Article Dedication
In honor of
Cristobal Hara & Sarah Moon
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Before the Leica forum threw me out, I read that some of the Leica fondlers hate the red dot logo on the M240. They complain it hurts their ability to shoot candid street work. So they cover it with tape.
I hold the world record for how close you can get with a FF 35mm digital rangefinder cam and still shoot a candid.
Here is a photo shot less than a foot away with a Leica M240. I always keep the red dot in full display. (I have candid photos going down to 2 or 3 inches away from the subject, but I like the one I presented here best.)
Order Women Like Pizza copyright 2014 Daniel D. Teoli Jr.
This was not a fluke shot. I shot tons of them. The red dot didn’t matter to the subjects one bit. (Now, I was caught a few times…no one is perfect.)
Unless you got some screwy focus system like Fuji’s focus-by-wire. Or you have those terrible M43’s that you can’t adjust on the fly…don’t blame your gear…blame yourself for your shortcomings. It is not the red dot…it is YOU!
These were shot with a Fuji X, Oly M43, Pentax K1000 and Leica M240. If your skilled at candid street photography, you should be able to shoot from most any distance and bring home winners with almost any cam.
8 Inches Away…
1 Foot Away…
1-1/4 Feet Away…
1-1/2 Feet Away…
Infrared Flash
2 Feet Away…
Infrared Flash
3 Feet Away…
3-1/2 Feet Away…
4 Feet Away…
5 Feet Away…
Infrared Flash
6 Feet Away…
7-8 Feet Away…
8-10 Feet Away…
15 to 20 Feet Away…
All 100% candid.
Here is the bottom line…
If the camera can do it, but you can’t, then the problem lies with you and not the gear. Don’t blame your gear…blame yourself if you can’t produce. I could have used a cam with polka dots on it and still got these shots. The camera fondler could have used an invisible cam and they would have still fudged up.
Now, if the camera is not capable of something, then you may have an excuse. Even then, a skilled photog can sometimes stretch things. My Fuji could not take the photos of the Red Light District if it was used as a Fuji. But, being skilled in documentary work, I used the Fuji like a Leica and I could make it produce.
It is not the cam…it is the photographer.
Also see:
https://danielteolijr.wordpress.com/2015/08/07/the-camera-fondlers-delight-pimping-their-cam/
https://danielteolijr.wordpress.com/2015/05/15/being-at-one-with-your-camera/
https://danielteolijr.wordpress.com/2015/05/13/what-is-the-best-camera-in-the-world/
https://danielteolijr.wordpress.com/2015/07/27/self-defense-for-the-street-photographer/
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Photos used herewith are from the following limited edition artists’ books by Daniel D. Teoli Jr.
Encyclopedia of Photographic & Fine Art Ink Jet-
Printing Media – 12 Volume Set – 2014
Bikers’ Mardi Gras – 2015
De Wallen: Amsterdam’s Red Light District – 2015
180 – The Circular Fisheye at Large – 2016
Piercing Darkness – 2016
The Americans…60 years after Frank – 2016
Whoop-Whoop – Forthcoming
Gay Bar – Forthcoming
Secrets of Candid Photography – In Development
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Daniel D. Teoli Jr. 