TLR in Paparazzi Photography

[clint_graves1]

<p>I was in Rome and reading about the 50th Anniversary of the movie La Doce Vita. I saw in photographs and in the movie the Paparazzi using TLR cameras. Why was the TLR the choice camera of the paparazzi in the 50's and 60's?</p>

[ndnbrunei]

<p>Because TLRs (more specifically Rolleiflexes) were smaller than Speed Graphics and easier to use in a crowded situation.</p>

[leighb]

<p>I was shooting a TLR (Rolleiflex) in that time period for news/events/general. I also used a Graflex press camera.</p>

<p>While 35mm was available, it was never considered for such applications by me or anyone I knew, although many famous photographers used that format with great success.</p>

<p>The MF cameras had a couple of advantages as compared with 35mm:<br /> 1) fewer exposures per roll, so less wasted film;<br /> 2) larger negative meant you could frequently contact-print for newspaper use.<br>

<br /> As Andrew said, the TLR was much more convenient than the press camera, particularly when you wanted more than a couple of shots.</p>

<p>I'll be interested to see what other folks have to offer.</p>

<p>- Leigh</p>

[cabbiinc]

<p>I'm way to young to speak from experience but hold a TLR upside down over your head in a crowd and you can compose the shot on the ground glass. You can't do that with an SLR or view camera. I'd assume that you'd try to prefocus by distance as much as you could.</p>

[chris_waller]

<p>I've seen photographs from this period showing hordes of photographers crowding around such as Sophia Loren, all of them toting Rolleis and similar TLRs. However, most of them were using the wire-frame finder, not the ground glass.</p>

[rob_piontek]

<p>Funny, but actually it occurred to me recently that shooting and holding a TLR upside down above my head to be a big advantage. Recently I've been thinking a higher perspective would have improved some of my pictures. But I haven't tried it yet.</p>

[fwstutterheim]

<p>A friend of mine used to say: "You can use your Rolleiflex to beat yourself out of a crowd and it still takes great pictures". Mother would not have been thrilled by me getting into that sort of action. Anyway, in the early Fifties Dad had a Retina.</p>

<p>Ferdi.</p>

[vick_vickery]

<p>I remember a time...! I used to use Graphics and TLR's for news and wedding work...it was the normal equipment back in the 50's and 60's, though toward the end of the '60's you saw a lot fewer press cameras, and a lot more 'blads and 35mm SLR's; I guess folks were getting richer! :-) I used to prefer Yashica TLR's over the Rolei's because they were cheaper...if you started having a problem with one you ceremoniously held it at arms length and dropped it into a trash can instead of paying for repairs...you could afford new Yashica easier than you could afford a repeat of the problem!</p>

[bueh]

<p>In the fifties (especially the first half) TLRs had a much faster film advance than many rangefinders or SLRs (and to saying nothing about press cameras). This is quite an important feature when you need to shoot quickly!</p>

[d_purdy]

<p>If you can zone focus, the sports finder is great with the Rollei. Just looking through a window. Before I had a prism I used to use it a lot. <br>

Regarding shooting with the camera over head, it is very easy with the prism to hold the Rolleiflex upside down.<br>

Dennis</p>

[hjoseph7]

<p>With a TLR the subject never really knows if you are taking their picture or someone else which makes for a more "candid" photo. You can do the same with Live-View these days.</p>

[henry_ed_fly]

<p>In the 1960's and 70's, I used a Rolleicord Vb. The negative size was great. You could be very sneaky using these cameras and still get great pictures.</p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>Until the Nikon F debuted in 1959-60, there were no professional quality SLRs and lenses longer than 100mm were rare. Black and white film was either slow or grainy. News shots are usually cropped severely, especially in lieu of long lenses, and a 4x5 or 6x6 negative gives you a lot more freedom in that regard. By the mid 60's, the Nikon F dominated the journalistic world. I still preferred a Rolleiflex for gun and run work for these reasons as well as those cited by Leigh B.</p>

<p>Why does anything appear in a movie - for dramatic effect. The director may have felt that Rolleis looked sexier than Leicas. He wouldn't be alone ;-) </p>

[ondebanks]

 

<blockquote>

<p>I'm way to young to speak from experience but hold a TLR upside down over your head in a crowd and you can compose the shot on the ground glass. You can't do that with an SLR or view camera.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Dan, you are indeed way too young - because of course you <em>could </em>do that with an SLR in those days! Just like the TLRs, most 1950s-60s SLRs like the Hasselblad, Exakta, Pentacon and Nikon F came standard with WLFs or removable prism finders. Alas, too many of them have fixed prisms these days.</p>

 

[jason]

<p>In the 50's especially,less so in the 60's with the SLR, 35mm was considered a "toy"! The same way many regard small digicams today! For me it was always about using something small and light. The DSLR in my opinion is a huge mess! Mostly larger than a Speed Graphic with flash..<br>

The TLR is a great camera. It is slow in my hands! The quality way ahead of 35mm. It hurts but is true!</p>

[shadforth_stephen]

<p>My photographer grandfather used a Rolleiflex in the field and a 10x8 in the studio. The trend away from medium format came with the Nikon F.<br>

The choice also had a lot to do with what the newspapers wanted or had developing equipment for. Once they invested to 35mm processing, the push to 35mm for pro's kicked off. It was vastly easier to reload the camera and having up to 36 exposures increased productivity.<br>

But medium format is by no means dead. What other format allows third party digital backs to just snap onto the body, so preserving your investment? </p>

[leighb]

<p>I had heard that 35mm was popularized by photojournalists during the Korean war, primarily using Leica cameras. </p>

<p>This significantly predates the introduction of the Nikon F (~1960).</p>

<p>- Leigh</p>

 

[agustvalgard]

<p>Quite interesting to hear you guy's share. I'm am of a new generation who happens to enjoy using a "cheap" TLR like the Autocord. Some of you actually used these as their "workhorse" :-)<br>

If any of you have some favorite pictures of you prime time of using the TLRs I'd love to have links to these.<br>

Kindly, Agust - www.autocord.com</p>