Just share a story about my experience...

We went to Montreal,Quebec city for Memorial weekend, one night we had dinner at a fine, cozy French restaurant near Old Port area on St. Paul st. I pulled out my M2 trying to do a snap shot about the internal-deco, the waitress suddenlly approached our table when she snapped it. I instinctly pushed my M2 into my Hadley bag. What she wanted to say is "you got a nice camera", I said "oh yes, you know what is it"? she said, sure- it's a Leica M4... which surprised me, so I grabbed my M2 out and then she said WOW, it's M2. The I pulled out my M6TTL. She shouted "Get out, I envy you, are you a pro?" I denied... Then we started to talk about Leica and photography in our poor English(not native language for both of us), she likes Salgado the most and she's working as a waitress in order to get a Leica(M4) to expand her photography capability, she's a Arts major new graduate.

I feel shame on myself since I'm a lousy amerture but with the best equippments the pros desire. It ended up I paid more tips for her to contribute a little on her career into an artist to make the world more beautiful.

My first time got spotted and got to know someone from my Leica.

-- Fred Ouyang (yo54@columbia.edu), May 31, 2001

Answers

Nice story. Don't feel ashamed because your skills don't yet match the quality of your tools. One very smart person once told me that you should use tools that are better than you are. That way you'll be limited only by your mind and not the tool. You are then left with no excuses as you practice.

-- Tony Rowlett (rowlett@mail.com), May 31, 2001.

Nice story Fred, and I understood your English just fine. I thought the story was going to end with you giving her a tip of your M2 or M6 ;-)

-- Dan Brown (brpatent@swbell.net), May 31, 2001.

That's a charming story, Fred! If only my beat-up M4-P could attract nice waitresses who are knowledgeable in photography!

-- Hoyin Lee (leehoyin@hutchcity.com), May 31, 2001.

Nice story. I've only had two people take notice of my Leicas (including many trips to Europe...maybe would be different in Japan). One fellow in the US, in his late 80's, related how he took his well cared for one-owner M3 to a camera shop a couple years ago because the 2-stroke winder had seized, was told it was "not worth repairing", got $50 for it against a zoom P&S.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), May 31, 2001.

Fred:

You said: I feel shame on myself since I'm a lousy amerture but with the best equippments the pros desire.

I disagree with the earlier posts. I think that you should feel shame. In contrast, the rest of us are shameless. To help you, we will allow you to mail all of your equipment to us. It is a sacrifice that we are willing to make. :).

Art

-- Art (AKarr90975@aol.com), May 31, 2001.

Hi guys,

I have to confess I spent more time surfing this website(and others about equipments) rather than viewing master works(or my works) about photography, but we always say that Leca is a tool, what pictures you took really counts...

I felt the passion from her French-English about Leica photography and some master works taken by Leica, other than tourists identifying my Leica from "it's a great camera but expensive toy for rich snobs or yuppies"...

Fred

-- (yo54@columbia.edu), May 31, 2001.

In the place I live in Mexico a Leica is passed unoticed, wich is great, the other day some one I know that happen to be an enginer, asked to se my black taped M4P, he was marvelled by holding it, but he couldnīt see any brand on it and asked me what kind of camera was it, I answered a 35mm rengefinder, I had to go but afterwords though that I have to see this man again to show the leica and inform him what it really was, heīll probably be a future leica user, other person call me the guy with the pretty camera.

Today taking my nikon FM2 home from my office I begun to see through the finder in a trafic ligth, tring to arange taking a picture, just to remember how it feels to use a SLR, god! how dificult, I felt my self as a photographer taken apart from the proces, too much to pay for a reflex image, I remember when buying my first camera, how important was to play with what you see trough the viewfinder specialy with telephotos, the camera were for me a tool to se through it more than an image maker, now they make me feel unsafe and out of control,

does any one have had a similar experience?

-- rwatson (al1231234@hotmail.com), May 31, 2001.

>does any one have had a similar experience?

You bet! One of the things I like most about the Leica M is the clear glass of the viewfinder. It makes me feel part of the action - more of a participant and less of an observer. I always feel the SLR's groundglass separates me from the scene - it abstracts the event into photographic terms, and shuts me out. My role with an SLR is one of an evaluator and manipulator of the image, rather than an active member of the event I'm photographing.

It sounds kinda new-agey maybe, but it's kept my Nikons on the shelf for a couple of years now :-)

-- Paul Chefurka (chefurka@home.com), May 31, 2001.

Last year at a party, I meet a friend that I've lost contact for about four years. My M6 with 35'lux Asph was next to me on the sofa. He pick it up, look into the viewfinder, look back at the camera from above and seriously tried to guess the price: "This worth 430.00$ US (about 650.00$ CAN)."

-- Eric Laurence (Edgar1976@hotmail.com), June 01, 2001.

Well Eric he just missed a zero.

-- r watson (al1231234@hotmail.com), June 01, 2001.

Watson,

Must have been the booze..

-- Eric Laurence (Edgar1976@hotmail.com), June 01, 2001.

The only time I have seen someone using a Leica it was in front of my apartament in Mazatlan, Tom was making a portrait of his wife Arleen with an M6 and a 35/2 asph, I think I spot it from a hundred yards,now we are good friends.

-- R Watson (al1231234@hotmail.com), June 01, 2001.

Good story Fred. I've had my M6, 35mm f2 Summicron Asph, for less than a week now. Already I've been spotted. By a waitress also. Her comment was "Wow, I've never seen a real Leica before!" Which prompted the question, "but you have seen plenty of fakes then?".

Fred, the important thing is, if you feel comfortable with the your camera, you will probably shoot better anyway. No matter what the equipment. It's taken me years shooting 4x5", 6x7cm, Nikon, Canon, etc etc to finally get around to the simplicity and comfort of the Leica. I will never go back.

Good shooting!

-- Wayne Haag (wayne@wetafx.co.nz), August 01, 2001.

I just returned from the same french restaurant, and the waitress commented on my Hasselblad. I had to correct her, that it was not a 500CM but the new 203FE. she said she had forgotten the cosmetic blue streaks were on the 200 series, and she wanted to know how the differential integral metering worked. having enjoyed her conversation and excellent service, I left her a large tip. now that I have read your Leica story, I realize we were both scammed. what a clever way of increasing your tips.

-- daniel taylor (lightsmythe@agalis.net), August 01, 2001.

Scammed? You, the prodigously wealthy ;-) Hasselblad and Leica owners, voluntarily paid for the privilege of a pleasant conversation with a poor waitress. Rare value for money, methinks.

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@pacific.net.sg), August 02, 2001.

When I visit a french restaurant I usually took with me both Hassy & Leica and give double tips with a double pleasure:?)

-- Victor Randin (ved@enran.com.ua), August 02, 2001.