Category: Photography

The Leica M Monochrom was an amazing camera, and since then has gone from strength to strength.

Its an over priced, mad idea that should not sell but hard core black and white photographers love them.

This week saw the release of the Leica Q Monochrom. Once again its a thing of beauty, over priced and just not necessary but oh so desirable.

Occasionally I’ll have an idea but it needs a bit of work, extra equipment or its a technique I have not used much, so I need to run some tests. The above shot is one such test with the lovely Sharon, a local model. Here we are mixing light sources, but trying to make it look like natural daylight through a window out of shot.

My new idea is about a model in the woods but involves complex lighting and modifying the colour temperature. The shot above and below is part of a test sequence I did to work on the concept. Above is a straight flash shot of our dining room which has been taken over by my wife while she finishes up her latest sewing project.

This time the flash has been heavily filtered. I then adjusted the colour temperature in camera to compensate.

The basics are there now, next I’ll be introducing another light again at a different colour temperature but this will be when I introduce a model to the test. This will be mixing flashing at different colour temperatures and daylight. I hope it will give a unique look but the models face with bit lit correctly.

Above is a shot where I used blue gels on the background and on the hair light to enhance the slight blue dye in the models hair.

Messing with colour is fun and I have several ideas I am working on mixing colour and colour temperature.

This week I ordered a new studio background, paper is relatively cheap but the larger muslin/curtain style are more expensive. I see people on forums often asking what colour to buy.

The lovely blue curtain background you can see in the above picture is not a blue but a light grey mottled muslin background from India. It was taken at my local Worksop Studio, I feel one of the best in the country. I used a cheap old flash head, fitted with barn doors and a blue filter.

If you are interested in my opinion buy a white, grey and black, those with a set of coloured filters will do most jobs.

Before COVID-19 my last shoot was in February with the lovely Helen at https://www.twowei.co.uk

Helen was my kind test subject while I tested out this new fantastic location and I also got to use Pixapro / Godox flash for the first time.

I worry about cheap flash, working flash hard I managed to get a cheap studio flash head to burst into flames, but the Pixapro worked well. Many people consider Pixapro / Godox disposable flash. As its relatively, so cheap you can just buy again. They are slowly getting their customer service together, at least in Europe and the products are getting better and better.

I own a Elinchrom Quadra portable system and I have used Bowens, and I intending testing Profoto soon. Buying flash is a long term thing, while many people replace cameras with every new model, people tend to keep flash heads for twenty years plus. One thing to consider is as technology changes colour temperature of flash heads can also change. So mixing flash heads between generations and between manufacturers can cause issue with colour management.

So with COVID-19 and the summer lockdown in the UK that February shoot was my last. Now over the last couple of months things have opened up a little and I got back into the studio

September I hit the studio with full social distancing in force and I photographed the lovely Jasmine. It was 2006 when I last shot with Jasmine, after which she retired to have children. Now that the children are older she is back and as wonderful as ever.

October saw me experimenting with the light a lot more, fewer great pics but I learnt a lot by pushing the limits. Plus while my assistant changed backgrounds I took a few snaps while Nicola was resting between sets.

While I finish my edits of my October shoots, I had booked my November shoots and I was planning for December. I was concerned that with rising rates of infection we would be under more restrictions again but I needed to organise. Just waiting for COVID-19 to be over is not an option.

This weekend the UK government announced another four week lockdown. So planning for December has now been pushed back, and I have been contacting the models booked for November to try and re-arrange for December.

What better then on a spooky halloween’s night and a full moon at that; then to wander through our scary village taking pictures with my Leica. High ISO, an f/1.4 Summilux lens, and with it being a mirrorless, no mirrorslap, makes nighttime photography if not easy than at least achievable.

Since full frame 35mm digital became affordable there have been arguments about format.  

MicroFourThirds and their size and weight advantages.  Increased depth of field; a pro and a con depending on the type of photographs you take.

DX crop against full frame, and now 35mm full frame against cropped medium format.  Over the last couple of years I have seen the argument growing.

Since the release of relatively cheap (and I mean relatively cheap) cropped medium format; I am now seeing arguments about full frame 35mm verses cropped medium format explode on the forums.

It is fascinating that the 35mm crowd are using the same arguments small factor crop proponents  used against them, to defend themselves against the proponents of cropped medium format.

