Autumn Chill, Autumn Colour

Commuting into work this morning, ones hands really start to notice the coming of Winter.  The chill of Autumn is now definitely here, and even with the hand protectors on the BMW R1200GS my hands are starting to notice the coming colder weather.

I have already started using the heated grips and soon i’ll be digging out my silk glove liners for added warmth.

Crossing the Ford

The other thing that is becoming more noticeable, is the change in colour coming to the deciduous trees.  The blend of colours, from green, to yellow, and brilliant red is really giving the photographer in me lots of ideas.  I feel a trip out to Hartsholme Park coming.  I have a few ideas that I would like to try out.

Film Friday: That will be a Leica then

I recently tried Street Photography with a Medium Format Camera, now it was time to have a go with a Leica, yep I finally have a Leica!

Leica M4, Leica 35mm Summicron, taken with an iPhone 5

More years ago then I care to remember, I fell in love with a lovely little range finder in a shop window.  I saved and saved and finally managed to buy it.  It was not a Leica but it was a very nice looking camera with good optics.  Unfortunately it had not been looked after and it just would not work properly, the film advance kept jamming.  The shop took it back, but I did buy a rather nice looking Zeiss Ikon Ikophot Light Meter which I still have to this day.

Since then I have been on the lookout for a Range Finder.

There were two makes I would like to own, either a Nikon SP or a Leica M.  Nikon SP’s are very hard to get hold off, and while I am a Nikon man, with Nikon SLR’s and 35mm lens to match and Nikkor Large Format Lens to go with my Large Format Ebony 45s; the Leica with its fantastic glass was the one I wanted.

With digital getting more and more popular; the Leica M became a bit of a niche product, and their lens, while new very expensive, second hand were more affordable.

With the release of the Leica M8 I started to think more and more about a digital Leica, and while it had its issues, the M8.2 was a great camera for Black & White with its extended infra-red sensitivity.

So a digital M was on my list, but cost was going to be an issue, and would I get on with a Range Finder.  The best thing would be to get an old cheap film M and learn with that.

So to that end, over the last few years I have started to buy Leica M lens.  So far I have only managed to get two at a good price, but with the release of the M9 and the increasing interest in the brand, its turned out to be a good investment, so if a Range Finder is not my cup of tea, I can sell the lens at a rather nice profit.

So the choice was a film Leica, but which one.  Well it would either have to be the ultimate film M, the Leica M-P, or a classic.  Well an M-P retails at the sort of cost I could buy a Digital M8.2 for, so a classic would be the cheaper option, but which one?

To be honest there was only two choices, the original M, the Leica M3 or to get the model that was available the year I was born.  The original M3’s are either very much collectors items and have a corresponding cost, or of very poor quality.

The Leica that was manufactured the year I was born was the Leica M4, while not as many M4’s were made as M3’s and the later models still fetch a very high price, the ones from the year I was born are very affordable.

So for the last two years I have been searching the internet for a good copy of a M4, made in the year I was born.

When it arrived I was very surprised at the condition, its very nearly mint, and looks like its been really well looked after.

I popped in an old out of date cheap roll of Fujicolor Superia (I wish people would spell colour correctly), and went out to give it a try.  The M4 like the Leica M3 has no meter, thats becoming a bit of a theme with me.  Of all my film cameras, only my Nikon FM2n has a meter, my Leica, my Hasselblad and my Ebony all lack meters.  So I also took with me my spare studio meter, and my classic Zeiss Ikon Ikophot, I would use my modern meter but compare the readings with my classic to see if it was consistent.

We went for a walk into Lincoln and I shot a few few frames of what every took my fancy.

With the low sun, depending on what direction I was shooting I was getting a stop difference in the light, so I had to keep remembering to change the shutter speed or aperture depending on what direction I was shooting, focusing was another challenge.  The technique I used was to make a guess at the distance, and set that on the lens, then I would bring the camera to my eye and make a final adjustment.

Most people have seen the photographs that Leica’s are famous for, a sharp focus and lovely out of focus background.  Well possibly not the best subject but when I spotted the ribbon tied to the gate I thought I would give it ago and try a wide open shot.

At lunch time we had a walk to one of our favourite coffee shops.  They say Leica M’s are very good in low light, this was a chance to try it out.

In all, I shot eight frames that first day, and fully enjoyed my time.  Like my Medium Format Hasselblad and Large Format Ebony, its a very involving experience and there is a lot to think about.  Its a lot faster and easier to shoot with then the latter two cameras and a different experience but very full filling.

One has to keep ones wits about you, with it being 100% manual and no meter, catching moments like this can be tricky, but while underexposed its still a pleasing image.

If I carry on enjoying the experience, then i’ll be on the lookout for a Leica 90mm M lens and a 50mm standard to tryout in the studio.  I’ll also be looking out for a second hand M9.  With the release of the M-E the old M9’s have dropped considerably in price, and I hope this drop will continue when the new Leica M (240 model) is released.

Overall I am very impressed with the results; for an out of date roll of old film, and a basic scan, the results are very pleasing.

Next i’ll try a little landscape and also some sport.  They said you could not use medium format for street photography; and they say a Leica M is useless for sports and wildlife, might try and disprove that.

