Inspiration

‘Twas the night before Christmas.

2015, Favourite, Inspiration, Leica 35mm Summilux ASPH FLE f/1.4, Leica M9(P)/M-E (CCD Lives!), Life's Little Moments, Portrait, Teaching point

And the children were tracking Santa.

Merry Christmas to All.

—Peter.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

—

Technical Commentary:

The sun was quickly setting as this scene was unfolding and the the vestigial rays of light coming in through the window were creating a pink, gold, and red speckled glow on the wall behind our trio of Santa trackers.  The glow of the smartphone screen also helped set the mood.

 

 

370 Signatures for CCD.

Inspiration, Q&A, Teaching point

Right now, My Open Letter to Leica has garnered 370 signatures from photographers like you who see and appreciate the wonderful qualities of CCD sensors.

Leica‘s announcement of ongoing support of the current CCD sensor has been welcomed by many in the Leica community.

However, if you are a fan of the “magic” of CCD, please join me in asking Leica to also introduce an updated CCD sensor in a future M camera.

Thank you,

—Peter.

Of flash photography, zone focusing, and rangefinders.

Inspiration, Q&A, Teaching point

I have two observations about the use of flash and zone focusing, as they pertain to rangefinder photography:

  1. Flash photography is anathema to rangefinder photography.  Indeed it is intrusive to any type of intimate photography.
  2. Show me a photographer who operates a rangefinder exclusively with zone focusing, and I’ll show you a photographer who cannot competently focus a rangefinder.

—Peter.

Image quality or emotional content?

Inspiration, Q&A

I once wrote:

“…photographs (for most of us) are iconographs.  In other words, they are only symbols that collectively represent and remind us of our loved ones and our experiences.  They don’t need to be sharp on a screen or technically perfect, they only need to be clear in our minds and emotionally meaningful.”

–

Yet, I routinely fret about the nuances between CCD and CMOS sensors and I’ve even entertained selling all of my lenses for the 50mm APO Summicron.

Have I forgotten what’s important in photography?  In life?

I believe I know the answer to that.

It’s a never-ending-madness.

How do you, gentle readers, deal with said madness?

—Peter.

 

Leica 50mm APO Summicron.

Inspiration, Q&A, Teaching point

Leica 50mm APO-Summicron

I’ve studied many images created with this lens — on the Leica M240, M9/M-E, and M8… and even on non-Leica cameras.

The verdict:

This is an optically astounding lens that, in the right hands, is capable of impressive results in combination with any camera (contrary to popular belief, the results are not only evident in large prints of images produced with high megapixel cameras).

It’s all the more impressive when you consider how small this lens is.  It’s the combination of optical excellence and compact size that is the hallmark of the Leica ethos.

—Peter.