Konica Hexanon 60mm f/1.2

A bee, wildflowers, and fluffy things.

Inspiration, Konica Hexanon 60mm f/1.2, Leica 75mm Summilux (Canada 🇨🇦) f/1.4

Along the path upon which I walked,

I saw a bee…

(please click on any of the images below to view)

…and wildflowers…

…and fluffy things upon which to make wishes…

If anybody knows what the proper name of these fluffy things are, please let me know.  I tried looking them up online and I know they’re not from cottonwood trees, or from dandelions. I don’t think that they’re milkweed pods either.    I’m actually stumped!

Images 1 and 3 were created with the Leica M9 and Leica 75mm Summilux @ f1/.4.  Image 2 was created with the Leica M9 and Konica Hexanon 60mm @ f/1.2.

Eunice’s Swim School, revisited.

Konica Hexanon 60mm f/1.2, Leica 135mm Tele-Elmar f/4 (1966), Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH f/1.4, Photo Shoot

I previously shot some images for Eunice (see here) at her swim school and was asked yesterday to create a cover image for her about-to-be revamped brochure.  The front cover is to feature Eunice engaged in her greatest passion – teaching.

(please click on both of the images below)

↑Leica M9 and Konica Hexanon 60mm f/1.2 @ f4.

Here is another image that, although not intended for the cover, may be used as part of other promotional material:

(please click on the image below)

↑Leica M9 and Leica Tele-Elmar 135mm f/4 @ f/5.6.

As an aside, I’ve taken other images while at the school:

The above images were taken with the Leica M9, the Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH f/1.4 @ f/1.4 (first two) and the Konica Hexanon 60mm f/1.2 @ f/1.2 (third).

The haircut – a 3 stage act.

Konica Hexanon 60mm f/1.2, Nikon 58mm f/1.2 NOCT, Photo Shoot, Portrait

These were taken yesterday (Leica M9 and Konica Hexanon 60mm @ f/1.2):

(please click on any image to view)

Act 1: Scared.

Act 2: Trusting.

Act 3: Relieved.

And, just for fun, I’m including an additional shot below.  It was taken almost exactly one year ago (Nikon D3S and Nikkor-NOCT 58mm @ f/1.2):

(please click on the image below)

The Leica M9… for sports?

Inspiration, Konica Hexanon 60mm f/1.2, Leica 75mm Summarit f/2.5, Sports, Teaching point

I wrote this little piece for my good friend Steve Huff over at SteveHuffPhoto.com, and he was kind enough to publish it.  The specific link to it is here.

For the non-photo geek, it’s somewhat unorthodox to use a fully manual camera like the M9 to try and capture action, especially in this world of auto-focus and auto-everything-else.  But, as I write below, I’m able to anticipate better with this camera and – what’s more – there is no auto-focus system on the planet that will allow me to track the moving eye of a player at f/2.5 (or wider) better than my own eye.  The Leica allows me to be in full control, which is what I want.

Anyway, the article is reproduced here for you:

The Leica M9… for Sports? by Peter | Prosophos

Hi Steve,

Sometimes, when I read the commentary on the various fora, I get the sense that many people view the Leica M series cameras as great for “static” scenes like portraits, landscapes, and bowls of fruit.

Yet, as you have demonstrated with your concert photography, Leicas are great tools for capturing dynamic moments, and I know of at least one person who shoots racecars with his M9!

Despite this, Leicas are not often linked to sports images, so I thought this would make an interesting “just for fun” posting for your fine website.

OK, so the “sports” I’m referring to involves kids, but this still qualifies as action, and it’s not typical of the usual photography most people associate with a Leica camera.

Would I recommend a Leica M as a sports camera?

No, not really. The various “pro” DSLR bodies in existence are weather-sealed, have great high ISO performance, lend themselves more naturally to shooting at telephoto distances, and can be machine-gunned for crazy high frame rates.

Yet, what would I choose to photograph sports (or anything else I shoot)?

Hands down, the M9.

My reasons?

