Lion and Dragon Dancers - Leica IIIG Film Shots

Here are some images of the lion and dragon dancers from the Chinese New Year celebration in DC this year. All were shot with my Leica IIIG rangefinder and 50mm f2 Summicron collapsible, on Ilford HP5+ film.

 

And here's my favorite:

 

 

I absolutely love using the IIIG. The viewfinder is wonderful. Focusing is a bit of a pain, but works. The early Summicron really performs.

 

Burning through that 100' of HP5+!

 

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A Shot I Like from Chinese New Year

 

Noodle Shop Spectators, by Reed A. George

Leica IIIG, 50mm f2 Summicron Collapsible

Ilford HP5 Film, Developed for 7 1/2 mins. in D-76

 

The Chinese New Year parade in Washington, DC had much lower attendance in 2015 than last year. I managed to shoot a 36 exposure roll of Ilford HP5, but really spent as much time talking and having lunch with my friend, Charlie, as I did shooting. This is the noodle shop we decided on, where the chef is making noodles by hand in the front window. You can see the ducks hanging on the right.

 

We both had a nice bowl of roasted duck noodle soup, and then stopped at the Chinese bakery next door for a pastry.

 

I do have some more images from this roll of film to share, but this one is one of my favorites.

 

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Going Out in the Weather for Chinese New Year

The weather outside is horrible. Yesterday, we got several inches of snow, followed by some freezing rain. Today, it's warming up, but the roads are still questionable.

 

But, I have cabin fever. With a new DMC-LX100 having arrived, I'm packing it up, along with my trusty Leica IIIG (loaded with black and white HP5+ film), and meeting my friend Charlie for the drive into DC. We'll attend the Chinese New Year celebration there. Here's a shot I made there last year:

 

(Click Here) to read a post on the Leica blog about this subject. The images embedded in the text aren't much to look at, but the gallery at the top of the post, especially those images by Su Li, are.

 

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Quick Report on Leica Store Event and Regional LHSA Meetup

I have been pretty active in the LHSA (International Leica Society) over the past year or so. One of the most rewarding things I've done is to schedule local meetups for LHSA members, roughly quarterly. These get a small yet dedicated attendance, and are always interesting.

 

(Click Here) to learn about and join LHSA.

 

For the most recent meeting, I decided to coordinate with the Washington DC Leica Store's photowalk event at DC's Chinese New Year celebration in Chinatown. A large group of Leica users met for the Chinese New Year parade, a mix of LHSA members and non-members.

 

(Click Here) to go to the DC Leica Store's home page. They have a beautiful store, and regularly host interesting events for Leica users.

 

We borrowed someone's camera and grabbed a nice Leica user group shot:

 

 

Since my M9 was in for service, I decided to shoot all film for this event. I brought my lovely M3 double stroke with 50mm Summicron f2 version 3 lens attached, and, stretching the Leica definition, my Zeiss SW body and Zeiss Biogon 25mm f2.8 lens.

 

I had a first-ever experience during this event. My M3's film advance mechanism jammed on me, preventing me from using it after about 15 exposures. I'd never experienced a mechanical problem with a Leica camera. Not to worry, it's already back from Youxin Ye, who quickly serviced it at no cost, since I had bought the camera from him last year.

 

Need Leica film camera service? Get in touch with Youxin. He does a great job and has my full recommendation.

 

(Click Here) to go to Youxin's home page.

 

Since we were meeting the very next week to share results at the Leica Store, I make the mistake of taking my film to one of the only local drugstores who still process film. Their processor must have needed service; the color came out just ridiculously bad, and in an unpredictable way. It seems that some frames were okay, others were almost completely devoid of red tones (you don't want to lose your reds in a Chinese New Year image), with a cyan tone. So, I had to work pretty hard in Lightroom to come up with a few images worth sharing.

 

NOTE: None of this would have been a problem if I'd used my regular processing solution, The Darkroom. I've used their mail-in service many, many times, and never had a single issue.

 

(Click Here) to look into The Darkroom's first-rate film processing service.

 

So, after overcoming a few challenges, here are the images I decided to share at the DC Leica Store:

 

 

 

 

 

We had our regional LHSA meetup at the National Portrait Gallery, just down the street from the Leica Store, before heading there to share images.

 

It was actually a lot of fun shooting the Zeiss SW and Biogon 25mm wide angle lens. It required getting very close, but I like the feel of the images.

 

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DC Area Photographers - Chinese New Year Walk, Sponsored by Leica Store DC

Chinese New Year, DC, by Reed A. George

Leica M8, Zeiss Biogon 25mm f2.8 Lens

iso 320, f8, 1/125 sec.

 

 

After living in San Francisco, I must admit that Washington DC's Chinatown is a bit underwhelming. However, on the Chinese New Year celebration, it does liven up quite well. Tomorrow (Sunday, Feb 2), the DC Leica Store is hosting a photo walk at 12:45PM.

 

(Click Here) to get the details from the Leica Store Event page.

 

I'm planning to meet several of my friends there for the walk. One week later (Sunday, Feb 9), we're planning to have a local LHSA (International Leica Society) meetup and then head over to the Leica Store to see and share photographic results from the walk

 

If you're in the area (whether you're a Leica user or LHSA member or not), come join us for some fun!

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Shanghai Rings in the Year of the Snake with a Blanket of Snow

 

She Battles the Snow in Her Unique Way, by Mimo Khair

Image Source: http://mimokhairphotography.com/2013/02/08/one-day-left-till-the-year-of-the-snake/

 

Mimo Khair posted this really interesting shot and a little prose on the experience of being in Shanghai on the eve of the year of the snake.

 

(Click Here) to read the post on mimokhairphotography.com

 

I went out for the Chinese New Year parade here in Washington, DC. Due to poor planning, I was there early with my daughter and my friend James McKearney. We got to see a few lion dancers preparing for the parade, but we were chilled and ready to go long before the parade truly began. So, I don't have much to show. Here's a shot of a street vendor, selling miniature lion decorations, and, of course, rubber snakes.

 

Get Yer Rubber Snakes!, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, W-Nikkor C 3.5cm f2.5 LTM Lens

iso 400, f5.6, 1/125 sec

 

The W-Nikkor 3.5cm lens is my choice for my "Whole Lotta Leica" feature in February. I definitely need to get out more with it soon.

 

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