Ever been this cold? Me neither, probably. Well, actually, I have, but it's more than 10 years ago whilst on a trip to eastern Slovakia in the middle of winter.
But I digress. This time, I was once again in the Vysocina region of the Czech Republic working on a personal project when the big chill occurred. First signs were pretty fern frost, or window frost patterns on the inside of my windows. Later in the week I discovered that my car had been frozen to an almost solid state - the battery was flat, the door hinges creaked, the clutch seized and the engine oil turned to goo. Ah well, life during a typical Vysocina winter, what can you do?
So instead of driving, I took a long walk across the wintery landscape and enjoyed the views. I hope you do too, without shivering...
20 February 2012
4 January 2012
London by Leica
As an unexpected by-product of experimenting with the Leica M9, I discovered my affinity for photographing architecture with the rangefinder camera. Although it does not have tilt-shift, and I rarely use a tripod, I find the following vistas striking... it kindof suits me - using a camera for what it was NOT designed for...
The Leica Files II
As part of my 'get to know the M9' efforts, I have chosen to re-shoot the major scenes from my Empty London book project. For starters, I would give me a relatively controlled environment in which to experiment with the camera, and secondly, I'd already know what kind of pictures I want.
So over the course of a couple of weeks late last year, I ventured into town in regular intervals, armed with the M9 and a couple of prints from my book. To my (perhaps naive) surprise, I'd found that the city had changed. Houses had disappeared, new highrises had risen in places, railings were missing and roads had changed in layout and direction.
Anyway, since this was a reshoot, and I was aiming to show the 'new' pictures as historical records, taken with a Leica and aged with the help of a sepia filter, they would contrast nicely with those taken for the book with various Canon cameras several years ago. It would also bring the additional benefit of comparison between the quality of Leica and Canon optics used. The results, I think, speak for themselves...now let's hope Leica Magazine agree and decide to publish.
So over the course of a couple of weeks late last year, I ventured into town in regular intervals, armed with the M9 and a couple of prints from my book. To my (perhaps naive) surprise, I'd found that the city had changed. Houses had disappeared, new highrises had risen in places, railings were missing and roads had changed in layout and direction.
Anyway, since this was a reshoot, and I was aiming to show the 'new' pictures as historical records, taken with a Leica and aged with the help of a sepia filter, they would contrast nicely with those taken for the book with various Canon cameras several years ago. It would also bring the additional benefit of comparison between the quality of Leica and Canon optics used. The results, I think, speak for themselves...now let's hope Leica Magazine agree and decide to publish.
16 December 2011
Pheasant Shooting
A few days before Christmas, I ventured a few hours north of London to Belvoir Castle on the invitation of the Duke and Dutchess of Rutland to participate in a day of driven pheasant and partridge shooting. Arguably, it's one of the most luxurious ways in which guns can enjoy a day of shooting, provided they have the necessary pocket money and bookings are available.
Although field sports are not my cup of tea, and I don't shoot anything unless there's a camera involved, the day with the guns, beaters and pickers up was educational and most of all, quite photogenic - so my newspaper client was happy. Only later did I learn that in the UK, over 35 million pheasants and 6.5 million partridges are produced to be used as game birds for sport each year.
Although field sports are not my cup of tea, and I don't shoot anything unless there's a camera involved, the day with the guns, beaters and pickers up was educational and most of all, quite photogenic - so my newspaper client was happy. Only later did I learn that in the UK, over 35 million pheasants and 6.5 million partridges are produced to be used as game birds for sport each year.
23 November 2011
The Leica Files I
The good folks at LFI Magazine in Germany have made me an offer I couldn't refuse: the loan of their Leica M9 full-frame digital rangefinder camera plus the use of three of their finest lenses - the 21/2.8 Elmarit-M, the 35/1.4 Summilux-M and the 90/2.0 APO-Summicron-M ASPH. In total it is about 20000 US$ worth of kit which they have entrusted me with.
