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Dralowid

Michael
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Hearing the sad news of the death of Sir Edmund Hilary got me thinking.

I remember the story that the only photo taken on the summit was of Sherpa Tensing Norgay by Sir Edmund because...either Sir Edmund forgot in his hurry to get back down...or Tensing didn't know how to use a camera.

I remember seeing photos of Hunt, the expedition leader deep in snow with a Leica round his neck. I think I have seen Hilary similarly equipped.

I know that Leica supplied 'winterised' cameras for the expedition but were they the then new IIIfs with appropriate lubricants or were they LeicaTom's much loved IIIcKs?

I think there are photos but can't find...discuss!

Michael
 
I read in a book Sir Hillary wrote about the ascent that he completely forgot to think about taking a photo of himself - they were quite concerned about getting back down with oxygen supplies &c. running low.

I'll try and dig out the book for the title, it was a really good read - a very humble, super cool bloke.
 
Ahh Kodak Retina`s were very very good cameras.....they have a big repuation in Europe for some resason :)

Yes, the IIICK though I love them so much, even in 1953 they would have been a difficult camera to find, let alone more than likely be used for such an undertaking

In 1953 if someone would have ordered a "special" camera from Leitz for extreme cold weather, it would have been a modified IIIF for sure, something I`m sure the factory would have put together for an extra $150 or so, maybe even less, Leitz was very cooperative with explorers and people who used their equipment

I am a bit surprised that he didn`t use a Leica, but also oddly enough, alot of American and English people also didn`t support the German economy by buying their goods and many still had anti- German feelings that late after the war. etc.

Tom
 
LeicaTom said:
I am a bit surprised that he didn`t use a Leica, but also oddly enough, alot of American and English people also didn`t support the German economy by buying their goods and many still had anti- German feelings that late after the war. etc.

Tom
Click to expand...

Shocking indeed, but I believe the Kodak Retinas were made in Germany.
 
Apparently, the 'official' camera of the expedition was the Ilford Advocate but that doesn't mean one was actually used. I guess so soon after the war with a big drive for British industry, this expedition (which was British) wanted British products being used.

I read that Sir Edmund had a Kodak Retina too and that Tensing Norgay didn't know how to use a camera (Sir Edmund said something like, "it wasn't time to teach him how to use one"). What I found astounding about that iconic photograph was the deep blue and almost black colour of the sky above. I guess the altitude lessened the blue considerably (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:TenzingonSummit.jpg). By all accounts, his camera was exhibited around the place. I wonder if it will turn up at PhotoArsenal for mi££ion$?

http://www.apug.org/forums/forum47/46077-sir-edmund-hillary-july-20-1919-january-11-2008-a-3.html

It was very sad news to hear of his passing. He was apparently a top bloke.
 
Well I'm sorry that I got my facts wrong and sorry about Sir Edmund, as many of you have said, he was a great bloke.

But I'm still hanging onto the bit about Hunt with a Leica...

Michael
 
It was a Retina (118 second type, second half of the 30's, about 9000 made) Hillary used. Which he had bought second hand. There is a Retina ad showing that photo without mentioning that it's an old specimen.It is a rather special Retina among the retinas as it does not have the usual Xenar but a Tessar. Hillary is said not to have known this. Could it be fate that supplied a special person witha special camera?
Greetings from a Viennese Retinite
 
Welsh_Italian said:
...

I read that Sir Edmund had a Kodak Retina too and that Tensing Norgay didn't know how to use a camera (Sir Edmund said something like, "it wasn't time to teach him how to use one").

...
Click to expand...

:) Wikipedia has a lot to answer for, I checked Google and that's the version in all of the top hits... "User generated content" :rolleyes:
 
The de facto official camera(s) of the expedition were Zeiss Ikon Contax II's & III's that had been donated by Life magazine:

http://leica-users.org/leica-users/v02/msg00122.html

Welsh_Italian said:
Apparently, the 'official' camera of the expedition was the Ilford Advocate but that doesn't mean one was actually used. I guess so soon after the war with a big drive for British industry, this expedition (which was British) wanted British products being used.
Click to expand...
 
"What I found astounding about that iconic photograph was the deep blue and almost black colour of the sky above."

Keep in mind that you're well over 5 miles above sea level, and the air is something like 1/3 the density of sea level. So that's getting close to the edge of the atmosphere.
 
A book of photos of the 1953 expedition has recently been published. I do not have time to look up the details right now but perhaps some one else knows about it. The photographer was an Australian I think.
 
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Does anyone remember what camera Mallory carried on his attempt to summit Everest? Amazingly, it was found with his body a few years ago. I seem to remember thinking it was a Barnack. Can anyone confirm?

/T
 
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