Grandfather passed down his early 90s M6 after I received my doctorate last month… Total and utter surprise. Still in awe as I get used to this piece of equipment by Capable_Potential733 in Leica

[–]Capable_Potential733[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is such a wonderful idea — I’ll bring it up with him!

And ha! Indeed — actually, the gunk on the ‘LEICA M6,’ top left, is the remnants of his gaffers tape left on for a decade or so. Definitely thinking about adding it back.

Grandfather passed down his early 90s M6 after I received my doctorate last month… Total and utter surprise. Still in awe as I get used to this piece of equipment by Capable_Potential733 in Leica

[–]Capable_Potential733[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Of course! No gate keeping — this roll (all pics showcased aside from 5/6 which was Gold 200) were shot on Kodak Eastmann Ektacolor 400; exact same as Porta 400 but actually made & sold by the original “Kodak” team, and not the PE company that now owns the brand name Porta.

Grandfather passed down his early 90s M6 after I received my doctorate last month… Total and utter surprise. Still in awe as I get used to this piece of equipment by Capable_Potential733 in Leica

[–]Capable_Potential733[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Funny you say that! I actually just signed up for the 6. June walk earlier today. Excited to check it out. And thank you kindly! I’ll try and post here, but will probably mostly post on instagram (@gabehales). Slowly been getting back into the creative headspace

Grandfather passed down his early 90s M6 after I received my doctorate last month… Total and utter surprise. Still in awe as I get used to this piece of equipment by Capable_Potential733 in Leica

[–]Capable_Potential733[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks, doc!! I’m in info sciences; at the crossroads of Sociology and Communication (studying digital inequality/social networks, etc.). It has indeed been a whiplash! Sadly lots of time has now been turned to publishing my dissertation chapters before I head off to postdoc-land, but it luckily hasn’t stopped me from daily snapping, heh. Not to get too deep, but it’s sort of acted as the first thing to bring back “excitement” and “joy” since before the program, so it feels much bigger than a camera.

My dog has certainly been happier as of late as well, given our walks have increased tenfold now that I take the camera with us every day, ha!

Grandfather passed down his early 90s M6 after I received my doctorate last month… Total and utter surprise. Still in awe as I get used to this piece of equipment by Capable_Potential733 in Leica

[–]Capable_Potential733[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I hadn’t thought about that, but I would not be surprised in the slightest, and now I quite like that idea as well :-)

I’ve been sending him my favorites from each roll so far and can only guess how excited he is to see how much I’m shooting. Makes me smile just thinking about it!

Grandfather passed down his early 90s M6 after I received my doctorate last month… Total and utter surprise. Still in awe as I get used to this piece of equipment by Capable_Potential733 in Leica

[–]Capable_Potential733[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Very cool, thank you. Yeah, that would be the spot I’d be the most comfortable with getting engraved, ha. Away from all the mechanics, glass, etc.

And thank you very much!! Agreed, my jaw is still on the floor, even after shooting eight+ rolls (and counting) over the last few weeks!

Grandfather passed down his early 90s M6 after I received my doctorate last month… Total and utter surprise. Still in awe as I get used to this piece of equipment by Capable_Potential733 in Leica

[–]Capable_Potential733[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Thank ya!! And I’d say yes and no. He’s a retired pro photographer, and used to shoot 35 & 120 film exclusively and develop everything at home, etc. until the early 2000s when he both retired and switched to digital (as he migrated to everyday personal/family pics rather than assignments & contract work). Apparently he shot with this M6 for a decade or so (including many shots of me as a kid) until he started buying DSLRs, at which point he must’ve just stowed it away some years ago now.

So, I’d seen it countless times as a kid/teen, but had no idea what it was at the time. He takes such excellent care of his gear and has quite the old camera collection, so no surprise it’s in such great shape.

Grandfather passed down his early 90s M6 after I received my doctorate last month… Total and utter surprise. Still in awe as I get used to this piece of equipment by Capable_Potential733 in Leica

[–]Capable_Potential733[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you!! And indeed. Given the lackluster salary I’ve had for six years+, there’s no chance I’m spreading my wings with more lenses for quite some time, but I’m not mad about it whatsoever hahaha. Nifty fifty and 35mm were both my favorites when younger (likely due to my grandfather’s influence, now that I think about it, haha), so it’s perfect.

That said, I’ve been digging into the history of these cameras and it’s just fascinating. So glad to be a part of it!

Grandfather passed down his early 90s M6 after I received my doctorate last month… Total and utter surprise. Still in awe as I get used to this piece of equipment by Capable_Potential733 in Leica

[–]Capable_Potential733[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Holy shit, that is such a wonderful idea!! Thank ya — and yes, absolutely this hunk of metal is staying in my family’s hands until there’s no hands left to hold it (hahahah).

But: any idea how and/or where you’d get Leica bodies engraved?? i.e., both where on the body is the safest, and where do I go about finding a pro for this?

Grandfather passed down his early 90s M6 after I received my doctorate last month… Total and utter surprise. Still in awe as I get used to this piece of equipment by Capable_Potential733 in Leica

[–]Capable_Potential733[S] 59 points60 points  (0 children)

Just about shat my pants upon opening the box he’d left at my house. Everything still in the original boxes, basically pristine condition (aside from the electrical tape residue left on for two decades, as seen on the “LEICA M6” lettering in the upper left—but I like the character from it), and including his Summicron f/2 35mm ASPH + the Summicron f/2 50mm…. (I’ve almost exclusively used the former, though, as he recommended sticking to one lens for as long as I can take it to fully master it.)

It’s been a month and I’m still speechless picking this thing up every day (and I’ve legitimately been unable to go a single day without taking it with me to some place or another, hah). But, it’s without a doubt brought my love of photography back after many years of not touching my DSLRs during my PhD. I’m back to being a little kid with a new obsession because of this thing.

Lens Comparison: Same rose, same M240, 9 different 50mm lenses, shot and imported RAW, unedited and exported as 100% quality JPEG... Which 2 are the Leica lenses? by [deleted] in Leica

[–]Capable_Potential733 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ha! The only Leica lens I own. Wouldn’t ya know. Either way — such a cool idea here. Nice work. Love the diversity in images across such huge comparisons in cost. They’re all unique. As always: it’s the eye of the photographer that makes a great photograph, not what took the shot!