pixnoir : : girlwiz

ALPA is a modular and open system which allows you to combine many, many items from other manufacturers with the ALPA camera bodies - viewfinders is one such item.

Leica Viewfinder:

This Leica viewfinder "Universal Wide-Angle Viewfinder M"; is sold by any Leica dealer. It's a relatively new product and difficult to procure. The Leica "Universal Wide-Angle viewfinder M" fits all ALPA 12 cameras with the no. 400'060'030 accessory adapter - otherwise it cannot be mounted.

It is (of course) made for the 24x36mm format, features parallax compensation, a spirit level visible in the finder, but cannot be used in the vertical ("portrait") position. As 24x36mm features the same side-ratio as 6x9 (= 2:3) it can be perfectly used with 6x9 - with the ALPA 12 cameras and it's extremely interesting in combination with the brand new ALPA 6x9 power-drive 6x9 (56x83mm) 120/220 rollfilm back (made for ALPA exclusively by Mamiya) - ALPA order no. 220'010'010.

The zooming capacity of the Leica Universal Wide-Angle Viewfinder M:

- position 1. 24x36: 16mm focal length = 6x9: 37mm focal length (precise enough for 35 - 38mm lenses, e.g. for the 4.5/35mm ALPA AAA Apo-Alpar [made by Rodenstock exclusively for ALPA] or the 5.6/38mm Schneider Super-Angulon XL )

- position 2. 24x36: 18mm focal length = 6x9: 41mm focal length (precise enough for 39 - 43mm lenses [there is actually no lens of this focal length range in the ALPA program])

- position 3. 24x36: 21mm focal length = 6x9: 48mm focal length (precise enough for 45 - 50mm lenses = e.g. for the 4.5/45mm ALPA AAA Apo-Alpar [made by Rodenstock exclusively for ALPA] or the Schneider 5.6/47mm Super-Angulon XL or for the 5.6/48mm Schneider/ALPA Apo Helvetar [made exclusively for ALPA])

- position 4. 24x36: 24mm focal length = 6x9: 55mm focal length (precise enough for 53 - 58mm lenses = e.g. for the 4.5/55mm ALPA AAA Apo-Alpar [made by Rodenstock exclusively for ALPA] or the 5.6/58mm Schneider Super-Angulon XL)

- position 5. 24x36: 28mm focal length = 6x9: 64mm focal length (precise enough for 62 - 66mm lenses [there is actually no lens of this focal length range in the ALPA program])

Linhof Viewfinder:

The Linhof "Multifocus Optical Viewfinder" can also be used with the ALPA system of cameras.

It is available from any Linhof dealer in different versions with different and interchangeable format masks (6x7, 6x9, 4x5 inch, etc. [some also interesting for the use with digital backs because the side ratios are close to the 36x48 resp. 37x49mm chip sizes/side ratios]) and with distance scales in meters resp. in feet.

The Linhof "Multifocus Optical Viewfinder" fits all ALPA 12 cameras with the no. 400'060'030 accessory adapter (the same as used for the Leica viewfinder - see above) - otherwise it cannot be mounted on the camera. For the ALPA 12 MAX, the people at ALPA are preparing a completely new adapter so this Linhof viewfinder can be mounted in a specially space-saving and aesthetically appealing way (available mid 2008).

There are several viewfinders from COSINA (sold under the brand names "Voigtlaender" or ZEISS-IKON") that can be and are frequently used with any of the ALPA 12 models by using an adapter piece which ALPA sell.

Posted by at 6:18 AM | Permalink

This just in from ALPA

Regarding the Phase One back + ALPA MAX wake-up interface:

There will be a special piece (independent from the handgrip) fixed on the left side (seen from behind) of the ALPA 12 MAX and for use with the special trigger/cables for the Phase One backs. These special pieces will be available in June, when the MAX reaches market.

Posted by at 6:38 AM | Permalink

Philip Jones Griffiths, Photographer, Dies at 72

From Wikipedia:

Philip Jones Griffiths (February 18, 1936 – March 18, 2008) was a Welsh photojournalist known for his coverage of the Vietnam war.

