Hear My Train A Comin’
The Jimi Hendrix bronze statue on the sidewalk of bohemian Broadway, beside the Blick Art Materials, is, unquestionably, one of my favourite shots to test out a new lens or camera. I’ve lost count of the number of shots I’ve taken of Jimi over the years – for me, it’s a bit like rubbing a rabbit’s foot, as I can’t pass it without shooting it; the latest being with the very underrated and surprisingly cheapish Leica 40mm f/2 Summicron-C.
I had heard a lot of good things about this unassuming little lens – and after just getting one (in mint condition, and with the rubber hood) at Glazer’s Camera (cheers, Dante!) in Seattle, pairing it with my Leica M3, and shooting a couple of test rolls of Ilford FP4+, I can honestly say that this has to be the best value-for-money Leica lens out there!
The Hendrix statue (by Seattle artist Daryl Smith) was dedicated in 1997, and commissioned by Mike Malone, a real-estate developer. He was the founder of AEI Music Network, a music programming and distribution company with worldwide operations. Seattleite Malone has a valuable guitar collection that includes Elvis Presley’s first guitar that he used at Sun Studio and Hendrix’s last guitar.
And just to keep in the Hendrix theme, my weekend viewing is the critically acclaimed documentary, Jimi Hendrix: Hear My Train A Comin’, that traces the guitar legend’s journey from “hardscrabble beginnings in Seattle…to international stardom.”