That’s a long story, perhaps long enough for somebody else to write an article about it. For now, I’ll just say that an M camera allows me to shoot the way I want, and to anticipate the action better than any other kind of camera I’ve ever used.

Here are the images, and thanks for doing such a great job with this site!

Peter | Prosophos

(please click on any of the images below)


↑Leica M9 and Leica 75mm Summarit @ f/2.5.

↑Leica M9 and Leica 75mm Summarit @ f/2.5.

↑Leica M9 and Leica 75mm Summarit @ f/2.5.

↑Leica M9 and Leica 75mm Summarit @ f/2.5.

↑Leica M9 and Leica 75mm Summarit @ f/2.5.

↑Leica M9 and Leica 75mm Summarit @ f/2.5.

↑Leica M9 and Leica 75mm Summarit @ f/2.5.

↑Leica M9 and Leica 75mm Summarit @ f/2.5.

↑Leica M9 and Konica Hexanon 60mm @ f/1.2.

↑Leica M9 and Leica 75mm Summarit @ f/2.5.

This last shot was taken with the Nikon D3S, but I’m including it here because I like it:

Bright, midday light.

Konica Hexanon 60mm f/1.2, Leica 50mm Summicron f/2, Leica 75mm Summilux (Canada 🇨🇦) f/1.4, LFI Master Shot, Teaching point

Harsh light washes out colours and details, and creates blown highlights and deep shadows.  The latter two are unflattering to faces, so I try to avoid shooting in bright midday light when photographing people.

Sometimes though, the moment inspires and emotion wins over technical perfection.

[Photography Pearl:  An emotionally appealing, but technically flawed, photograph will always trump a boring, but technically perfect one.  If an image connects with the viewer, it has succeeded.]

(please click on the images below)

↑”Springtime” (Leica 50mm Summicron @ f/2).  [This image was chosen as a Leica Fotografie International (LFI) Master Shot].

↑”Mother and daughter” (Leica 75mm Summilux @ f/1.4 with a 3 stop ND filter).

↑”The contortion of play” (Leica 75mm Summilux @ f/1.4 with a 3 stop ND filter).

↑”Not homeless, just tired” (Konica Hexanon 60mm @ f/1.2).

All images taken with a Leica M9.

Bokeh, and the Hexanon 60mm f/1.2.

Konica Hexanon 60mm f/1.2, Teaching point

Bokeh refers to the out-of-focus elements in an image.

Photographers usually obsess over it because it can enhance – or detract from – an image.  More precisely, it can be smooth or harsh, or anything in between.

Different lenses render bokeh differently, and we often speak of a lens’ character in this respect (lenses can also exhibit other characteristics, but that discussion is outside the scope of today’s post).

The Konica Hexanon tends to have bokeh on the wild side (harsh), which I often prefer to the more marshmallow-y (smooth) look you get with certain more “perfect” lenses, like the Leica 50mm Summilux Aspherical.

The interesting thing is, the quality of the bokeh can be different even when using the same lens at the same aperture, depending on what content is being photographed.

For instance, here are two examples demonstrating some of the different ways the Konica Hexanon 60mm renders bokeh (both shot @ f/1.2):

In this first example, the harshness of the bokeh is apparent in the foliage, where we find rather “hard” edges to the circles; the Leica 50mm Summilux Aspherical would have rendered this in a more smooth manner.  Foliage, by the way, is a bit of a “torture test” for lens bokeh, as it can bring out some rather jarring results, even in lenses that are generally thought to be smooth.

(please click on the image below)

In the second image below, even though the same lens is being used, the background has been rendered more gently.  I would specifically describe it as painterly – a mix of smooth and bold as if painted by an artist’s brush.  This is what I really appreciate about this lens – there’s always a tension present between extremes that I find visually very appealing.

(please click on the image below)

Of course, foreground elements may also be out-of-focus, as is the case with the railing in the second shot as it approaches the bottom right portion of the frame.  It follows that different lenses will handle foreground elements differently.   But I’ll leave that discussion for another day…