The question of whether to buy 35mm or medium format I find somewhat confusing, I don’t think of the different formats as competitors.  If you need the dynamic range and a file that can be edited, edited and edited again, then go medium format.  Also medium format and the lens have a certain look that 35mm cannot match.  Cameras like the Nikon D800, D850, Leica SL1, SL2 and lets not forget the high tech killer that is the Sony A7R IV a 61 MP monster, etc; come close in the dynamic range but they still do not have the look that medium format can give you and the endless editing that the files can take.

If you need medium format buy it, if small format (35mm full frame) will do then use that.

Ultimately I think it comes down to cost and the key features you need.  I love medium format, but at the moment my medium format is film and an old PhaseOne 16 MP back. This is well outclassed by my Nikon D800.

The Fujifilm GFX 50mm and has a nice look to the files but while the sensor is 50 MP the tech is old compared to a Nikon D850 with its 47MP or a Leica SL2 with its 47MP sensor and not in the same league as the new Sony.

While sensor is important what about the glass?

The L mount glass from Leica designed to exceed 60 line pairs per millimetre at 50% contrast is simply unbeatable, but it still does not have the look of medium format.

For my studio work/portrait work I would still lean towards medium format but the Fuji has a flash sync of only 1/125 while the Nikon and Leica have 1/250 with the flash at full power. If your serious about flash then a Hasselblad with a leaf shutter giving you flash sync up to 1/2000. The question is cost. A second hand Nikon D800 and a high quality lens is hard to beat. A second hand Fuji or Hasselblad and portrait lens it going to cost at least three times that.

What are the features you need, what is the look you want, lens draw, depth of field, flash sync, handling, weather sealing, focal length and focus performance, lowlight ability.

I know of some photographers their field of photography means a simple Ricoh GR III is the camera of choice, others a high end PhaseOne. Draw up a budget, pick the focal lengths you need for your work and then look at what’s available, gives the image you want and feels good in the hand.

Remember that now the difference between the worst and best camera is very small and all are very very good.

I am going to publish an article I wrote about full frame 35mm and medium format soon but first I thought I would instead of arguing which is best show how the formats can live together.

First micro formats, smaller then MicroFourThirds.

This will be like the little Pentax system, Nikon’s short lived Series 1 experiment (which I liked), and just about every modern phone. The top two pictures were taken with them.

It means small cameras, small lens, lots of depth of field and a camera you can always carry with you to get the shot. I expect unless someone releases something like a pro version of my V1 then this type of camera is going to become our phones and the rest will disappear.

This is a truly useful format as all the pictures coming from phones prove.

What is the best camera, the camera you have with you.

Now we get to Micro Four Thirds. For many this is the best compromise, we still get small cameras and lens, but true system cameras. With a Micro Four Thirds Camera over the shoulder who needs anything more, and if you do a full frame 35mm would make an excellent companion.

Now for DX cropped 35mm.

Some would say the perfect compromise. While bigger lens, you get more reach then full frame 35mm but still some of the smallness that a cropped sensor brings.

I have used a pair of Nikon D200’s with there DX 1.5 cropped sensor for many years, shooting event photography, weddings, wildlife, studio portraits, fashion, glamour and art nude. A true allrounder.

Now we get to where all the arguments start. Full Frame 35mm.

Good depth of field control, excellent system choice, the perfect all rounder some would counter to the DX cropped crowd. With modern 35mm digital now hitting 60 mega pixels, who needs medium or large format, and with small mirrorless bodies from Sony, Canon and Nikon you can have a small camera too. The downside is; this is 35mm full frame, the glass is not going to be small, unless your talking slow lens, or none autofocus.

If your willing to carry the glass its hard to beat today. It could be your only camera system, or partner it with Micro Four Thirds when you need to travel light.

So now for the big boys. Medium format.

Now cameras like the Fuji GFX and the Hasselblad X1D the new mirrorless cameras one can argue are easy light and portable cameras, but most need a tripod and care with setup.

For any one with a mirrorless medium format then 35mm as a second camera does not make sense. A DX body for when you need something smaller and more portable does make a lot of sense.

Its when you think about what formats make good companions, you get why Fuji are only concentrating DX crop and MF crop. They make good bedfellow.

If you wanted just one camera system what would it be.

If you wanted two what would make good companions.