Candids with Hassy

[ryan_lombard]

I am thinking of taking some time off to drag my spare 500CM body,150C

lens and some b&w out for candid shots somewhere but I have never

thought about how to approach it in MF.

 

With my 35mm slr it was already a problem, I would have a whole crowd

staring at me before I even start focussing. Much less of a problem

with my compact, but much less of a decent picture.

 

I want quality (bigger negative/better lens) shots, but not of a

bunch of candids doing exactly what candids don't do: stare at the

camera. I remember a big bloke once getting all upset as I tried snap

a photo of a group of people sitting at a bus stop. Not the type of

response I'd ever want to induce. I'd love ideas of where(in general)

to go and any hard earned hints anyone (especially Hassy users) could

share on getting along unnoticed.

 

Ryan

[rick_campbell]

Ryan,

 

You must be kidding! A Leica I can see, but a Hassy? Oh well, you can try using the waist level, point your body and head in one direction while pointing the camera in another. Zone focus and don't put your eye to the finder. Just look down and take a shot. Then turn away completely before winding on. But I wouldn't expect a high percentage of good shots. And the thing is soooo loud.

 

The best bet is a place where lots of people are taking pictures and you just blend in, like a street fair or something. There have been whole books written on candid photography but the way things are going in this society, don't be surprised at a violent reaction.

 

Better yet, go to Japan to take your pictures. They totally ignore cameras there 'cause everybody has one.

 

Good luck.

[peter_hughes]

Many people have done "candids" with MF (usually, however, with TLRs such as Rolleis, which are much quieter than SLRs). I don't think that the 150mm lens is the right focal length for the job, though. An 80mm would be better, or a WA better still. Rick's pointers are right on. You might try locking up the mirror for less noise at the moment of exposure. Discretion and stealth are all-important. Pretend you're aiming at something in the distance, then lower the pre-focused camera at the last moment. I've done street shots with, yes, a Pentax 6x7 without having people realize they were being photographed. Don't make eye contact or look guilty! Walk away slowly and don't look back. Remember that a good stage magician can lift your watch without you being aware of it. Misdirection is everything.

 

http://www.ravenvision.com/rvapeter.htm

[jim_chow]

>Better yet, go to Japan to take your pictures. They totally ignore cameras there 'cause everybody has one.

 

:-) This is an understatement. You can stick you lens a few feet in front of someone at a crowded temple and it will practically go unnoticed. :-) There are actually private investigators who are usually hired by housewives who suspect their husbands are cheating on them. The P.I. tails the suspect around w/ a 35mm slr, even into restaurants, etc.,clicking away the whole tim. At least on tv, shooting pics in a restaurant goes unnoticed though I always seem to notice these things (almost always with groups). BTW, karaoke bars now include a polaroid camera with the karaoke room rental, so you can also click away there. :-)

 

Another tactic is the stealth tactic with long lens, like a 350mm. Stand back, brace it against something (you camera bag, something like that), and pretend you're looking at something in the camera. You'll be far enough away that the sound of the mirror won't be as noticeable. I couldn't imagine using a 80mm lens from up close and expecting to blend in. For this kind of shooting, you really need a built in meter, as handheld meters are just way too slow.

[august_depner]

Well, you've chosen an instrument not usually associated with stealth; most Hassy photogs seem to get good results by being identified as the photographer, rather than hiding the fact. Candid photography is often catch as catch can, with minimal composition, exposure readings, in pursuit of that moment something is happening. Composition of the resulting photograph is frequently done in the darkroom, not in the viewfinder. Using a Hassy generally (not always) means a measured approach and thoughtful composition compared to smaller formats (and other designs)...

 

Given that, why not accept the challenge, eh? My advice: go with a wider lens than the 150, say 80 or wider (now the 40mm - there's a lens that will go unnoticed) and set the focus to the hyperfocal distance, using a fast film so you can stop down as far as you can. Then lock up the mirror. You're ready.

 

Practice with this, and you will be able to judge the distance a subject has to be from you for them to be in focus, and by holding the camera in one or two predefined manners you will gain a sense of what your photograph will look like. You'll even learn to keep the camera horizontal. With the mirror locked up you have less noise, and you'll be able to handhold the camera. Then do the other things that candid photogs do, whatever the format - blend in, or rush by, whatever your style is. Good luck.

[peter_olsson]

You can sit down somewhere, for instance outside a coffee-shop. If you

place the camera on the table or in your lap and put a sweater or

something over parts of the camera you can even point it sidewards

and compose through the waist-level finder. I imagine that a split-

screen focus aid would help but I haven't been able to afford that

yet. Perhaps it would be better if you didn't hide the camera at all,

that could make people upset if they found out what you are doing.

If you just sit down you can take the picture unnoticed even if you

are not pretending anything.

[anthony_mckee]

Hi Ryan,

Despite all these answers I think the two most important things you first need to decide is what you are trying to say about the subjects and then how you intend to achieve these results. I shoot documentary work using both 35mm gear and Hassleblad equipment. While everyone is busy talking the stealth treatment I prefer to be upfront about what I am doing with the cameras. Most of the time I can walk into a situation and within a few seconds engage and then disengage the subject...... first you quietly let them know you are there and that you are of friendly intent... then you ask them to carry on and ignore you. From that moment on you ignore them to and rather concentrate on the environment, the events and the moment.Using this method I usually get away with using anything from a Konica Hexar through to my Hassleblad with the 50mm attached. Most of my photography relies on getting close to the subject using wide angles, seeing their surroundings..seeing the emotion in their eyes. Telephotos are for voyuers!!!!!!!