Lightroom V4.2 now available

Adobe released Lightroom V4.2 yesterday.  I backed up my database and upgraded, no issues.

This morning I also found Adobe Camera RAW 7.2 update available for Photoshop.

The underlying RAW processing engine in Lightroom and Camera RAW is actually the same one.

Pros will be glad to see Adobe now supporting the new Leica S Medium Format; and if anyone buys one, the new Nikon J2 is now supported, though with the superior Nikon V1 now available cheaper, I doubt it.

For more details check out, Chris’s quick review and Adobe’s official release pages.

www.cbphotoblog.com

blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal

Photo Tip – Flowers

We have all seen those stunning photographs of flowers, but are yours mediocre.

A quick tip for you, once again, get low, either shoot from the same level or from below.

While walking round we are used to the old view from above, challenge that view, show something different to your viewers, get low.

Robert’s Birthday

Saturday was my oldest brother’s 60th Birthday, we all got together at my mothers house and had a small celebration.

Lots of food and chat.  It was great to see everyone again.  In case your wondering I am no where close to 60 yet!  Bob is the oldest while I am still a young whipper snapper in comparison and am the baby of the family.

Quiet Photography Week – No, Just lot of film

While my blog has been a little light on photography related posts this week, its not due to a lack of picture taking.

Instead of digital I have been shooting film, so no new photographs to show you yet.

Digital is great for its instant results, but shooting film makes if feel like Christmas when you get the results back.

Fuji Velvia Film Scanned & processed in LR4

iPhone 5

Well after all the hype the new iPhone5 was released last Friday, rather then queue I placed an order on line, and it arrived last night.

What are my initial views?  Well first its very light and not much bigger then the old iPhone4 but the screen is much better, that half an inch really makes a difference.

The other thing is the speed, except for a slight pause opening iBooks, everything seems to happen instantly.

As a Photographer I have of course been testing out the camera.

I have been impressed with the results from the iPhone4, for a phone it was very good, but over the last two years the bar has definitely moved.  So far I have just been playing with the panoramic function.  It works like that in many Sony Cameras where you sweep the camera slowly across the scene.

For an indoor shot in bad light under mix source light, I thought it did a very commendable job.

Now to get my old iPhone4 unlocked so that Caroline can have it.

Messing about on the River

Something I have been meaning to try for sometime is Kayaking.  The idea of Sea Kayaking around a remote Scottish Island, being able to get to views impossible any other way; pulling up into remote coves, its a bit of an exciting dream, as is getting some saltwater fishing lines and trying one’s luck in grabbing a quick bite.

Last year we fulfilled one of Caroline’s long held dreams of horse riding along a remote beach, playing in the surf on the Isle of Lewis.

Now I had no idea if I could kayak or if I would enjoy it, so I booked myself on a taster course held at Lincoln Canoe Club on the Brayford Pool.

It was a 10:00 am start at the Lincoln Canoe Club Boat house on a slightly overcast but not too cold Sunday morning.

We arrived early, and made our way up the stairs to the briefing room.  Graham would be our coach for the day and we started with a brief introduction about the club, then the safety briefing.

First the difference between a Life Jacket and a Buoyancy Aid.  A life jacket is designed to keep you afloat, even if your unconscious, a Buoyancy Aid will assist you to swim.  Why not a Life Jacket in a Kayak, well if you capsize it can trap you underneath the boat preventing you from escaping, thus leading to drowning.

We then covered capsizing and what to do if we were either tipped out of the boat or stuck in the boat underwater.

Lastly we covered water born diseases; especially Leptospirosis.

Graham then asked who wanted to give up the whole idea!  But he had not managed to put anyone off.  Then it was a quick head count, unlucky thirteen; and we headed down stairs to get fitted up with Buoyancy Aids, Paddles and our boats.

What most people call Canoes are in fact Kayaks, in the picture above it shows a Canoe being ably paddled by father and son.  Canoes are open and are paddled by an oar that has just one paddle on one end, while a Kayak can be sit on top or in, but your legs are stretched out in front of you, also there is a paddle on each end of the oar.

We carried down our Kayaks to the dock edge and learnt how to get in.  This was easier then I expected.  Sitting on dock with one hand on the centre back opening, you slowly slide your body in.  Then your away.

We slowly headed into the Brayford Pool, and once all assembled we started our lessons.

Our first stroke to learn, was the sweep stroke.  With this it enables you to turn the boat round, its quite easy and we all got the hang of it very quickly.

Next a back stroke, then we put them together to spin the boat round on the spot.

Of all the strokes the one I could not master was the general forward stroke, I kept veering off, either right or left, but we also learnt how to brake with the back stroke, so I would stop and start again.

After some practice round the pool we headed down one of the rivers that feed into the Brayford Pool.  These were tricky especially for me as there was a couple of very low bridges to negotiate, these had me practically laying across the boat to get through.

Some of the more experienced paddlers had marked out a slalom on the river so a few of us had a go.  There was much crashing and laughter, it was a lot fun and nobody capsized even though there was thirteen of us!

The time flew by and after an hour and a half of ‘Messing about on the River’, it was time head back to the dock and get out.

This was a little tricker then getting in, but I had help and managed, so Caroline’s hope of getting a shot of me falling in, was unfulfilled.  Maybe next time.