Portrait

The twinkle in his eye.

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

This one was challenging, but ultimately very rewarding.

He was constantly moving, with his back toward me most of the time, making a decent shot difficult (it’s always a struggle at this age when kids start getting mobile, but — on the positive side — they’re still “naturals” in front of the camera).

So, I tried a few times throughout the day to capture him… without success.

Then, at the time of the “golden hour“, he was once again looking out the window.  As he turned here, and smiled, a shaft of soft light from outside acted as a gentle spotlight on his left face and shoulder.

As I couldn’t back up any further from where I was, I could just fit him within the 75mm frame lines.  And I tried my best to hit focus, as this wonderful combination of expression, light, and composition would likely not repeat itself.  Fortunately, it all came together.

A  Life’s Little Moment to be cherished.

(please click on the image to view)

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

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.

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)

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.