second,

because the camera only accepts 120 film, I only had 12 exposures before I had to reload.

 

On the upside, you get a much bigger negative so you can get away with a lot of cropping

that wouldn't be possible with smaller film formats.

 

I say try it, see how you like it, and then post a few examples.

[kent_tolley2]

After abandoning 35mm, Arbus shot with a wide-angle Rolleiflex and a TLR Mamiyaflex.

[hugh_crawford1]

<I>because the image in the waist level finder is in reverse, it was pretty tough to track action. </I><BR>

 

It is actually quite easy once you get used to it. If you think of it as moving the subject rather than moving the camera i.e. move camera to the left to move subject to the left, then it becomes quite natural.

<BR>

Walk around while looking into the waist level finder for an hour or so and you will be fine. TLRs are great for street photography, I wish someone made a digital TLR. I've taken to using my canon 1ds at waist level without using the viewfinder at all with mixed results.

[kent_tolley2]

What Bruno said about the TLR and connecting with your subject is germane. HCB's use of Leica is suited to his "images a la sauvette" (pictures on the run), commonly translated as decisive moment where the photographer seizes a picture and quickly disengages from the subject. This agility is not possible with the bulkier and more obvious TLR. The subject usually knows and must participate in the picture making. The photographer and subject make a connection which changes the nature of the picture itself.

[paul a. roid]

a TLR works quite well with fast film and zone-focussing.<br>

otherwise the focussing process is much slower than with<br>

an SLR or RF, which makes it hard to use a TLR for candids.

[________1]

Just about everyone before the 35mm era.

[gary_watson]

Though not a TLR, my old Bronica S with its WLF is fun, mainly because of my bent-over posture that most people find non-threatening. That's what makes a TLR so effective for street shooting.

[pete_gee]

Im no expert, but Ive done a little with my Mamiya C3 (The "Tank"), I find it quite slow to use, but for not so fast actioned stuff, its suprisingly effective. As you dont bring it up to eye level i find people dont seem to notice it as much. Those that do notice seem more willing to pose for you (I think its a novelty factor?), if thats what your after.

 

Also do a search for Ans Westra - she uses a Rolleiflex 6x6 to great effect.

[terry_rory]

Doisneau worked a Rolleiflex and had this idea that with a TLR you are 'bowing' to the subject when looking down into the waist level finder.

 

Henri Cartier-Bresson, in a discussion with Doisneau, once ridiculed the idea saying... "God would have put eyes in our navels" he preferred the idea of a 'hunter' or predator stalking and catching his pictures without engaging a subject.

 

Bill Brandt also used the Rolleiflex a lot.

[thomas_sullivan]

I've used a Mamiya C220 shooting street with a waist level finder and a handgrip (essential in my opinion for street). I learned how to use this cam shooting pics of my 2-5 yr daughter (20 some years ago)....so shooting fast was a MUST. It was difficult at first, but once you get it down it comes back real fast.

 

as far as "famous" street photogs using tlrs...the list is actually a lot longer than imagined...I am constantly finding ones that have used these cams for street.

 

I personally use them for the fact that unlike slrs, you dont loose the image in the finder when you shoot.......you're looking thru the viewing lens. Compared to rangefinders, I like the tlrs in waist level mode because I dont have to raise the camera, plus looking down seems to not alert the subject quite as much as raising the camera to the eye. Even with slrs and rfs I shoot alot from the hip, but with the tlr i actually see what i'm shooting at.

 

on the other hand, yeah, changing film every 12 shots is a major pain, but then I can't shoot too long with this cam because of the sheer weight of it. But for a nice 2 hour 4-5 rolls of shooting outing........they are really nice.

[john_mcmillin]

I did it, 30 years ago as a student, and it was a great experience. Even then, my Rollei

didn't fit most folks' conceptions of a camera. So I could work very subtly, without

affecting people's moods and expressions. Just a glance downward and I could frame and

focus the shot approximately. Accidents happened, some of them happy, some not. The

pictures stand out from my SLR photos in one respect- they showed a child's-eye view of

the world, showing faces against the sky. If you want that look, I can't think of a better way

to get it.

 

Give me a digital TLR with autofocus, please. Instant review would solve the lack of DOF

preview, and autofocus would allow fast responses. It would produce pictures that no eye-

level camera would capture. And make it look like that old Rollei, with baroque details that

make me look like some ont antique nut, not a serious or pro photographer. That image

intimidates people, while the box camera appearance of a Rollei amused them, if any

reaction at all.

