Cameras and lenses

After 8+ years of analog photography, and nearly 20 cameras later, I have converged on what everyone has said all along; Leica’s are great, and the Ricoh GR is a siren of a camera.

Am I mad at myself for not listening to the hoards of YouTubers and influencers? Definitely not. Do I have any regrets? Also no. In many ways that journey was necessary, I personally feel one should work their way into these things, determine what they like and don’t like, and spend the money when you know what you really want.

I also hate the cult around Leica, and it took a good deal and using other M-mount rangefinders for me to join it.

Leica M6 TTL

The 0.58x viewfinder is relatively rare in M6 Leicas and was only made in the year 2000 with a few thousand in each color. As a mostly wide angle shooter who wears glasses having anything higher magnification was a deal breaker. The rarity however usually means it attracts a premium, so when I stumbled across one at my local camera store for less than $3K, I bought it without hesitation.

The M6 TTL, while not perfect, is at least ergonomically the best Leica M6. The large and much smoother shutter dial gives effortless one-handed operation that moves in the same direction as the meter’s indication arrows cannot be understated.

It is also very utilitarian; no ostentatious top plate cursive script with pronunciations about its Wetzlar heritage, and even more stripped down than the original M6 (not even a red dot in the lens release).

My only real gripe is the battery life, which sucks; it uses a 16-bit Mitsubishi MELPS microcontroller, making it more powerful than the original Gameboy, and in the same class as the Gameboy Advance in terms of raw processing power.

Doom

Why did they need all that power? Does this mean that the Leica TTL can run DOOM? Who knows, and maybe (there is a DOOM port for the GBA)?

I only know this because I also own a NOS motherboard for my TTL as an insurance policy which allowed me to take a closer look (and the background and technical know-how to know what I was looking at).

So have my thoughts changed about Leicas? Well, I always knew they were reliable, practical, and well executed cameras, so no, my experience has been great, but now I am part of the “club” I despised.

Needless to say, I take this camera everywhere, and am now kept up at night by the visage of Joel Meyerowitz and Garry Winogrand’s ghost. Oh well.

As for the lens, it is the latest 35mm Summilux; I would prefer a 28mm (I mostly use the Zeiss Biogon 28mm, which is a brilliant lens), but due in part to my “B” camera (discussed next), and my desire to pack as lite as possible, the Summilux is the overall best option.

A tip for interested buyers; don’t drop it, since the attached lens hood will dent and will get stuck. In my case it wasn’t anything a 20 cent printed square hood couldn’t fix. I think it looks better anyway.

Moriyama

When I first saw Daido Moriyama, I didn’t know what to think.

Of Japanese photographers, my favorites are Shomei Tomatsu and Masahisa Fukase (both of whom worked with Moriyama).

While Tomatsu provides an unvarnished look at postwar Japan in the harsh light of day, and Fukase an intimate and personal portrait of domestic Japanese life, Daido Moriyama has a cynical outlook.

His world is dark and brooding and filled with shadow and decay, and his subjects are miserable drones living in the doldrums of contemporary Japan.

Moriyama however, unlike Fukase and Tomatsu, is connected with a look, and type of street photography, that is inextricably connected and enabled by a type of camera, which is the GR and GR21.

None of this was going through my mind when I found a mint condition GR21 in an LA store; for years I had used the Nikon 35TI, and while I have a love-hate relationship with that camera, the idea of an ultrawide premium (very) compact was exciting.

I also knew that it was rare, and that I would probably never see it again, so after having lunch with my partner, I walked in the store and purchased it.

What proceeded was an epiphany; the Ricoh GR21 is the most fun I have ever had with a camera.

It also helped me understand Moriyama, and how he thinks.

The GR21 requires a kind of intrusion a 35mm or 50mm doesn’t; it’s not being a fly on the wall, but a fly on the face of everyone involved.

Now that I am a GR owner, I also have to reconcile with the inevitability of its demise.

Like Moriyama’s photography, there is an aspect of fragility, decay, and pessimism associated with the film GR cameras.

It makes me want to take advantage of it while it lasts, and savor every shot.

I like the GR21, and now I like Daido Moriyama.

Bag and accessories:

Coco Chanel once said that “accessories are what makes or marks a woman”.

If she were alive today, and saw the discourse on photography, she would likely say “camera accessories are what makes or marks a man (and some women)”.

Soft shutter releases, thumb rests, straps, hot shoe covers, wraps, lens hoods, bags, etc, there is no shortage of ways to accessorize in photography.

In my case the bag, a 3L Peak Design bag, is as big as I would ever want.

I also carry a smaller (2L) Fjallraven crossbody bag.

Both are small, discrete, and waterproof.

For full day outings when I travel the Peak design is perfect, and has the space to hold my wallet and passport (along with batteries, film, etc).

I am always on the lookout for new bag options however, and maybe someday I will find something that Coco would be proud of.

~AEO, in.light.of.it.all

www.instagram.com/in.light.of.it.all.

Please keep them coming folks, we need more submissions, so get your bag on Japancamerahunter.com

Send me a high resolution image of the bag. Optimum size is 1500px across. Please ensure there is a bag in the shot, unless you don’t use one. The more you can write about yourself the better, make it appealing and tell us a story. Snapshots of your gear with a camera phone and no words will not be featured.
Oh and don’t forget your contact details (twitter, flickr, tumbler et al). Send the bag shots here. Please understand that there is a long wait now as there is a backlog of submissions. Not all make the cut, so make sure yours is funny/interesting/quirky. And please make sure the shot is of good quality, as the ones that are not do not go up.

Cheers
Japancamerahunter