How many of us have these?

[rbiemer]

I put the attached photo in my gallery and then deleted it. It's a pretty good photo(except for that blob on the right:D ), it was shot with my FED5 and J-8, and there's nothing obscene about it. But it's not mine--my brother took this for me last time he and his family were in the US. I was holding my nephew and Chance wanted to get a picture. So he took a shot or two with his digi-whatever. I then asked him to shoot one with my camera. Not a huge deal; he used a TLR for years, so he knows a bit about manual film cameras.
(Of course he saw all the dust in the VF that I don't notice much anymore:eek: )
I like this a lot but it isn't my work so I am not putting it in my gallery.
This got me to wondering:
How many of us have handed a camera to some one else for a frame or two? And what do you do with the photos/film after? In my case, I sent the un-edited scan and the version I have here(by email) to my brother and will give him the neg if he asks.
Just curious,
Rob

[dazedgonebye]

This past weekend, I shot my sister-in-law's wedding. After shooting the big "entire family" group shot, I handed the camera to the bridesmaid so I could get in to the picture. Actually, I was made to do this by my wife.
What will I do with that picture? Well, I deleted the file of course.
I don't belong on that side of the camera.

[rbiemer]

Steve,
I much prefer being on the VF end of a camera myself. Occasionally some one(OK, my mother, mostly:)) complains that "there aren't any pictures of you." My answer that all my photos are a cumulative portrait of me doesn't quite cut it with her--so I put a print of this one on mom's refrigerator.
Rob

[FrankS]

I prefer to stay on the shiny side of the film.

[Pherdinand]

i don't have this problem usually, since my friends and family are so manual-camera-illiterate, that they look for the zoom button and forget to focus in their frustration. Or, in case of rangefinders, they don't even think they should focus - it's either autofocus or it should not look sharp if it is not focused.

There are some exceptions. At a very touristy location once i gave a minolta manual slr with a 50 prime to another tourist, a guy in his fourties. He focused, even looked twice to compose, checked the aperture (!) and made two excellent photos of me and my (actual) girlfriend. i almost invited him to step by at rff. :D

[Pherdinand]

rob, thats a good photo by the way.
Ever considered shaving your moustache off? you would look a lot like your nephew:D

[kmack]

Everyone seems to be afraid of my cameras, they like to look at them but I have a devil of a time getting anyone to hold one, let alone take a shot with one.

The only person who has ever used one of my cameras in my friend Ann, who is a professional photojournalist. She thinks I am very quaint for still using film and keeps telling me, "..just don't become one of those Leica people, they're weird."

The Crown Graphic really throws em for a loop.

[back alley]

How many of us have handed a camera to some one else for a frame or two?


you let other people touch your camera?

joe

[rbiemer]

rob, thats a good photo by the way.
Ever considered shaving your moustache off? you would look a lot like your nephew:D
Hee Hee! With out going too much into my family history, I will say there isn't any blood tie from me to Max(the nephew) so I'm sure Chance and Renata will find this amusing!
And the kid has more hair than I do as well...
you let other people touch your camera?
Only after a nice dinner and some wine.:D
Rob
EDIT: I give myself the award for "The Worst Thread Title Today" for being: nonspecific.

[Ducky]

A few years back we took a trip to Scotland organized by my (American) clan. I wore my kilt, fancy jacket with doodads and ribbons, to many dinners, events and places. I took several rolls of fims. Of course, I was not in any of the shots and now cannot prove I was even there. Sometimes you gotta let somebody else use your camera.
On top of that, I lost my Olympus Stylus 35mm (great glass) with a roll of film showing my wife in and around the area of Aberdeen where her father was born.
A wonderful trip jaded by two really stupid acts.
Super stupid, I still hear about it.

[ibcrewin]

When I was in mexico I handed my Rebel XT to a waiter so he could take our picture. He looked up to me and said it's not on.. he couldn't see the picture on the back! I told him you have to take the picture first. (I didn't get it at first).

[biomed]

My wife and I were were walking the streets in Seattle a few months ago. A "gentlman" followed us for a few blocks asking me for my R3 so he could take a photo of the two of us. In my mind I could see this guy rapidly departing the scene with my camera in hand. I declined his offer.

