Commenting on the commentary (a follow-up to my post on Steve Huff’s site).

Favourite, Inspiration, Q&A

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Two days ago, my “Photographing your family with the BEST photo equipment” article was featured on SteveHuffPhoto.com.

The piece generated much commentary, and I’ve read through all of it.  Almost all of it was overwhelmingly positive but, surprisingly, a few negative responses emerged.  I write “surprisingly” because I always choose my words very carefully and I know there wasn’t anything controversial or provocative in my post.

It was meant to be very positive, in fact.

But this is the internet age, where making a statement like “I like pizza” will generate a handful of negative responses.  Arguing with the responders is not productive, of course.

You know, I realized several years ago just how inconsequential all the frantic machinations of daily life can be, when we don’t take the time to appreciate each other.  The only important thing — the only enduring thing — when you strip away all the pretenses, is this:

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“How we treat each other is the only thing that counts.”

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So, instead of trying to respond to a few negative comments, I’d like to take the time to post a personal “thank you” — on this very site — to all of the wonderful people who got my post.  For their very eloquent comments (some critical, but at least constructive) I’d like to specifically thank these individuals:

_____________________________

Neil Buchan-Grant

Ashwin Rao

Duane Pandorf

Colin Steel

Photozopia

Jonny

Harry

Danniel Schwartzkopf

William Jusuf

Joanne Puyat

Travis

Robert T Wilson

Armanius

Leo

Duncan

Flamingjune1967

Denis

cidereye

Laugaut

Jack

Michael S.

Nacho Pello

Mark S

Peter Laaba

derekdj

Bryan Campbell

Paco

Guillaume

Andrew

Chrstine Lee

William Jones

Matus

Rick Alan

jim

David Young

Kelvin

Mo Han

Jason Howe

Richard ford

Dariel Palacol,

Dj0502

Joan

Andrew Ryle

Gauge Caudell

Orestis

John

des

Manny

Peter

Charlie

Marc Weisberg

Tyson Ng

c.d. embrey

Bianca

Felipe Méndez

Dan L.

Henk

Jun

Radar

Twitch

Enzo

David Young

Denis

John Driggers

Greg

dan

Chris Smith

Garazd Vahen

Jag Siva

Jacob

Steindid

Godfrey

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Last but not least, I want to thank Steve again for his generosity in allowing me to share my words and images on his wonderful site.

—Peter.

Self-portrait (film).

2012, Film, Inspiration, Leica 75mm Summilux (Canada 🇨🇦) f/1.4, Leica M2, Portrait

This self-portrait represents my second lapse in judgment.

As an aside, I was experimenting here with achieving focus with the 75 ‘lux @ f/1.4 mounted on the M2.  Ultimately, it’s no different than on the M9… you need to be equally careful in both situations, but it’s definitely doable.  Focus here was on my eye.

This was the first frame of a 36 roll of Tri-X.

(please click on the image to view)

↑Leica M2, Kodak Tri-X 400, Leica 75mm Summilux @ f/1.4.

Man and metro (Film).

2012, Film, Inspiration, Leica M2, Teaching point, Voigtländer 40mm f/1.4 Nokton

I thought this would be most appropriate for a Monday morning post, but it was pushed aside with all of the announcements yesterday.

Tuesday morning will do nicely however :).

As an aside, I really like the little iPhone Pocket Light Meter app – I’ve been using it for just over a year with my M2 for situations like this, where the lighting is tricky, and it’s done very well.

(please click on the image to view)

↑Leica M2, Kodak Tri-X 400, and Voigtländer Nokton 40mm @ f/1.4

My “Photographing your family…” article featured on Steve Huff Photo.com!

Favourite, Inspiration, Konica Hexanon 60mm f/1.2, Leica 35mm Summarit f/2.5, Leica 35mm Summilux ASPH FLE f/1.4, Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH f/1.4, Nikon, Nikon 58mm f/1.2 NOCT, Portrait, Print

My “Photographing your family with the BEST photo equipment” article was featured today on SteveHuffPhoto.com!

I’m once again honoured and would like to thank Steve for his ongoing support of my work!

If you want to see the article, as posted on Steve’s site, please click here.

For convenience, I’m re-posting the images below.

Thanks for reading,

—Peter.

(please click on the images below to view them LARGE)

My images selected by Getty Images!

Inspiration, Print

I just learned that Getty Images, the well-known distributor of digital content, is interested in approximately 40 of my images!

So far, only three of them have been formally accepted.  Most of my images involve people, which means I need to obtain signed model release forms before formal acceptance of the rest is granted.

