Atlantic waves Gloucester, MAAtlantic waves Gloucester, MASummer surf along the back shore of Gloucester.

Leica on Assignment 1979 Vintage Leica Images

February 16, 2014  •  Leave a Comment

The assignment back in 1979, was Rockport's Barber Harold Cooney. Harold was well into his 80's back then. The original story was done for North Shore Sunday a regional publication then part of the North Shore Weeklies chain of newspapers. I came in to do the photo essay and a reporter did the story. This was my first real assignment and I made many errors along the way. The editor at the time, (don't remember his name) helped me through the process. I learned that the closeup images of the little things made a big difference in the overall presentation. The Leica M system was such a wonderful tool to learn with as it gave me the ability to work with out whirring motors and large lenses. I was just part of the scene and the cameras and lenses allowed me to blend in. The images below are a sample of images made with the Leica M3, M5, Visoflex 2 with 65mm Elmar macro. The lenses I used were the 21mm Super Angulon f 3.4, 35mm Summicron f2.0 (M2 black, now rare), 50mm Summilux f1.4 (black first edition, also now rare), 65mm Elmar macro on the Visoflex 2. The film of course was Kodak Tri-X processed in my darkroom setup in a walk-in closet. Those were the days! The prints were made on a Leica Focomat 2C with Agfa Brovira paper, of course! 

 

Leica 50mm Summilux f1.4

Harold poses for a portrait.

 

Leica 50 Summilux f1.4

Cooney does one of his classic razor cuts as part of a normal haircut.

 

Leica 50mm Summilux f1.4

It would not be a classic Cooney haircut without an mirror inspection!

 

Leica 65mm Elmar macro The worn handle of the inspection mirror.


Leica 65mm Elmar macro

The stock and trade of any barber his equipment.

 

Leica 65 mm Elmar macro

Cooney's collection of barber's scissors.

 

35 mm Summicron f2. Cooney, at his best with a good laugh.

 

Leica 35mm Summicron f2

Cooney relaxes at the end of the day.

 

Leica 21mm Super Angulon f3.4

Cooney goes over the town's politics with Gordon Hull.

 

Leica 21mm Super Angulon f3.4

Cooney relaxes in his barber shop after a hard day on his feet.


Click here to see a PDF I created back in 2003 with a little bit of a story.


Comments


Archive
January February March April May June July August September October November December (9)
January (2) February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December (1)
January February March April May June July August (2) September (2) October November (1) December
January February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December