Re: leica USING photographers....
- From: "luis" <chilled_delirium@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: leica@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 02 May 2004 17:58:22
[ DISCLAIMER: I you're in a blissful conjugal union where buying Leicas
doesb't raise eyebrows, read no further. ]
Luis' Top Ten Leica Stealth-Buying strategies.
10.- Out of sight, out of mind: Never put your cameras on display. This is good
for the ego, suicidal for sequential acquisitions. Hide the hardware,
preferably in drab and locked Pelican/Tundra/'burton cases in a closet. Buy
several (3) cases from the outset, all the same model and color. Stash the
stuff there. Be sure to let it be known all the important papers (specially the
marriage certificate) are in one of those cases, family albums in another (In
case fire breaks out when you're not home ).
9,- Resist the Silas Marner impulse of laying _all_ your stuff out and geeking
wildly. From the hard cases into a raggeddy-looking, stained Domke (NO
Billinghams ! They look too much like purses, and attract attention) and back.
When she says: "that bag is so ratty looking", it's time to method-act, look
downcast and mutter "new ones are expensive, honey. Why, this one has years
left in it." Hell, she might even _buy you_ the Billingham !
8.- Monotony masks Gluttony: Stay with all chrome or black bodies, tape over
the Leica logos.
It's a good idea to pick up a Russian Fed, and talk a lot about how it's almost
like a Leica, but a lot less reliable, yet affordable. To the uninitiated, they
all look alike.
7.- The Old-Fashioned Way: ALWAYS pay cash or MO if possible. Credit cards lead
right back to you, and if you must use plastic, get a new card, and PO Box to
go with it for the bill.
6.- Saving Grace: Create a slush fund. Start stashing money away on a regular
basis. This will set you up for those unexpected E Bay items or when some
irresistible objet d' desire pops up at the local store.
5.- Ricky, LOSE that number: Never give your home number while working on a
deal. The last thing you need is someone calling up and having the Spousal Unit
picking up the phone. Use your cell or office number.
4.- Special Delivery: Have all deliveries made to your office or a single
friends' house. All those incoming boxes spike spousal curiosity. Bring the
stuff in when no one's home.
3.- Go Slumming: Leave the exotica home when on vacation with the Significant
Other. The last thing you want is some wide-eyed, admiring Leicaphiliac running
up to the two of you, and breathlessly remarking: "WOW ! The new Noctilux
f/0.85, shade signed by Ted Grant !!! LOOK AT THAT !!!! Is that extra
quarter-stop really worth the ELEVEN GRAND ?". Take the exotica while on your
own, or with "the guys". Buy a brace of sound, but scarred beaters for vacation
and high-risk use.
2.- It's all relative. Make it a point to take fabulous portraits of the
in-laws at every opportunity, and present them with framed prints at
get-togethers. Aw-shucks the effusive praise, remarking "It's my camera,
really".
And the #1 is....
1.- Give and Take: If all else fails, sacrifice a chunk of the slush fund. A
pre-emptive strike on the Karmic Wheel can work wonders. Something like....."I
was waiting at the corner, thinking of you, and saw these shoes that would look
grand with your feet in them. Some weird brand, Manolo Blahniks, kind of a
splurge, but I'd forgotten your shoe size. Why don't we do lunch tomorrow at
this cute, new place I saw and stop by & pick up the shoes ? ".
After that, or something like it, you can openly get away with murder,
acquisition-wise.. If short on cash, some kind of previously procrastinated-on
Herculaean task (check the honey-do list) can be substituted for the
counterbalance purchase.
--- Luis
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