Photographers who shot with a rangefinder and one lens

[Bill Mitchell]

HC-B complained that America is so big that he was forced to use his 35mm a lot. Paul Strand photographed with only a 10" Dagor on his 5x7 Graflex and 8x10 Dorf.

 

[Alex Hawley]

HC-B complained that America is so big that he was forced to use his 35mm a lot. Paul Strand photographed with only a 10" Dagor on his 5x7 Graflex and 8x10 Dorf.

Wise Old Frontiersman once said "Beware the man with only one rifle; he can probably use it extremely well."

I think the same holds true with photographers and cameras. The wise old icons use their cameras extremely well, no matter how old, what brand, or what film.

 

[rfshootist]

Wise Old Frontiersman once said "Beware the man with only one rifle; he can probably use it extremely well."

I think the same holds true with photographers and cameras. The wise old icons use their cameras extremely well, no matter how old, what brand, or what film.

The last true one-lens-shooters have been the photogs using the Graflex and Rollei TLRs. Not only the many newspaper PRs, also folks like Arbus, Newton, Doisneau used these fixed lens TLRs even still in the 70s, when the 35mmSLRs had conquered quite a part of the pro market.

Still in the 60s, when all this stuff costed a fortune there were discussions going on if it is necessary and if it makes sense at all for an amateur to have a camera with interchangeable lenses.
At the latest when the C220/330 came out some noticed how high the price was for having different different focal length available, weight, size , limited speed, and the costs were bitter pills and limited the versatility of the TLR concept just as much as it unchained it.

As for me i do believe in the advantages of having a wide and a short tele too available at least for 135 film, 70% of my pics are made with a 25mm on RF or 28mm on SLR.
But also if working with more than one FL the old law is valid: Limitation is freeing.

Regards
bertram

 

[kivis]

I know some Leicaphiles. They love everything Leica but they are not among the best photogs I know. I don't really care. My main camera, a Bessa R, serves me well as a hobbyist.

Bessa R3M black w Heliar Classic 50mm f2. That's heaven for me. My zoom lens is my legs.

 

[Donald Boyd]

Nice gallery. Who are all those bearded men with funny hats. Amish?

 

[alan c. davis]

Wilfred Thesiger. He was born in Ethiopia in 1910 and spent his early boyhood there, (his father was the British minister in charge of the Legation in Addis Ababa). Growing up in this environment (where as he recalled, watching the triumphant warriors ride back into the capital with the heads of the defeated enemies impaled on their spears), predisposed him to spend much of his life travelling in the remaining remote places on Earth. His books like "Arabian Sands" and "the Marsh Arabs" are absolute classics. In 1987 a book of his photographs "Visions of a Nomad" was published. In the introduction he explained how he didn't start taking photos seriously until he bought a Leica 11 in 1934 and he used this camera until 1959. Though he later bought a 35 and 90 Elmarit lenses, for the most part he mainly used just the standard lens. The camera was allways kept in a goatskin bag, he only ever shot black and white and used Ilford film. Looking at his photos again, many taken decades ago (and the films often left undeveloped for months and a year or more as he explained), just makes one realise that all those debates that rage on forums like this about which lens or camera is better than that and so on are really only academic. Of course Thesiger would be the last person to call himself a photographer but for me, with one camera and one lens, as a chronicler of a way of life which was about to disappear for ever, his photos are absolutely priceless.

 

[Simon E]

Homer Sykes used only an M-series Leica, 50mm and Tri-X for his well-known book 'On The Road Again'. He has also produced a book on foxhunting in the UK using only a Rolleiflex.

Octogenarian Jane Bown uses only an OM-1 and 85mm (and Tri-X again) for her portraits, though rumour has it she carries a 50mm in her bag. Before using SLRs she had only a Rolleiflex, and certainly knew how to use it. The last time I read about Don McCullin's gear he used only 28mm and 135mm on 35mm.

 

[bjorke]

Mark Alor Powell

 

[Earl Dunbar]

I agree. But I found that with RF'ers it's all about "religion" espescially when it comes to Leica v. Contax and, thus Leitz v. Zeiss.

With them we're talking "holy war" whereas with Nikon v. Canon - you know that at the end of the day they'd all go drink together at the Kareoke Bar!

George: You're good to include the tongue-in-cheek smiley ... actually, I find a few zealot types on RFF, LOTS of Leica-philes are over the top, of course, but generally on RFF the openness is quite refreshing. Me, my horizons are simply cash-limited.

 

[Earl Dunbar]

Well, as the boss, so is his company. For those gaga-talkers RFF has always been an attractive place. They have the majority there, at least their noise can make you believe that. A bunch of good photogs have gone therefore, a pity.

bertram

Bertram: We miss you there. I think your assessment is a bit much, but I still miss you!

 

[Earl Dunbar]

Alan: Thank you for the reference to Thesinger. I will definitely seek out his work.

 

[alan c. davis]

Alan: Thank you for the reference to Thesinger. I will definitely seek out his work.

It's Thesiger Earl. "Visions of a Nomad" was published by Collins. The books "Arabian Sands" and the "Marsh Arabs" are absolutely must reading but ultimately sad because they give us a final glimpse of a way of life that about to disappear for ever. Thesiger's autobiography aptly entitled "A Life of My Choice" (Collins) is also a must as is Michael Asher's "Thesiger" (Viking). Comparing Thesiger's writings to what constitutes travel writing today makes one realise most present day writers are just on shallow ego trips. Earl, any follow up you can do on will be truly rewarding.

 

[mcgrattan]

I read an interview with Jane Bown which alleged she also only tended to use one aperture and shutter speed, and natural light, too. Almost like shooting with a box camera or something else really basic -- except with a good lens you can focus properly.