nickperzik

when i first got my m6, my shutter was jamming. it really freaked me out. even a used leica is a huge investment for me and to have it jam so soon... it turned out that the guy i bought it from didn't use it that much and all the lube dried up, so the second shutter curtain wasn't closing all the way and i couldn't cock the shutter until it did. all it needed was a good CLA and some tlc. it's been perfect ever since.

neat!

that is what happens when you have a light source in your photograph. like when you have a street light in the picture and you see a weird little flare thing exactly opposite the lens axis from the actual light. in this case it just happens to be words and in a really noticeable place. i suppose you could say it's common to the 35 summicron - and every other lens too....

i bought a 12504 hood for my 3rd version 35 summicron, and really didn't like it. yeah, it's metal(tougher) but it's so big that it leaves the lens wide open to all sorts of things(elbows in crowds). i ended up buying a 12524 - the rectangular one for the 4th version - and am way happier with it. it's smaller and it shades the lens way better. the only thing is, it had two little tabs that fit into two little slots on the 4th version lens to keep it from rotating - i filed them off and it fits fine. i just have to watch that it doesn't rotate too much - which it only does when my camera is on my shoulder or in my bag. oh yeah, and it really doesn't block any more of the finder than the vented ones do.

"Ward 81" by mary ellen mark - the first serious pictures i had

seen dealing mental illness - the photos hit really close to home

for me(incidently, it was a video about her that i saw in a college

photo class that made me want to be a documentary

photographer).

"Exiles" by josef koudelka, "the americans" by robert frank and

"on the road" by jack kerouac - i just HAD to travel after these.

"The Mind's Eye" by Henri Cartier-Bresson - wonderful insights

into one of the most amazing minds in our field.

the 2 gigantic magnum books, "in our time" and "magnum

degrees"

ok these are the last 2..... "broken dreams" by antonin kratochvil

and "workers" by sabastiao salgado - grain can be a wonderful

thing.....

i've been developing tmz shot at 3200 in tmax developer for years. i've found that for my exposure and processing the recommended time from kodak is right on the money(prints easily on grade 2 w/little dodging/burning). a couple times when i've been super busy, i've taken it to a local pro lab which uses xtol and the negs are ok.... printable but really grainy. i get the best shadow detail and best grain w/tmax. of all the film/dev combos i've tried tmz and tmax dev works best for me at speeds higher than 1600(tri-x pushed 2 stops works beautifully.... again in tmax, but not much shadow detail faster than 1600). but i would do like james said and test it before you process anything important. good luck!

if you don't like the way leicas load, then don't buy a leica. there are plenty of other really great rangefinder cameras out there. there's no rule that says if you're a serious photographer you have to have a leica. i've had an m6 for a while now and i absolutely love it. yeah, the loading was a little awkward at first - where do i put the bottom? why can't i get the film onto the take-up spool? - but i got used to it and now it's almost as easy as loading my fm2's. my understanding was that it's supposed to keep the film flatter than a regular back door does. but i don't really know if that's true. i think leica's "if it ain't broke don't fix it" approach is fine. but if it's really a problem, contax makes a damn fine camera.......

unless you want to, that is. i use kodak's standard powdered fixer and it hasn't failed me yet. before i start processing, i take one of the leaders from the film i've just loaded into my tank and drop it into some fix. i leave it in the fix, agitating occasionally and keeping track of how long it's been in there, until the film clears. then i double that time to get my fix time. and i do this every time i process. in other words, you should fix for twice as long as it takes the film to clear. i've been doing it this way for a million years and it's never let me down. oh yeah, and i use tri-x 95% percent of the time. my times are usually anywhere from 6:30 to about 8 minutes. longer than 8 and it's time for new fix.....

Not necessarily in this order:

Henri Cartier-Bresson, Antonin Kratochvil, Mary Ellen Mark, Robert Frank, Sebasiao Salgado.

These are the people who's work, at various times in my life, has effected not only my own work, but also the way I think about photography in general. But is it really fair to limit it to just five? If I come back to this question next week, I could end up saying Joseph Koukelka, Steve McCurry, Harry Callahan, Roy DeCarava, William Claxton, Elliot Erwitt, Paul Fusco, William Allard, Diane Arbus, Joel Meyorowitz..... and the list would just keep growing.

Dang! Now I'm all inspired. I'm gonna go shoot now.....