[Scarpia]

My avatar was taken by my wife with my Olympus mju if I remember correctly. It is outside a local restaurant and as we strolled by it she suggested the picture as I have always been a Betty Boop fan.
As for Ducky, you not only forgot your camara, you forgot your sporrong. :D
Kurt M.

[Pherdinand]

On top of that, I lost my Olympus Stylus 35mm (great glass) with a roll of film showing my wife in and around the area of Aberdeen where her father was born.
A wonderful trip jaded by two really stupid acts.
Super stupid, I still hear about it.


Ducky, that's nothing! See: once i went to this super wonderful trip with my girlfriend, and I lost my girlfriend there!
(no don't worry, she's okay... i think)

[photophorous]

Ducky, that's nothing! See: once i went to this super wonderful trip with my girlfriend, and I lost my girlfriend there!
(no don't worry, she's okay... i think)

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas? :D

[sepiareverb]

Last summer I handed my G2 with 28 to some guy while there were a bunch of us at the summit of a local 'peak'. He made two pretty good frames, on Autofocus/Aperture Priority with my dialed in exposure compensation. I usually set the G2 or TVS on a rock or something and use the self-timer if I want/need to be on the emulsion side. Have made a few good ones that way- I usually like the off kilter horizon, better I think than if I'd been able to compose.

I often find myself on the other end of this scenario- being handed the digital point and wait to shoot- and not knowing if I am competent enough to make it work!!

One of my favorite pastimes is grabbing someone elses unattended camera and making self portraits- weddings are great for this- they're out dancing- I grab and make one quick shot, replace the camera. Years ago it was often months later when they'd say "who the hell is this guy??" I suppose nowadays I'm just deleted the next morning...

[winoto]

The lack of parallax compensation and meter on my Contax II have left pictures of me nearly headless and underexposed. I like Frank's response of being on the shiny side of the film.

[photophorous]

I have photos that were taken with my camera by someone else. Unless that person actually wants the photo, which is extremely rare, I don't do anything with it. If it's a good picture of me with a friend or something, I'll do what every other non-photog would do and put it on the refrigerator or in a frame or something. No big deal.

As Sepiareverb mentions, being on the other end of this scenario sucks. If I'm out with any of my friends and some stranger asks one of them to take their picture, they always say, "oh give it to Paul, he's the photographer." Great. Now I'm expected to make a perfect picture of some stranger with a camera I've never seen before. And then they immediately look at the LCD screen and wonder why it doesn't look like an Annie Liebovitz cover.

[NIKON KIU]

This past weekend, I shot my sister-in-law's wedding. After shooting the big "entire family" group shot, I handed the camera to the bridesmaid so I could get in to the picture. Actually, I was made to do this by my wife.
What will I do with that picture? Well, I deleted the file of course.
I don't belong on that side of the camera.
You know your wife will have a fit! She will be asking for that picture.

Back to subject, I do this kinda stuff all the time,giving cameras to friends and even strangers(Restaurant staff,tourists...) to take family pictures of us,as per the wife's insistance of course. I also make myself available for doing the same.

Cheers,

Kiu

[sepiareverb]

So Photophorus you've heard "I thought you were a photographer?" too?

[tedwhite]

One day last week I was in my favorite sidewalk cafe, sitting at a table with eight friends - the usual morning kafeklatch - when a group of tourists at the next table asked one of us (not me) if she would take a picture of them with their camera.

Immediately all my friends pointed at me and said, "He's a professional photographer."

The tourists handed me their camera. It was the worst piece of crap point-and-shoot film camera I'd ever seen. I don't recall being able to find a name on it. Because they didn't look poor, in fact rather well-heeled, I was tempted to hand it back and say, "Surely you can do better than this."

But I'm a meek, mild-mannered sort of guy, so I said nothing and took their picture(s). Not without difficulty, as it was a supreme challenge to see anything through the viewfinder.

I believe, truly, that they would have been better off with one of those single-use cameras.

[Morca007]

Ah, yes. I enjoy seeing what people bring me back when I give them the camera, normally I'll just sit on the images unless they ask for them back.

Unfortunately, sometimes they don't ask.
A friend of mine swiped my S1 pro one day, deciding to go for a little stroll with it. Needless to say, I wasn't happy.

And, of course, when I got it back, I had a CF card full of silly pictures.
They're still on my hard drive.

