Favourite

H – A portrait.

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

Look carefully at the rendering of the Leica 75mm Summilux (Canadian version)… it’s wonderful.

I sometimes struggle with this lens, as it doesn’t have the coatings of modern lenses and it is susceptible to flare.  Physically it’s large too.  And correct focus is notoriously difficult to achieve at f/1.4, because of the extremely thin depth of field (witness the focus here is on the near eye; by the time we get to the second eye, we are already out of focus).

But for portraits, I can’t think of a more appropriate lens in this focal range.

I should really do a Lens Report on this lens, as I’m often asked about it.  But I haven’t been motivated to because the qualities of the 75 Summilux that I most value are not easily appreciated via test charts.  Ideally, it’s best to just view images taken with it (however, when I wrote my report on the Leica 75mm Summarit f/2.5, I did include some comparison crops between the two lenses).

If you want to see more examples of portraiture with the Leica 75mm Summilux, please see here, here, and here.

(please click on the image to view)

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

Field of dreams.

2012, Favourite, Inspiration, Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH f/1.4, Leica M9(P)/M-E (CCD Lives!), Portrait, Teaching point, The Beautiful Game

I resisted the temptation to crop away the top and bottom portions and present this as a pseudo-panoramic horizontal strip… something about the original image (as presented here) appears very surreal, very much like a “dream”.  Or perhaps a diorama.

(please click on the image to view)

↑Leica M9 and Leica 50mm Summilux ASPPH @ f/1.4 + 3 stop ND filter.

Worker, 1937.

2012, Favourite, Inspiration, Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH f/1.4, Portrait, Teaching point

Actually, this was captured this week… but something about him made me think of a bygone era.

I also could have called this Worker 11, as it follows my previous 10 Worker images.

In the past, I’ve sort of criticized the 50mm Summilux ASPH as being “too perfect” of a lens, but I love how it has rendered him, and this moment.

(please click on the image to view)

↑Leica M9 and Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH @ f/1.4.

C’s photo shoot, Part 4 of 5.

2012, Favourite, Inspiration, Leica 35mm Summilux ASPH FLE f/1.4, Leica M9(P)/M-E (CCD Lives!), Photo Shoot, Portrait, Teaching point

This was taken just prior to the sunset, as the light cast a warm glow.

All the previously washed out nuances of colour and texture in the environment seemingly emerge from nowhere and take on a golden hue — this is what happens at the so-called “golden hour“.

(please click on the image to view)

↑Leica M9 and Leica 35mm Summilux FLE @ f/1.4.