If you are concerned about the MF aspect remember two things - if you are planning on capturing moments then you need to be ready not seconds but up to minutes ahead... always be aware of the light level you are working in and be ready for the possiblilty of events or moments to happen. Prefocus all the time and you should be ready.

[henry_mann]

Ryan

I've used a Hassy with 80mm, or 60mm or 50mm, waist level finder, spot meter or weston II for casual shooting and got some very nice stuff. It's "small" and seems to be ignored , maybe because your always looking down. I've also used a Mamiya 6MF which worked out well, and in some sense I preferred( worried about marring hassie and built-in meter). Always used depth of field scale to avoid spending time focusing and attracting attention.Either camera is as easy to handle, I think as a 35mm and you get a negative and a contact that at my age can be see easily.

[henry_mann]

PS

Ryan,

The hassie or any MF camera has the advantage that your not shooting off 36 shots in a minute. People start to ignore you if your scanning a scene with a hand held meter and have you eye buried in a hassie and there's dead silence until they hear one or maybe two clicks. I think its because the process is "long" that they see the scene as the target of the photographer and not themselves.

[djphoto]

Ryan, here's an excerpt from an article I wrote about photographing candidly on the street which may be apropos:

 

"Fourth, be invisible. This isn't a contradiction; it simply means working without calling unnecessary attention to yourself. In crowds I practice invisiblity by avoiding direct eye contact. That doesn't mean I avoid looking at people, but rather that I seem to look through and beyond them. Locking eyes with individuals can cause them to feel singled out or threatened -- not a good thing in countries where political/cultural factors make it wise for most citizens to keep a low profile. When photographing people in this way I sometimes take the camera away from my eye after making the picture and continue to look toward but past the subject. Very often he'll look around to see who or what I was photographing.

 

"Another kind of invisibility occurs when you work in an open, straightforward, and businesslike way. People will watch you carefully for signs of indecisiveness or fear. When you project the attitude that you have a right to be there because you have a legitimate, worthwhile job to do, most people will relax and allow you to get on with your photography."

 

The article has to do primarily with photographing people abroad, but much of the information is useful anywhere. It is titled "The Fascination of Foreign Faces" (unless the editor changes it) and will appear in the August issue of "The Rangefinder" magazine.

[struan_gray]

I don't like sneak shots but I do enjoy taking pictures of people and

situations I meet while travelling. I preset the camera for

hyperfocal distance and the fastest shutter speed/aperture combination

consistent with the ambient light. I make adjustments if I think I

have time, but otherwise just snap away.

 

I was surprised to find that many people find my Kowa less threatening

than my small Pentax 35 mm cameras. It makes about the same level and

sort of noise as a 500-series Hasselblad but is a little larger and

more obvious in the hands. I think it's partly because with a WL

finder my face is not obscured as I take the picture, but also that

people associate 35 mm with scumbag papparazzi and don't worry too

much about my slightly comical old black honker. Museum guards on the

other hand...

[djphoto]

I have found that when I photograph on the street with medium format many people seem to think that it's some kind of video camera and that I'm just a tourist.

[ulrik_neupert]

In Ecuador I found an interesting way to take portraits of children. I did not always like to take (shoot) candids with a telephoto. Which is not so easy to do unobserved with such a big camera and such curious children anyway (I did some candids with the 500C/M with waist level finder and 250mm lens placed on my lap while sitting in a street cafe). Instead I let the children look through the waist level finder at their friends. They had a lot of fun and I had some nice opportunities to release the shutter. Of course I let them rotate so that every child could see through the camera and stand in front of it. The best lens for this was the 80mm, because the children come quite close, they know nothing about the minimum focusing distance of my 150mm lens. Playing with the kids seemed to me much nicer and was much more fun than giving them candies or money for posing, although I had to clean the camera more often.

[peter_hughes]

A thread that seems to be running through these answers, and one which I would like to reiterate is that, in most cases, YOU give YOURSELF away. One of the many hats I used to wear was that of stage magician, and one thing I learned was that when the trick failed, or when I goofed up, the audience was not always aware of it unless *I* made them aware of it by grinning sheepishly, making a face, apologizing, etc. In most cases, if I kept my rhythm, very few people were the wiser.

[david_schleimer]

use a Rolleiflex TLR, you can get a tremendous camera with accessories for the price of an old user hassy lens....

and you will not be giving up on neg quality I can assure you

[ryan_lombard]

I would like to start of thanking everyone for their responses, it has been extremely helpful. On trying some of the ideas out this weekend I stubbornly went for the 150 instead of the 80 as recommended and quickly found myself missing potential shots. Fortunately the 80 was nearby and I eventually got a shot or two. This was using the sit-at-a-coffeeshop-with-blad-on-lap (although it was more like a pub), Brilliant, works like a bomb, I just don't know why I never though of it.

 

It's quite a bit more difficult to get 'interesting' subjects than I thought, but some locals working on a fence on a farm just outside town were all smiles when kindly asked to pose. I think that will be my best shot if it comes out. I kept guessing exposures though, it sure is hard work already not looking guilty. But then most people spotted me immediately but seemed not be bothered.

 

All in all I only brought in 5 shots while out a few hours, not too great, but at least I'm able to avoid shots these days that I know won't work. I'll try some of the other ideas mentioned next weekend.

 

Thanks again,

Ryan