This Ford was parked outside the train depot in Virginia City. I was intrigued by the look of the building and the Ford. I tend to like abstractions of a scene. Taking just a piece of the station and a section of the Ford I felt the image told more of the story...leaving the details of the story behind the story to the viewer.

I shoot with a Leica, with a Hasselblad, and with a large format KBCanham. Can anybody tell if this was indeed taken with my Leica and how can you tell? Please tell me what you think about the photo also.

Thanks all!

-- Rob Schopke (schopke@attbi.com), March 07, 2002

Answers

My guess is it wasn't a Leica. Pentagonal out of focus highlights means a 5 bladed aperture, not common for a Leica.

-- Bert Keuken (bkkn@wanadoo.nl), March 07, 2002.

Is that the reflection of your bellows in the extreme right (the cars left) chrome radiator housing?

What lens did you use?

-- Mark (acerview76eus@yahoo.com), March 07, 2002.

Spotting a "Leica" or other brand image on the web relies on clues like knowing what lenses have a pentagonal iris. The resolution and bit depth of web images is a big limiting factor. If the target display is the web, a Leica is gross overkill 99% of the time.

FWIW the 21mm f/4.0 Super-Angulon-R has a 4-blade diaphragm.

-- Douglas Herr (telyt@earthlink.net), March 07, 2002.

FWIW, I've seen out-of-focus highlights like that from the 80mm Planar on my Hasselblad. That's my guess (at least the same design).

Am I right?

-- Derek Zeanah (usenet@derekzeanah.com), March 07, 2002.

Hi, Rob:

No easy task. I guess if it had been a MF camera the degree of detail had been somewhat higher but then Douglas is certainly right: hard to say based on a screen image . . .

But this one IS a Leica photo. In fact one of the first ones I made with my first M3.

Regards, Rob. Good photo, of course, no matter what it was shot with.

-Iván

-- Iván Barrientos M (ingenieria@simltda.tie.cl), March 07, 2002.

Holga with a +1 taped to it?

-- Wilhelm (wmitch3400@hotmail.com), March 07, 2002.

Rob: I think it was done with the Hassy, the pentagonal shape of the out of focus is like the one Zeiss lenses do. No Leica lens have such a diaphragm, neither do most large format lenses. I agree with Bert.

-- Marco (marco_hidalgo@hotmail.com), March 07, 2002.

judging by the out of focus diaphragm I also think this a Zeiss lens, probably an 80.

-- Igor Osatuke (visionstudios@yahoo.com), March 08, 2002.

it's a trick question!!! he used a holga.

just kidding, rob. is that your car? it's nice!

-- ken kwok (kk353@yahoo.com), March 08, 2002.

this is definitely not a leica. out-of-focus shapes are pentagons...

-- Dexter Legaspi (dalegaspi@hotmail.com), March 08, 2002.

Get job! I am impressed. The image was indeed taken with my Hassleblad and indeed it was taken with my 80mm Plannar. Good job...I hope you all liked the image!

-- Rob Schopke (schopke@attbi.com), March 09, 2002.