Fascinating encounter

NB23 · 11-12-2007

nothing to see here.

photogdave · 11-12-2007

Wow. Great photographer and great story!

gertf · 11-12-2007

Great story, great work..

digitalintrigue · 11-12-2007

Very cool...

wray · 11-12-2007

Ned, this guy's work is great. Ha, I bet you're sorry you didn't engage him in a conversation!! Thanks for the story and the site link.

marke · 11-12-2007

Cool encounter, Ned. This guy has been around, and then some. Got to study his site some more.

peterm1 · 11-12-2007

Hmmm set me thinking. Too often when someone speaks to me in the street I pretend I did not hear or cut the incipient conversation short. I think after reading this I have decided that when an altercocker comes up to me in the street and speaks to me I will make the time to say g'day. After all it may lead to an encounter like this and even if it does not, when I am an altercocker myself perhaps someone will do me the same kindness.

waileong · 11-12-2007

How did he take those pictures of Marilyn in the dark? No flash, I presume. The grain of fast film in those days would have been the size of tennis balls!

And how did he get so close to President Kennedy to take those pictures? Did he have a press pass?

amateriat · 11-12-2007

"Holy ----..." were the first words from my lips after clicking on the link. Sometimes you never know who you're rubbing elbows with. Hell of a story.

Quote:

Originally Posted by waileong

And how did he get so close to President Kennedy to take those pictures? Did he have a press pass?

It was simply a different world back then (several different worlds, come to think of it). As a kid, I got to shake Bobby Kennedy's hand when he came to my neighborhood for his presidential campaign. Mind you, this was a scant few years after RFK's assassination, and mere months before his own.

And, again, Zimbel's photos are priceless. (We're all bookmarking his site, right?)

- Barrett

Jarle Aasland · 11-12-2007

Fascinating stuff. Great writer, too.

Jarle

maddoc · 11-12-2007

Wow !! Great encounter and very interesting photography. Thanks for the link, Ned !

Honus · 11-12-2007

Thanks for the story and the link, Ned.

Wonderful photographer.

like2fiddle · 11-13-2007

Wonderful story, but did you get any shots of him and his old bicycle on that Montreal street?

chikne · 11-13-2007

Fascinating indeed!!!

varjag · 11-13-2007

Very cool guy.

Big Hairy Bee · 11-13-2007

There is a contact link on his site, it might be worth it to email him and reestablish a dialogue.

gregg · 11-13-2007

Fabulous images - what an interesting bio too.

hlockwood · 11-13-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by NB23

It was last week-end, during a regular week-end walk with my wife in Montreal streets.

SNIP

So he asked one last time: "Is that a M4?"
Me: Oh, sorry! No, it's a M4P!
Him: Pardon me?
Me: M4-P (and waving the camera so he could see the little "P" letter.
Him: Ah yes, I know that camera. I own an M2, Two M3's, an M4...
Me: Wow! (in my mind I was more like "yeah right, good try!")
Him: I have many photographs from Montreal, Paris, New-York... All from the 50's and up.
Me: That's nice!
Him: Here's my card.

He gave me his card, I thanked him and he left, pushing his oldfashioned bicycle on the sidewalk. I didn't watch him vanish in the crowd. I was fascinated by his card: A White card with only "georgezimbel.com" with a typewriter font printed
on the left side. As simple as that, in a totally anti-fashion fashion.

A few days have passed until I decided I'd have enough time to sit down and look at someone's website, some photographs, without pressure. I remmebered the name on the card and I typed.

Wow I am floored! Look at this: www.georgezimbel.com !

Wow, and double Wow! What great shots, and what a great story.

(Imagine if those shots were in modern digital rather than film: yuck.)

If that shot of the woman singing behind the bar, with the woman sitting at the bar, was taken in NY, then it may have been at the old Metropole cafe (~ W. 53 St?) It was joint I frequented in my wayward youth; great jazz, with ladies of the night circulating among the patrons.

From another alterknacker,

Harry

hlockwood · 11-13-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by hlockwood

Wow, and double Wow! What great shots, and what a great story.

(Imagine if those shots were in modern digital rather than film: yuck.)

If that shot of the woman singing behind the bar, with the woman sitting at the bar, was taken in NY, then it may have been at the old Metropole cafe (~ W. 53 St?) It was joint I frequented in my wayward youth; great jazz, with ladies of the night circulating among the patrons.

From another alterknacker,

Harry

P.S. I'm in love with Chelo.

Harry

icebear · 11-13-2007

Wowww. Thanks for sharing the story and the link. What a great body of work !!! I have to admit I had never heard of Geroge Zimble before - of course seen some of his pictures but never known who was the man behind the camera. I will load up some BW rolls again. It does have a different quality to it and works like this prove it once more. It's not about he pixel peeping and how many MP's you have got.

It's about the frame and the light. You have to be there and see it - and capture the moment.....

oftheherd · 11-13-2007

Interesting encounter!

Thanks for the link. A very interesting bio he has to go along with the photographs he shares.

marke · 11-13-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by peterm1

Hmmm set me thinking. Too often when someone speaks to me in the street I pretend I did not hear or cut the incipient conversation short. I think after reading this I have decided that when an altercocker comes up to me in the street and speaks to me I will make the time to say g'day. After all it may lead to an encounter like this and even if it does not, when I am an altercocker myself perhaps someone will do me the same kindness.

Good point.

I only started shooting street last spring, but I've been allowing myself to be open to such encounters with other people. Heck, it really makes the experience so much more rich, when you begin to form relationships with the very people that know the streets you are shooting. They can prove to be valuable "informants" to where your next shooting opportunity might be!

hlockwood · 11-13-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by hlockwood

P.S. I'm in love with Chelo.

Harry

P.P.S. I now see that it was New Orleans, not NY.

Harry

leica M2 fan · 11-13-2007

I agree with everyone, a wonderful story and superb photos! Thanks for sharing.

tomasis · 11-13-2007

I really hope that you gonna have a conversation with him at next time. It is a hell photographer!