Re: [Leica] that LUG photo competition

[Gary Elshaw <gary.elshaw@vuw.ac.nz>]

Hi Takeshi,

I don't know if you were trying to troll with this statement, and i 
wasn't sure if i should reply to this until John did, but you started 
a thread and then seemed to have missed the point folks here were 
trying to make.

This difference of opinion also has very little to do with 
"maturity". I'm not sure who you were trying to target with that 
comment, but being a relative newcomer here, i think the comment you 
made may have been a little premature on your part. No one here said 
anything about everything having to be within their means. No one 
vilified the companies involved for making the things they do, at the 
prices they charge for them. No one called Leica robbers. I don't 
want to put words in peoples mouths, but the point as i understood it 
was that brand new Leica cameras are costly instruments, which are 
purchased by most people after either saving (add your own time 
bracket), or are perhaps the result of a windfall. The point is, for 
many people, they are not readily obtainable instruments new, or even 
used in many cases.

At the moment I irregularly use an M3 and a Leica III when i'm not 
here in front of this computer, which at the moment is sadly more 
with the computer than the Leicas. The LUG is my vicarious Leica 
thrill at the moment while i write my thesis. I'm glad Doug is out 
camping and shooting his and his daughter's experiences, i'm glad 
Kyle is meeting Michael Moore, I'm glad Noel is out shooting images 
of flowers and fields which give me perspective at the end of a hard 
day. All of this stuff makes me want to get out there and use my 
Leicas. They are expensive pieces of equipment to many people, we 
don't vilify them, we love what they do for us.

Gotta go,
Gary


>
>Without meaning to, I seem to have offended those of you who think 
>absolutely everything should be within your means, whatever they may 
>be. Whether we like it or not, that's the case. I cannot afford 
>everything I want all at once, but I certainly don't blame or vilify 
>those who make those things. Perhaps this comes with maturity. 
>Instead, I try to improve my lot in life so that I can afford more 
>of the things I want. So, those among you who believe Leica are 
>robbers, bear in mind that the company lost money for several years 
>recently, so they're not exactly getting rich, even by catering to 
>those who can afford those special editions.
>
>Secondly, it seems as though many posts on this list dealing with 
>technical problems should be directed to Leica repair. "The advance 
>lever on my M-3 feels sloppy" hardly qualifies as a useful post on 
>this list. It would probably cut down a bit on unnecessary posts. Am 
>I wrong here?
>
>
>On Wed, 24 May 2000 00:12:57   Johnny Deadman wrote:
>  >jeez, what a lot of unpleasant bullshit about prices. Ten years ago I maxed
>  >out my credit cards to buy a leica M3, and was eventually forced to sell it
>  >for lack of money. kept the canon rf. went without food to buy film. only
>  >just recently had enuf money to buy a leica again. still can't afford 'em
>  >new. don't talk to me about prices. Okay, a user M2 and lens can be had for
>  >less than the shittiest second hand car, but I didn't have a car for 10
>  >years.
- -- 

"The Howells Medal is a great honor, and, being gold, probably a good hedge
against inflation, too. But I don't want it. Please don't impose on me
something I don't want. It makes the Academy look arbitrary and me look
rude. . . . I know I should behave with more class, but there appears to be
only one way to say no, and that's no."

                      --Thomas Pynchon on being offered the Howells Medal
OO
[_]<|    Gary Elshaw
  /|\        Post-Grad Film Student
               Victoria University
               New Zealand
http://elshaw.tripod.com/
http://elshaw.tripod.com/photointro.html