Q&A

400 photographers agree: we love CCD!

Inspiration, Q&A, Teaching point

400 Signatures Letter to Leica copy

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The world’s longest-running (and most intense)  Open Letter to Leica has reached a milestone:

400 signatures!

It’s true, 400 photographers, enthusiasts, and artists agree:  we love CCD!

Specifically, we believe that the CCD sensor — at base ISO — offers superior image quality.

We also believe that an updated CCD sensor in a future Leica M camera would be in keeping with Leica‘s philosophy of providing out-of-the-mainstream elegant yet powerful photographic tools for discerning photographers.

So help keep the pursuit of high image quality alive by allowing CCD to develop and thrive.

Keep the momentum going!  Encourage others to PLEASE SIGN THIS LETTER.

—Peter.

Snow Bunny.

2015, Favourite, Inspiration, Portrait, Q&A, Sigma DP3 Merrill, Teaching point

I’m quickly learning how to process Sigma DP3 Merrill files.

For example, I’m constantly resisting the temptation to apply sharpening, since the images have an abundance of sharpness and micro-contrast (two qualities that are not necessarily flattering for portraits).

Yet, this particular image proves one thing:  it is possible to post-process DP3 files to produce a sharp and smooth portrait.

Oh, and the tonality possible with the Foveon sensor… wow.

—Peter.

Snow Bunny

↑ Sigma DP3 Merrrill:  1/15 sec (hand-held, but braced), f/2.8, ISO 200.

Winter Solace.

2015, Favourite, Inspiration, Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH f/1.4, Leica M9(P)/M-E (CCD Lives!), Life's Little Moments, Portrait, Q&A, Teaching point

Cozy and hidden from the cold.

On another note, if there’s a better way to digitally record such Life’s Little Moments, then I’d like to know.

As it stands, the Kodak CCD inside the Leica M9/M-E remains my sensor of choice.

Won’t you please sign My Open Letter to Leica, if you haven’t already done so?

—Peter.

Winter Solace

Sigma Love-Apalooza on Planet Earth.

Favourite, Inspiration, Q&A, Sigma DP1, Teaching point

This is an example of the image output from the original Sigma DP series camera, the DP1:

(28mm equiv, F4 lens)

Love-Apalooza

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The DP1 was an excruciatingly slow compact camera, but it helped me capture one of my favourite images, Planet Earth:

planet-earth

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The camera and software from Sigma were both challenged (and continue to be), so much so that I never purchased any of the subsequent DP offerings.  Still, the image quality from the Fovean sensor has always called out to me, like a Sirens’ song

The Siren that’s been singing the sweetest song over the past 18 months: the DP3.

–Peter.

 

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.”

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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.

 

The M8… for hockey?

Inspiration, Q&A, Teaching point

In 2011, I wrote an article called:

The M9… for sports?

In 2012, I wrote a follow-up article called:

The M3… for kids’ sports?

I wrote them because — back then — many DSLR users considered rangefinders too “slow” for photographing action, even though I (along with several others) had been creating images that consistently proved otherwise.

To this day, I prefer rangefinders over DSLRs for photographing sports.

Today, I decided to take my Leica M8 to photograph my daughter’s hockey game.  Of course, given everything I’ve written above, I knew I would get some keepers… provided I could get close enough to the action.

I did.

I’ll be posting a few of the images over the next few days.

I hope you find them of interest.

—Peter.