I'll talk a little bit about this image. I love wandering the subways and Loop trains in Chicago. I have nothing like that within a long day's drive of where I live. I was wandering the central part of the city for a couple of days with my Leica IIIc camera (c.1942) and Leica Elmar lenses 28mm f4, 35mm, 50mm f3.5 (vintage 1932), 90mm, camera had VIOOH finder on top. Metering with a Minolta IV, mostly shooting Ilford HP5 (ISO 400). All of this fit in a tiny little bag; none of it attracted any attention. I was wandering the Blue Line subway during rush hour and stuck around into early evening. Camera was set up for correct exposure (never changes down in the tubes!) for quick shots. I saw this woman waiting on the platform; she seemed to have just gotten off work and was headed home. As a train was loading she began to do a little dance of pure joy. I was riveted! I wanted to shoot a wide aperture and isolate her against the train, but the 50mm lens only went to f3.5. I then realized the train would soon move and that would blur it. I wanted the woman fairly sharp but wanted just a little blur to show she was dancing--didn't want her frozen. Pulled the camera up to my eye, focused the lens, snapped the shot at something like 1/30s. I included the pillar with "J Jackson" to give a sense of place, and provide one element that was very sharp/immobile. I got what I wanted.
The lenses made before the mid 1940s were uncoated so they have less contrast than modern multicoated lenses. They also tend to be sharp in the center and quickly get softer from there. I like this classic look. Shooting 1/30s or 1/60s with ISO 400 down in the tubes is about the best my 85 year old lens and 75 year old camera can do.
Most here are likely used to modern multicoated lenses, fast AF, and cameras that can shoot ISO 10,000 with ease. Those give a completely different look to an image, and a different experience in the field. For street shooting I still prefer the classics.
I'm more after the "feel" of what I saw than a state of the art image. I like urban shots to look a little "gritty," and ISO 400 b&w film and uncoated lenses delivers that. Does any of this make sense?
Kent in SD