[MelanieC]

None of my friends nor family know how to focus my film cameras, so I never ask them to take a photo but sometimes someone will insist, and then I end up with a photo that looks like this:

http://k43.pbase.com/o6/34/723934/1/72242485.kk8H49Ze.wed35a.jpg

Of course, I kind of think this photo is better because it isn't focused on me and my brother. In addition to the focus problems, the exposure's terrible of course, but I'm still glad I have it.

[sepiareverb]

Wow Melanie that's a keeper! do you know Dr. Evil there in the background?

[pcfranchina]

Whats the best way to turn your RF or manual SLR into a P&S camera just for this reason?

[rbiemer]

Whats the best way to turn your RF or manual SLR into a P&S camera just for this reason?
If there's enough light, hyperfocal distance? Of, if the person you give the camera to is close enough, set speed, aperture, and focus on them first. Then just hand 'em the camera and let 'em frame and shoot?
Lovely tales and photos, folks!
Rob

[shadowfox]

Whats the best way to turn your RF or manual SLR into a P&S camera just for this reason?

This must be why they invented scale-focusing :p

[DavidH]

Of course, I kind of think this photo is better because it isn't focused on me and my brother. In addition to the focus problems, the exposure's terrible of course, but I'm still glad I have it.

That's great! What a superb shot! Brought a smile to my face...

[Welsh_Italian]

I visited my fiancee a few weeks ago and took my Fed 4 camera (and boy did she laugh when I first got it out!) and spent the time happily clicking away. But curiosity overcame her one day and she snapped a picture of me ("let's see how you like it!" she said!) having never used a rangefinder camera ever before - and it was perfectly in focus, exposure and framing! That lady's got talent.

But the best thing was that when she saw the pictures, she saw lots of lovely bokeh that made her clearly stand out as the subject of the photograph. "You take professional pictures. You made me look like a model!" she told me one day and asked me the secret.

So next time I visit, I'll teach her about depth of field and good glass... :D

[photophorous]

So Photophorus you've heard "I thought you were a photographer?" too?

No, nobody has actually said anything that rude. They just give me funny looks and you can see the dissapointment in their faces. Good times.

[Silva Lining]

I always ask my wife to take a shot or two if I am somewhere on holiday, just to prove I was there - she is not interested in photography one bit, but is actually quite a good photographer. I usually prefocus and set exposure on my M3 and say 'stand where I'm standing an press here' - I put pretty vanilla settings overcome and varience and have always got good pics. Occasionally she'll pick up my EOS20d and take some shots of our son, which are a nice surprise to find on the memory card :)

[mjflory]

On a big trip last summer I took my CL with 3 lenses and a tiny Sony digicam, a DSC-T5. While no one wanted to borrow the CL, everyone was fascinated by the digicam. My wife took it with her on days when I was stuck in meetings (this was a working vacation) and a colleague borrowed it for a couple of days. (They both took wonderful pictures with it, and four of my colleagues bought little Sony digicams after they saw mine!)

When we got back home we made CDs with all the digital pictures and movies we'd taken and exchanged them all around. It was alternately fun and mortifying to see some of the pictures my colleagues took of me when I wasn't looking.

Here's a fine picture of my bald spot by my dear colleague Sonia Ragir. :(

[haagen_dazs]

in touristy places, be on guard.
there are cases where you hand the camera to someone, turn, walk just 3 or 4 steps to the location where you want to pose,...
turn back and the guy and the cam are GONE..

[amateriat]

One of my favorite pastimes is grabbing someone elses unattended camera and making self portraits- weddings are great for this- they're out dancing- I grab and make one quick shot, replace the camera. Years ago it was often months later when they'd say "who the hell is this guy??" I suppose nowadays I'm just deleted the next morning...
I love this...too funny!

I'm usually reluctant to hand over the camera to just anybody...but there are exceptions. :)

(He knows his way around Leicas, and like-a-Leicas. His wife, Anne Jackson, took the snap)


- Barrett

[MelanieC]

Wow Melanie that's a keeper! do you know Dr. Evil there in the background?

Oh yeah, that's our bud Shrop.

I've given up trying to get these to come out right because even if I focus it for them they invariably move.

My mother does know how to use the M3 (it was our family camera) and would be capable of taking photos of me with it, but doesn't want the hassle and would rather use my Olympus Stylus Epic that she has kidnapped from me.