Test Shot #2 from the first roll of film run through the Mamiya 7II.
This was photographed with the 80 mm lens near its close-focus limit of 1 m.
—Peter.
Teaching point
M240 Colour Images + More Mamiya!
Film, Inspiration, Kodak Tri-X 400, Leica M Type 240, Q&A, Teaching pointThis weekend has been a good one, photographically speaking. The weather has finally cooperated in Toronto and I’ve also had ample opportunity to photograph.
The upshot: over the next few days, I’ll be posting several colour images I’ve taken with the M240.
To put this thing to rest, I’ll state upfront that I’m now reasonably pleased with the colours I’m getting. Are they M9-like? No, of course not. The Kodak CCD sensors in the M9/M-E (and M8) are special (for many reasons), so if you’re interested in seeing an updated CCD sensor placed in a future M camera, you may want to consider signing my…
Open Letter to Leica
And for those interested in film photography, I’ll be posting more images from that first test roll of Kodak Tri-X I shot with my recently acquired Mamiya 7II.
—Peter.
Mother’s Day.
Film, Inspiration, Kodak Tri-X 400, Mamiya 7/7II, Mamiya 80mm, Portrait, Q&A, Scanner - Plustek 120, Teaching pointHappy Mother’s Day!
As an aside, this image represents Test Shot #1 (literally, the first shot from the first roll of film) from my Mamiya 7II.
—Peter.
Reason #2 I still shoot film.
Inspiration, Teaching pointI still shoot film so that I can learn to shoot and process digital properly.
—Peter.
Windswept.
Inspiration, Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH f/1.4, Leica M Type 240, Portrait, Teaching point
Window Studies, Part 2.
Inspiration, Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH f/1.4, Leica M Type 240, Portrait, Q&A, Teaching pointA double-meaning with this title: her studies, of course, and my ongoing study of the M240 colour signature.
—Peter.
The life savour.
2014, Favourite, Film, Inspiration, Kodak Tri-X 400, Mamiya RZ 110mm F/2.8, Mamiya RZ67 Professional Pro II, Portrait, Scanner - Plustek 120, Teaching pointThere’s an ethereal quality in the image towards the right edge of the frame — caused by a bit of lens flare… but it appears as if the film grain is commingling with the very light that it’s trying to contain.
Don’t you just love film?
—Peter.
Film shots coming… let there be light.
Film, Inspiration, Teaching pointI’ve been busy developing Tri-X, shot with my Mamiya RZ67 and Leica M3, using my process for developing B&W film.
The moments captured reflect what I cherish the most: Life’s Little Moments.
Unfortunately, we’ve been thrust into darkness again, as winter doesn’t seem to want to go. If I was photographing with a digital camera, my output over the last few days would have been zero. But somehow, with a shutter speed of 1/15 (or less!) and a few rolls of Kodak, I’ve produced a few images worth keeping.
I’ll be posting some of them, starting tomorrow.
In the meantime… I wait for good light.
—Peter.
Mamiya RZ67 + 110/2.8 + Kodak Tri-X 400 = Art.
Inspiration, Life's Little Moments, Teaching pointI shot a roll of 120 film today, using the equipment in the title above.
10 shots for the roll, 6 of them were keepers… I wish my yield with digital approached that ratio.
I’ll be posting some of the images later this week.
What I love about this set-up is that the output makes everyday life look like art. Or, maybe I should say that it reveals the art of everyday life.
—Peter.
Leica T.
Q&A, Teaching point
↑Photo courtesy Leica.
No, I wasn’t given the newly-released Leica T Type 701 to review. And no, I haven’t tried it.
But I’m getting emails asking me about it, so I’ll make a few comments.
The sensor is excellent (they’re using a tried-and-tested sensor), and the new lenses (only two have been announced so far) will perform in the typical Leica fashion — wonderfully. And, of course, they released an M adapter for M lenses. Nice.
I’m too biased towards optical viewfinders and larger sensors to be tempted by it.
However, I’m quite impressed with Leica‘s execution on this release. They got the marketing right, and the design (minimalistic — read: excellent). They even got the right reviewers on board, and were careful to educate them on the product beforehand.
Most impressively, they out-Appled Apple with the interface.
I like what they’ve done.
—Peter.
Eyes – Test Shot Portrait (Mamiya Tilt/Shift).
2014, Favourite, Film, Inspiration, Kodak Tri-X 400, Mamiya RZ 180mm F/4.5 Short Barrel, Mamiya RZ67 Professional Pro II, Mamiya Tilt/Shift Adapter, Portrait, Q&A, Scanner - Plustek 120, Teaching pointMy first portrait using the Mamiya 180mm f/4.5 Short Barrel lens with the Mamiya Tilt/Shift Adapter.
I really should be supporting this heavy and unwieldy gear with a tripod, but I’ve avoided tripods all my life (ahhh the undisciplined life of a candid photographer).
Not bad though. I see great potential with this set-up.
—Peter.
Springtime in Toronto, Part 2.
