Leica M8
Leica Summicron 35mm f/2 ASPH 6-Bit
35mm, 1/180 Sec at f/2.4, ISO160
Post Processed in Adobe Lightroom CC2015.6.1
On a Mac Pro, OS-X 10.11.6
Photo of the Month – August
Cafe
This is an old shot from back in February. I am currently going through my back catalogue and making sure the keywords and metadata is correct before getting finally filed away.
I recently changed my filing system so its a good excuse to check my older photographs.
I try and go for a walk round Lincoln at least once or twice a week and a trip up to the cathedral and Bailgate region at least once every couple of months.
If any of you were up there this August bank holiday you would have had quite a treat as it was the annual steam punk festival.
We decided to take it easy this bank holiday and just potter around the village making chutney and jam from the glut of marrows we currently have in the garden and frequent long walks with Timmy together with the odd trip to the village pub to check out this weeks guest beer.
State of the Art – Now and Then
I was reading a long term review the other day of one of the current state of the art high megapixel full frame mirrorless cameras. The article linked to another photographer who as a bit of fun had published a few old shots from fifteen years ago taken on medium format film.
He had recently taken again the same shots with his new mirrorless camera and there was not a lot in it, but the new digital state of the art mirrorless did just pip it.
We are now in a new golden age of photography where kit costing a fraction of the tens of thousands of pounds professional photographers used years ago, can produce better images.
Even better, those of us who like using old classic film cameras like the Ebony, and Hasselblad V (see the first two shots above, third shot is cropped sensor mirrorless), can pick them up a fraction of the cost as people get rid of them to upgrade to digital.
Photokina and Leica Rumours, plus a Canon announcement
Canon announced the new 5D today, it looks a capable camera, but i’ll stick with my Nikon D800 for now.
The rumour sites were also full of news from Lecia. Two cameras from Leica have appeared on the website of the Indonesian communications agency. A type 8853 and 3656, so it looks like at least two cameras are coming soon and its likely they both have built in wifi and/or built in GPS.
I suspect one is the Leica T’s replacement and I am hoping the other is either the Leica M or a new X model.
Tuesday Lunch Walk
Tuesday saw me in the city again so at lunch time I had a stroll with my camera. The sun was a little contrasty but I took a few snaps in uphill Lincoln.
1940’s Weekend
Once we hit August it seems almost every weekend there is something going on here in Lincoln. This weekend just gone was a 1940’s weekend, so lots of people dressed up, vintage vehicles and vintage stalls selling anything from 1940 – 1970.
I am sure that at some point someone is even going to start selling stuff from the 1980’s as ‘vintage’.
We parked up on the outskirts of the city and then had a very enjoyable walk with Timmy the Greyhound along the tow path of the canal.
Once in the city we had a look round the stalls before finally heading to the best coffee shop in Lincoln, Coffee Aroma.
Leica Friday – (well it was a digital M8 so not a film Friday)
I occasionally post film fridays, where I have taken a film photograph, generally from either my Ebony 5 x 4, Hasselblad 6 x 6 or my Leica M4.
This Friday its a bit of a cheat. Well more then just a single cheat, a) its posted on a Sunday when I started to feel better from my Tummy Bug. And b) its not film but is from a Leica and the majority of my film posts are from my Leica.
On Tuesday lunchtime just before I started to feel unwell I took a trip to one of my favourite coffee shops in Lincoln, while drinking my coffee I took a few snaps from the coffee shop window.
This is no fine art and shows lack of contrast in the main subject area, plus insufficient shutter speed but then again the greats such as Robert Frank in the book ‘The Americans’ and the decisive moments of ‘Henri Cartier-Bresson’ never let exposure and camera shake get in the way of a great image.
While I would not call this a great image (far from it), remember try to capture the image first and have the technical features of the image come second.
Art first and craft second.
Working from Home
Well the date on this blog post is Thursday but actually I am typing this up on the Sunday night as I have had a Tummy bug for the last few days.
I came down with it and a terrible headache on Tuesday, about 15:00, so I finished up work and did not do much else that day. Then on Wednesday I attended a meeting with a client in the morning and headed off home.
Since then I have been working from home not wanting to give anyone else this bug.
Actually I find I often get a lot more done at home as there is less distractions but having internet based telephone it still means that project managers can get hold of you to discuss things.
So its going to be a quite few days until next week. Hopefully I am up to visiting Lincoln on Saturday or Sunday as its the 1940’s themed weekend.
Leica ‘End of Life’s’ T and X Vario
The Leica T and X Vario have had an interesting history.
The Vario was a great camera but suffered from terrible marketing. Its slow zoom lens under appreciated.
For those would could put up with the lack of viewfinder and slow autofocus and who lived in the brighter parts of the world then it was a camera capable of fantastic results, its image quality was never the issue, mainly just the slow but very high quality zoom.
The Leica T announced to the world that Leica meant business and could produce a modern cutting age design with great electronics. It was so close and introduced to the world a new lens mount that would continue with the Leica SL.
With photokina now only a month away these two cameras have now been discontinued.
I expect all of the X range to be discontinued but would like to see a new Leica X with a DX crop but built more on the lines of the Leica Q. Whether the Vario will be replaced I not sure, Leica just need to market its replacement better and try and get the lens a little faster. The current lens is a 28-70mm and f/3.5 – f/6.4, I would like to see a constant f/4 through the range or at least topping out at f/5.6. Now f/5.6 from f/6.4 is only 1/3 of a stop but we are used to zoom lens going to f/5.6 at there long range and it would not attract attention.
1:3.5-6.4 (28-70 mm equivalent)
North Yorkshire Moors Railway
This weekend we had a big family day out, three generations including Alan the oldest and Sofia the youngest. In total ten adults and children together with Tilly the dog and Timmy the Greyhound.
The excuse was Alan’s 80th birthday, actually it was his 80th last year but will all thats being going on we did not have the time for the big day out last year.
So this Sunday we headed out to Pickering in North Yorkshire to catch the Moors Railway.
With having Timmy in Tow (#TimmyOnTour) I was travelling light with just a Leica M8 and Summicron 35m.
We enjoyed the ride as far as Whitby then had a few hours there before catching the last train back.
I took a selection of photographs from quick snaps to a few more arty shots. The weather was great but it was a long day and it was not just Timmy who was very tired by the end, but still very worthwhile. If you get the chance to have a ride on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway then do, its a very enjoyable day out.