However, I’m not sure that I want to go through the trouble, and I have some genuine reservations about “signing away” my images for (potential) royalties.

Do any of you have thoughts about this?

In the meantime, if you want to see the Prosophos images that are available for license on Getty Images, please click here.

The first two images are reproduced below:

(please click on each image to view)

↑Leica M8 and Leica 28mm Elmarit ASPH @ f/2.8.

↑Leica M9 and Leica 28mm Summicron @ f/2.

Thanks,

—Peter.

Why I love film (Honey).

2012, Film, Inspiration, Leica 75mm Summilux (Canada 🇨🇦) f/1.4, Leica M2, Portrait, Teaching point

I have been trying to photographically capture the essence of Honey, since she entered our lives in December.  The closest I’ve come with my M9 (digital camera) is with this shot, taken 3 months ago.

The image below represents my latest attempt.

Now,

…it may be because this time I was using a more than 50 yr old camera with no back LCD screen, no meter, no battery, not even an on/off switch…

…it may be because I then fumbled with the film in a changing bag, trying to blindly load it into a spool…

… it may be because it was then lovingly bathed in a series of mystery chemicals and finally in distilled water, before being hung in my basement-turned-sauna as the hot water ran in the sink, generating steam to get rid of dust in the air…

…it may be because I then delicately handled each strip and spent minutes scanning each frame into my computer…

…it may be because all of these things make me better appreciate the act of image creation…

…but…

…I believe this image has come close to capturing Honey’s soul.

If you don’t see it, that’s OK.  I can’t explain it.

But if you do see it, then you know:

that’s why I love film.

—Peter.

(please click on the image to view)

↑Leica M2, Kodak Tri-X 400, and Leica 75mm Summilux @ f/1.4.

Q&A: Jonathan asks about my post-processing.

Inspiration, Q&A

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Hi Peter

Really love your photos. I wonder if you would be willing to share some of your post production tips? I am sure most of the photos qualities come from your gear, but i wonder if I could produce something similar in my PP. (i.e. the dark rich colors and deep blacks)

Many thanks,

Jonathan
(sweden)

 

Hi Jonathan,

I really appreciate it when someone takes the time to write to me.

I’ve often been asked about my processing, and it’s always a difficult question to answer.  Partly because I process each photo individually, depending on the subject matter, lighting, and mood.  Partly because I’ve worked hard at developing my style and it’s very personal to me.

I wrote a few comments about it recently.  You can view them here (please see the comments section) and here.

I wish I could be of more help.  Maybe if you ever visit Toronto, we can go on a Shooting Session (or post-processing session) together…

Regards, and thank you once again,

—Peter.

Thank you Chris’ Coffee Service!

2012, Inspiration, Leica 75mm Summilux (Canada 🇨🇦) f/1.4, Teaching point

[Full disclosure:  I haven’t been paid a cent for this endorsement, I’m just a very satisfied customer.]

This is a special thank you post to Chris’ Coffee Service.

(please click on the image to view)

↑Leica M9 and Leica 75mm Summilux @ f/1.4.

That’s my 10 year old Isomac Millennium espresso machine in the above photo (taken yesterday), which was purchased brand new in 2002 from Chris’ Coffee Service.  It just arrived back home, following being masterfully repaired by Tim in Chris’ service department (thanks Tim!).

As most of the viewers of this site know, I live in Toronto, Canada.  However, when I was looking for my first espresso machine many years ago, I kept reading about Chris and his company in the various coffee fora.  It seemed that they had an unblemished reputation for service that had people raving.  So, even though they were located far from home and across the border in the USA, I didn’t hesitate to place my order with them.

Let me tell you that in all of the years I’ve owned this machine, the support provided by Chris’ Coffee Service has been astounding — from the people that answer the phones, to the service department, to Chris himself.  Tim — in particular — in the service department has talked me through basic repairs and maintenance over the phone, which has saved me a great deal of time and money.

The good folks at Chris’ Coffee Service provide all of this service for free, because they understand that a happy customer is a repeat customer.  Ironically, I’ve been prepared on more than one occasion (given the amount of wear-and-tear on my Isomac following daily use for a decade) to purchase a new machine, but every time I’ve dealt with Chris and Tim, they’ve never tried to sell me a new one.  In fact, they’ve repeatedly convinced me to just get my trusty Isomac repaired. 

Can you believe that?

In an age of disposable everything, it’s nice to know that some things — like my Isomac and the service at Chris’ Coffee Service — endure.

Thanks Chris, and a special thank you to Tim… you are the best at what you do!

—Peter.