Whilst I am getting familiar with this camera, the differences to my trusted Canon EOS kit could not be greater: the Leica is manual focus, centre-average metering only, with a simple but slightly cumbersome settings menu on the back, a small buffer for shooting series of images, and a maximum burst rate of 2 frames/second. But it is - if you compare it to watches - like wearing a Rolex after you've grown up with a Casio.
In a single word, the optical quality of the Leica lenses is superior. Period. I don't have the time or the space to go into elaborate comparisons, highlight examples of its image quality in tiny image crops enlarged to 100% or otherwise list the Leica's many fine qualities - there are other places for that (such as DP Review, Luminous Landscape, Ken Rockwell, Digital Journalist and many others.
Instead, I feel compelled to talk a little bit about how this camera feels, how it makes you respond to everyday scenes on the street, and how the images look. Given its classic Leica rangefinder design, the all-metal camera is both lighter and smaller than its SLR cousins. The manual focusing system does not lend itself to point-and-shoot actions, which means you generally have to think more about your focus, exposure and composition before pressing the shutter. In short, it is not a camera for beginners, but it makes you take different pictures (especially if you're used to shooting with SLRs).
I have now completed post-production of the first 100-odd images selected from my various trips into central London, and the results blew me away! Whilst the images are of everyday things in London, their technical quality is outstanding. The optics allow for even sharpness from the centre into the corners, vignetting and distortion is negligible and needs to be added in post-production if desired. Despite their overall sharpness, each of the lenses shows a wonderfully creamy bokeh in the out-of-focus areas that gives photos their signature 'Leica' look.
Colours are fairly neutral, reds need to be subdued a bit, and overall contrast is moderate - that means you can add a punch at the processing stage without wrecking the shadows or highlights. Even at high ISO settings, there is no discernible noise in the images - whatever noise there is, it looks like film grain and adds some grit to those night-time pictures.
I could go on and on, but think it best to add a part II to the Leica Files at a later stage, and let you see some of the images for yourself below:
Whilst I am getting familiar with this camera, the differences to my trusted Canon EOS kit could not be greater: the Leica is manual focus, centre-average metering only, with a simple but slightly cumbersome settings menu on the back, a small buffer for shooting series of images, and a maximum burst rate of 2 frames/second. But it is - if you compare it to watches - like wearing a Rolex after you've grown up with a Casio.
In a single word, the optical quality of the Leica lenses is superior. Period. I don't have the time or the space to go into elaborate comparisons, highlight examples of its image quality in tiny image crops enlarged to 100% or otherwise list the Leica's many fine qualities - there are other places for that (such as DP Review, Luminous Landscape, Ken Rockwell, Digital Journalist and many others.
Instead, I feel compelled to talk a little bit about how this camera feels, how it makes you respond to everyday scenes on the street, and how the images look. Given its classic Leica rangefinder design, the all-metal camera is both lighter and smaller than its SLR cousins. The manual focusing system does not lend itself to point-and-shoot actions, which means you generally have to think more about your focus, exposure and composition before pressing the shutter. In short, it is not a camera for beginners, but it makes you take different pictures (especially if you're used to shooting with SLRs).
I have now completed post-production of the first 100-odd images selected from my various trips into central London, and the results blew me away! Whilst the images are of everyday things in London, their technical quality is outstanding. The optics allow for even sharpness from the centre into the corners, vignetting and distortion is negligible and needs to be added in post-production if desired. Despite their overall sharpness, each of the lenses shows a wonderfully creamy bokeh in the out-of-focus areas that gives photos their signature 'Leica' look.
Colours are fairly neutral, reds need to be subdued a bit, and overall contrast is moderate - that means you can add a punch at the processing stage without wrecking the shadows or highlights. Even at high ISO settings, there is no discernible noise in the images - whatever noise there is, it looks like film grain and adds some grit to those night-time pictures.
I could go on and on, but think it best to add a part II to the Leica Files at a later stage, and let you see some of the images for yourself below:
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