Within 200 feet of My House™

Airbag.

2017, Favourite, Inspiration, Leica 75mm Summilux (Canada 🇨🇦) f/1.4, Leica M9(P)/M-E (CCD Lives!), Print, Within 200 feet of My House™

In the next world war
In a jackknifed juggernaut
I am born again

In the neon sign
Scrolling up and down
I am born again

In an interstellar burst
I am back to save the universe

In a deep deep sleep of the innocent
I am born again

In a fast German car
I’m amazed that I survived
An airbag saved my life…

—Radiohead, Airbag.

↑Leica M9 (CCD Lives! – Prosophos Open Letter to Leica) + Leica 75mm Summilux (Canada 🇨🇦).

Birthday Blink.

2017, Favourite, Film, Inspiration, Kodak Portra 400, Mamiya RZ 110mm F/2.8, Mamiya RZ67 Professional Pro II, Portrait, Q&A, Within 200 feet of My House™

Last week, I took this photograph of my daughter to mark her 12th birthday.

But the image was created with film, so I didn’t know until yesterday that she had accidentally blinked (the loud shutter noise of the big Mamiya RZ67 is often startling).

I’m posting the image anyway because it’s painterly and beautiful and because I want you to know how much it’s killing me, LOL.

—Peter.

↑Mamiya RZ67 + Mamiya 110mm f/2.8 + Kodak Portra 400.

Pensive.

2017, Favourite, Inspiration, Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH f/1.4, Leica M3, Portrait, Q&A, Teaching point, Within 200 feet of My House™

Test shot #9 from my 1957 Leica M3 DS.

Along with my subject, I’m pensive too, because I’m sending this camera for a CLA (the shutter speeds are clearly off… this image was underexposed by two stops and I had to “push” it in LR — hence the heavy grain).

And so now I’m back to contemplating the Ship of Theseus because I wonder:

Will my M3 be the same camera when it returns?  Will it continue to give me the sort of images I’ve seen from this first roll of film?

I don’t know, of course.  But I’ll keep you posted.

—Peter.

↑Leica M3, 50mm Summilux ASPH @ f/1.4, and Kodak Portra 800.

Real.

2017, Favourite, Film, Kodak Portra 800, Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH f/1.4, Leica M3, Portrait, Q&A, Teaching point, Within 200 feet of My House™

Test shot #1 from my 1957 Leica M3 DS.

I think the shutter speeds are off as most of the images in this first roll of film appear underexposed. Yet some look fine, so I’m at a loss.

I’m using Kodak Portra 800 here, which is more grainy than Portra 400, but I have a nagging feeling…

Anyway, I’ll take a grainy film image like this over the most polished digital equivalent any day.

Something more real about it.

—Peter.

↑Leica M3, 50mm Summilux ASPH @ f/1.4, and Kodak Portra 800.