[terry_rory]

John you want a digital TLR with AF.

 

Well maybe a Sony DSC-R1 could help you. The LCD screen is top mounted and twistable so that you can use it as a waist level finder like a TLR.

 

It has a (35mm equivalent) 24-120mm f/2.8 - f/4.8 Carl Zeiss lens and an APS-C sized 10 mpixel sensor and RAW.

[terry_rory]

Although it fails dismally in looking like a Rolleiflex of course!

[spanky]

Although I've never used a TLR, I have to agree that a waist level finder can be the street photogs best friend. Using this on my RZ67 allows me to get in really close to my subjects without alarming them. So many of my candids are like this that many people don't belive that they are candid since they are facing me and fill up the frame.

The downside (must there always be a downside?) is that it's harder to get critical focus even if your eyesight is good like mine. Once you flip up the magifier then you have to bring the camera up to your eye to compose and to make sure everything on the ground glass is focused. Still, you just can't beat those bigger negs and to me it's worth the slower pace and cumbersome weight.

[jack_lo_..._t_o]

Somewhere I read that Arbus ended up using a Pentax 6x7 which she was very excited about.

 

Walker Evans' book, "Many Are Called" which is back in print, is all candids taken on the NYC subways with a TLR, except he also used one of those right angle mirror thingies so he was not pointing directly at the subjects. He got a lot of stunning images.

[kent_tolley2]

"Have gotten obsessed with buying a new camera. Utterly smitten with the new 6x7 Pentax. Its just like a big Nikon, which is what Ive always wanted, but there are problems...what speed short of a 250th can it be hand held at? and only synchs at a 30th...I am borrowing Hiro's and must try all sorts of things, mainly sharpness at slow speeds. It makes an enormous difference in the pictures, Of course they arent very good. Its hard to get used to a new shape. It looks like a greater degree of reality and I havent yet learned how to use that. A little like when I switched from Nikon to Rollei." -- from a letter to her ex, Allan Arbus, Dec 6, 1970 with punctuation by Diane Arbus<BR><BR>She buys her own Pentax in late Jan '71. "Its coming from Japan. Borrowed one from Hiro for several weeks and I adore it. It will change things. I am awkward with it at first. But its very thrilling. Nobody understands but me what a difference it might make. It looks hilarious like an Enormous Alice in Wonderland 35mm, a little fake as if a bird might pop out instead of a picture." -- letter to Peter Crookston Jan 25, 1971<BR><BR>In "Revelations" many, perhaps all of the pics from '71 are 6x7. She takes her life the end July '71 so she only has a chance to shoot with it for 7 months.

[jd_rose]

Amazingly, Rollei has a mini digital TLR listed on the current website. Looks like fun. Apparently, it will hang as a small pendant just perfectly between your girls's breasts. Interesting item.

 

I gotta a G Mat that I love. Most of the girls assume you are bored or tired when you slump and look down; they do not realize you are composing a revealing picture of energy and humanity.

 

--- JDR

[trw]

I've used a Mamiya C220 with a monopod for street photography. It worked for me (zone

focusing, WLF)

[duchan]

Thanks all for feedback, I've gained a great deal of insight via your input! I welcome connecting with subjects, so that aspect of TLR use is ideal for me.

 

What will for the first rolls somewhat pain me is the costly development of the 120 film...here (in Germany) it is approx. 16 Euro (about $18.50) per roll of 120 - is it that expensive in your countries? And according to the owner of the photo shop, there will be for HP5 no contact sheet available that would help me make selections of images to be printed. (I will return to developing my own film and try to locate someone with a darkroom).

 

I am a little worried about glare on focusing screen on sunny days, hopefully it is not as bad as on digital LCD?

 

Fill flash and TLR - what are your thoughts? (Maybe I should post this question seperatly).

 

It is now time for me to go on main street with TLR...

 

Happy photography and a fine Monday from

 

Duchan

[michael_bach2]

18 euro is wery expensiv. I pay 2,80 Euro her in Spain for 120 Color neg film, with out

contact sheat, 6euro for dias. 9 euro for 35mm with 36 prints, 9x15cm in good quality

 

www.micbach.dk.........."Photography workshops in Spain"