“ The first picture of his I ever saw was during a lecture at the Rhyl camera club. I was 16 and the speaker was Emrys Jones. He projected the picture upside down. Deliberately, to disregard the subject matter to reveal the composition. It's a lesson I've never forgotten. "

—Griffiths on his idol, and later coworker, Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Griffiths was born in Rhuddlan. He studied pharmacy in Liverpool and worked in London as the night manager at Boots The Chemist in Piccadilly while also working as a part-time photographer for the Manchester Guardian. He started working as a full time freelance photographer in 1961 for the Observer, traveling to Algeria in 1962. He arrived in Vietnam in 1965, working for the Magnum agency.

Magnum found his images difficult to sell to American magazines, as they concentrated on the suffering of the Vietnamese people and reflected Griffiths's view of the war as an episode in the continuing decolonisation of former European possessions. He was able to get a scoop that the American outlets liked, photographs of Jackie Kennedy vacationing with a male friend in Cambodia. The proceeds of these photos enabled him to continue his coverage of Vietnam and to publish Vietnam Inc. in 1971. The book had a major influence on American perceptions of the war, and became a classic of photojournalism.

In 1973 Griffiths covered the Yom Kippur War. He then worked in Cambodia from 1973 to 1975.

In 1980 Griffiths became the president of Magnum, a position he then held for five years.

In 2001 Vietnam Inc. was reprinted with a foreword by Noam Chomsky.

Subsequent books have included Dark Odyssey, a collection of Griffiths's best pictures, and Agent Orange, dealing with the impact of the US defoliant Agent Orange on postwar generations in Vietnam.

Aged 72, Griffiths succumbed to cancer on March 18, 2008.

Posted by at 6:18 AM | Permalink

Sketches on Glass: Clichés-Verre From The NY Public Library
Monumental France: The Photographs of Édouard Baldus

These two exhibitions at the New York Public Library focus on the experimental period after the birth of photography (the 1850s through the 1870s). Film had not yet been invented, but manipulation of glass-plate and paper negatives allowed for plenty of creative leeway and expression by the photographer.

March 7, 2008 - June 28, 2008

Humanities and Social Sciences Library
New York Public Library

Print Gallery (Third Floor)

212.592.7730

Posted by at 6:25 AM | Permalink

Steve Simon: America at the Edge
George S. Zimbel: Photographs

March 7 - April 26

Leica Gallery
670 Broadway
NYC

(212) 777-3051

Award-winning, Montreal-based photojournalist Steve Simon showcases America at the Edge, his long-term documentary study of Americans living just south of the largest undefended border in the world - the one between Canada and the U.S.

George S. Zimbel (who was born in the U.S. and emigrated to Canada in 1971) has a worldwide reputation for being a master-photojournalist in the purest tradition. He is famous for his photographs of politicians, e.g.,Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Nixon, as well as of celebrities. Remember the image of Marilyn Monroe with her skirt being lifted by the air from a subway grate? He is the one who took that photo. He has also photographed many other notable personalities e.g., Helen Keller, Billy Graham, Edward R. Murrow, Leonard Bernstein, and Carol Channing.

Posted by at 7:48 AM | Permalink

Many people associate the ALPA camera system with fine art, architecture, landscape, industry and technical photography. But there are photographers who use the ALPA for fashion and reportage:

Fashion
• Raymond Meier
• Paolo Roversi, Italy

Reportage
• Raymond Depardon (Magnum), France:
• Luc Delahaye, France
• Bruno Stevens, Belgium
• Ivo Saglietti, Italy
• Massimo Siragusa, Italy (World Press Photo Award 2008)

Posted by at 12:21 AM | Permalink

In March, the Sundance Channel (PDF link download) salutes photography with a series called "Lives In Focus" which is a 5-night documentary series spotlighting well-known 20th century photography iconoclasts such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Helmut Newton, Tina Modotti and William Eggleston.

This series premieres Monday, March 3rd through Friday March 7th beginning at 7:00 pm e/p:

• Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Impassioned Eye, an illuminating look at the life and work of the legendary “photographer’s photographer.”

• Black, White + Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe, an acclaimed exploration of the complex and fertile relationship between a curator, patron and photography collector, and his protégé and lover.

• Tina Barney: Social Studies, a profile of one of America’s leading photographers, known for her revealing color photos of the East Coast elite.

• Peter Beard: Scrapbooks from Africa & Beyond, a visit with a true artistadventurer, whose passions range from Africa’s wonders to living the good life.

Posted by at 6:53 AM | Permalink