Film, Inspiration, Kodak Tri-X 400, Mamiya RZ 110mm F/2.8, Mamiya RZ67 Professional Pro II, Portrait, Q&A, Scanner - Plustek 120, Teaching pointYou have to love this city and its weather 😉 .
This image was taken using the Mamiya 110/2.8 at its near focus limit; even at f/4 (the aperture used for this shot), the depth of field is quite thin — perhaps too thin for this portrait, since only the near eye is in focus.
Still, I like it.
The look of the Tri-X film and the bigger 6 x 7 “sensor” of medium format is quite remarkable. Notice the true-to-life rendering of his face, texture of his hat, etc. Currently, high-end 35mm digital cameras may be able to out-resolve this antiquated gear (at least using the scanner I’m using), but they cannot duplicate the look of this image.
—Peter.
Giving Leica Credit.
Inspiration, Q&A, Teaching point
Last week’s experience with new gear made me appreciate something all over again: the joy of shooting with a rangefinder.
I’ve written about this previously, but it doesn’t hurt to be taught old lessons again.
Many people view the Leica rangefinder and its mechanical coincident focusing mechanism as antiquated. Yet, I’ve chosen this type of camera (starting with the M8) for almost 100% of my photography for the last 7 years. For me, and many others, there is no better example of an unobtrusive and high quality image-capable camera.
Recently, another camera company has been celebrated for manufacturing smaller-than-DSLR “full frame” bodies, yet it is noteworthy that Leica accomplished this back 2009 with the M9. Moreover, to this day, Leica is the only company that (mostly) understands the ergonomics of a proper camera and the importance of an optical viewfinder.
The modern Leica M camera carries forward design principles that have been retained, honed, and perfected over many decades. Quite literally, there is no competition in the current camera landscape.
On a final note…
Although I have been famously critical of a sensor decision Leica made with the M240 (though I’m learning to live with it), I have no problem giving credit where credit is due, so:
Thank you Leica, for the M.
—Peter.
Portrait.
Inspiration, Leica M Type 240, Portrait, Q&A, Teaching point, Voigtländer 40mm f/1.4 NoktonThis is an image, of course, but it’s also a test shot. I’m trying to tackle and tame the shortcomings of the CMOS sensor.
My brief experience with the D800E confirmed for me that “CMOS is CMOS” when it comes to trying to pull out shadow detail (or getting micro-contrast, or getting good skin tones)… i.e., as of April 2014, it’s not as good as CCD, whether we’re talking Nikon or Leica.
Surprisingly, the D800E also made me appreciate the M240 more.
However, going forward I’m going to give the technical stuff a rest and start concentrating on photography again.
And as I go along I hopefully will be able to reduce the time it took to get this image to where I wanted it to be.
—Peter.
↑Leica M240 and Voigtländer Nokton 40mm @ f/1.4.
Light Reading, Part 2 (different processing, different image).
Inspiration, Nikon D800E, Portrait, Q&A, Teaching point, Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 APO-Distagon (ZF.2 Nikon mount)Here’s a second image, taken a little earlier from the first (and cropped).
The lighting is different, and I’ve processed it differently too.
I realize I’m comparing apples to oranges, but I’m curious on your thoughts as I work through these D800E/Otus files.
—Peter.
↑Nikon D800E and Zeiss Otus 55mm @ f/1.4.
Upside-Down-Side.
Inspiration, Life's Little Moments, Nikon D800E, Portrait, Teaching point, Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 APO-Distagon (ZF.2 Nikon mount)The art and science of composition.
Or, synchronicity.
↑Nikon D800E and Zeiss Otus 55mm @ f/1.4.
Glenfiddich Window Portrait (Tilt-Shift test shot).
Film, Fujifilm FP-3000B, Inspiration, Mamiya RZ 180mm F/4.5, Mamiya RZ67 Professional Pro II, Mamiya Tilt/Shift Adapter, Portrait, Print, Q&A, Teaching pointThis is a test shot using my recently acquired used Mamiya tilt/shift accessory on Fuji instant (“Polaroid”) film.
No alcohol was harmed during the testing process.
↑Mamiya RZ67, Mamiya 180mm @ f/4.5, tilt/shift accessory, and Fuji FB-3000.
One more thing… for the Mamiya RZ67.
Inspiration, Mamiya RZ 180mm F/4.5, Mamiya RZ67 Professional Pro II, Mamiya Tilt/Shift Adapter, Nikon D800E, Q&A, Teaching point, Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 APO-Distagon (ZF.2 Nikon mount)Ever since I acquired the Mamiya RZ67, I have been searching for a specific accessory item for it.
The trouble is, it is difficult to find a used example of this piece. And brand new, it sells for more than what I paid for my entire (used) Mamiya kit.
However, last week I found a mint copy of what I was looking for, at an exceptionally low price. I thought it was too good to be true, until it arrived this week.
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Pop Quiz: Can you identify the accessory in the image below?
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(the above image was taken with my new digital set-up: the Nikon D800E and Zeiss Otus 55mm @ f/1.4)
