Eisenstaedt's Camera

[ColColt]

Some old news from the UK I hadn't seen before that may be of some interest.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...cture-end-Second-World-War-sells-150-000.html

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Good article.

The nurse in the famous Times Square photo, Greta Friedman, died just recently.

 

[ColColt]

I know, she was 92.

 

[jeffreyg]

A number of years ago (I believe he was eighty-four at the time) I had the pleasure of entertaining Eisenstaedt one on one for a day when he was in Miami for an exhibition of his photographs. He was most interesting and sharp as a tack. He could remember every detail of the events and personalities he photographed including which pieces of music were being played when he photographed dances and concerts. He spent some time at our house with our family and later that evening my wife and I were fortunate to be seated with him at the dinner the sponsoring organization held in his honor. It was a memorable experience to say the least. He was certainly one of the greats.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

 

[Theo Sulphate]

... He spent some time at our house with our family ...

Wow!

 

[Patrick Robert James]

Anyone else think there is no way a camera could look as good as that after all those years of use?

 

[ColColt]

A number of years ago (I believe he was eighty-four at the time) I had the pleasure of entertaining Eisenstaedt one on one for a day when he was in Miami for an exhibition of his photographs.

How did you manage that?

 

[jeffreyg]

He had the gift of being able to put people at ease and the brief time was like visiting with an older friend. I even took him to a garden shop to get supplies for his house plants in New York. He collected some small air plants from our trees as well to take home. He signed a poster of Marlene Dietrich he had with him as a token of appreciation. My wife asked him who his favorite subject was and it was Sophia Loren. A great memory.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

 

[ColColt]

I have maybe 4-5 of his books and he's said more than once that about Sophia while the opposite about Hemingway being the worse.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Anyone else think there is no way a camera could look as good as that after all those years of use?

It's near mint. What amazes me is the lens and coating - looks new.

 

[TheRook]

Anyone else think there is no way a camera could look as good as that after all those years of use?

Yes, I was wondering about that too. Even with utmost care, one would expect more signs of wear after decades of heavy use. Perhaps the close-up images are just stock photos of a near pristine condition IIIa?

 

[timmct]

The old sailor dude, George Mendonsa, slapped me once. I swear his hands were as big as a mattress.

I was working on a fishing boat out of Sakonnet Point in Rhode Island. The boat, "Maria Mendonsa" was named after his mother.

If Hirohito and Yamamoto had figured that boatloads of kids like this MoFo were gonna come at them, they might have SERIOUSLY reconsidered Pearl.

 

[jeffreyg]

I dug up one of the pictures I mentioned. My beard is long gone and my hair while still present is all gray but my wife stlll looks great.

looks young and great.

 

[onre]

Yes, I was wondering about that too. Even with utmost care, one would expect more signs of wear after decades of heavy use. Perhaps the close-up images are just stock photos of a near pristine condition IIIa?

I am not surprised. Some people just manage to keep their gear pristine for decades even if using them constantly, whereas some others wear them down cosmetically in a couple of years.

 

[benjiboy]

I greatly admire Alfred Eisendstaedt as a photographer but I don't subscribe to the idea that cameras that have been owned by great photographers are semi-religious objects to be worshipped and revered and sold for huge amounts of money.

 

[Dali]

I greatly admire Alfred Eisendstaedt as a photographer but I don't subscribe to the idea that cameras that have been owned by great photographers are semi-religious objects to be worshipped and revered and sold for huge amounts of money.

As long as I am not forced to spend a fortune to buy a camera, I don't really care. The world is full of people with strange belief...

 

[benjiboy]

As long as I am not forced to spend a fortune to buy a camera, I don't really care. The world is full of people with strange belief...

Yes, it's full of anal retentive "collectors".

 

[pentaxuser]

The old sailor dude, George Mendonsa, slapped me once. I swear his hands were as big as a mattress.

I was working on a fishing boat out of Sakonnet Point in Rhode Island. The boat, "Maria Mendonsa" was named after his mother.

Do you mean he physically assaulted you for no good reason?

pentaxuser

 

[TheRook]

I greatly admire Alfred Eisendstaedt as a photographer but I don't subscribe to the idea that cameras that have been owned by great photographers are semi-religious objects to be worshipped and revered and sold for huge amounts of money.

Right. And considering the amount of money this camera sold for, makes it very likely that it will end up for display only, not to be used again. A shame really.

 

[ColColt]

I dug up one of the pictures I mentioned. My beard is long gone and my hair while still present is all gray but my wife still looks great.

Both of those ladies are extremely attractive. No wonder "Eisie" is smiling. Did you guys talk photography much?

 

[Moopheus]

Right. And considering the amount of money this camera sold for, makes it very likely that it will end up for display only, not to be used again. A shame really.

Why? There isn't any particular difficulty of getting old working cameras for people who want them. One 80-plus-year-old Leica more or less won't make any difference. So we save a few for historical interest. Is that such a bad thing? I was in New Orleans a little while ago, and saw Sidney Bechet's saxophone in a display case. No one was playing it! Did I worry about that? No. No one else playing it was going to be Sidney Bechet.

 

[semi-ambivalent]

Both of those ladies are extremely attractive. No wonder "Eisie" is smiling. Did you guys talk photography much?

I once met Eisendstaedt at a small show of his work at a Cherry Creek gallery in Denver. Shook his hand. There were beautiful women clustered around him then too. Fame, Art, a twinkle in his eye. He had it all, and the women knew it. Full sail...

s-a

 

[jeffreyg]

re colcolt
There was almost no talk about photography. Actually most of the conversations were about the events and persons he photographed. Although his profession was photo-journalism, my impression was he was more interested in recording his experiences and the history of the times then cameras, lenses, F stops and the likes. That obviously came naturally to him and the essence of the image was most important.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

 

[ColColt]

That's what I had in reference to-not shutter speeds and f-stops. That would be sort of asinine.

 

[Huss]

I am not surprised. Some people just manage to keep their gear pristine for decades even if using them constantly, whereas some others wear them down cosmetically in a couple of years.

Yup, I hand a camera to my gf and she drops it. Or knocks it against something.
I've stopped letting her touch my stuff. But not my junk..