Fred Bonatto Shares Bosnia on getdpi.com With His Leica M8

I always really liked the Leica M8. Yes, it had a cropped sensor. Yes, you had to use UV/IR filters. Yes, lens coding was a pain, especially for people like me who don't have the latest (coded) lenses. But, it sure could make a nice image when all the right pieces were in place.

 

Fred Bonatto (username bonatto on getdpi.com) has shared some images from Bosnia, taken with his M8.

 

 

Image Source: http://www.getdpi.com/forum/leica-m-x-r/44317-bosnia-m8.html

 

(Click Here) to read bonatto's post, and see several more excellent Leica M8 images.

 

Here's one that I shot with my M8. I sold my M8 when I got the M9.

 

Eric Felton Orchestra, by Reed A. George

Leica M8, Minolta Rokkor 40mm f2 Lens

iso 640, f2, 1/90 sec.

 

The M8 delivered beautiful, not-overstated color. But, I think it really excelled at black and white.

 

In my humble opinion, the M9 does everything that the M8 did, and much more. Full frame, no filters required, manual lens settings (or coding, if you need them). The M8 was capable of magic when things were all correct; the M9 is capable of magic any time.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Barcelona's Placa De Sant Felip Neri

 

Placa De Sant Felip Neri, Barcelona, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Pana-Leica Summilux 25mm f1.4

iso 1600, f5, 1/320 sec

 
Placa De Sant Felip Neri, located in the Barri Gotic neighborhood of Barcelona, is a special place with a deep history. Originally the site of a Jewish cemetery, a baroque church was built here in the mid 1700s and still stands.
 
On January 30, 1938, during the Spanish Civil War, a bomb fell on the square, killing 42 civilians, including 20 children who were taking shelter in the basement of the church. In the images below, you can see the significant damage that the bomb did to the stone walls of the square.
 
While the shot above was taken with the Lumix DMC-G3, the remaining pictures in this post were taken at night with my Leica CL, Minolta Rokkor 40mm f2 lens, and Kodak Tmax 400 film. I did not use a tripod, and most were shot at 1/15 second exposure.
 
My goal was to capture the feeling that the place gave me as darkness fell. It is not a sinister place, but certainly has a dark history.
 

 

There is still an elementary school in the square. The children in these pictures were meeting their parents, and playing before walking home. While the pictures look dark and threatening (which was my intention), the kids were quite happily running around the square.
 

 

If the soul exists, many have flown skyward from this place. Remnants of those flights persist. Like a tidepool that stays intact after the tide has receded, this place holds memories for those old enough to remember, only vague shadows and moods for those too young.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed trying to capture the impression Placa De Sant Felip Neri made on me. The Leica CL was the perfect tool for it, even though I had to work carefully with iso 400 film and low light levels.
 

DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 

First Afternoon and Evening in Barcelona - I Think I Like It Here

 

Gelato Selection, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

 
We arrived in Barcelona today, Sunday, at about noon. After a quick nap, we went out for a tasty lunch of tapas (shrimp, avocado salad, local sausage and white beans). This kept us full enough that we only needed a small snack for dinner.
 
I can already tell that the street photography is going to be great here. For our evening walk, I grabbed my Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 and Russian 35mm optical finder, set the zoom to 35mm equivalent, manual exposure at either iso 400, 800, or 1600 (pretty high for this small sensor), and shot away.
 

Mixed Traffic, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

 
In order to minimize jet lag, I need to stay up until at least 10:00 tonight, preferably closer to midnight. It's currently only 7:30PM. I may have to go out again to succeed in staying awake...
 
I'm certainly looking forward to the rest of this trip. The images above are both jpegs directly from the camera, shot using the Dynamic Black and White option. I don't know exactly how this works, but flickr is showing the filenames as if they were raw files. That can't be, as the Black and White option only affects the jpegs. And, I can't see my EXIF information, either.
 
At any rate, I'm pretty sure that some careful post-processing at home will clean them up quite well.
 
More from Barcelona coming soon!
 
 

Using the Lumix DMC-G3 as a Rangefinder, Revisited

I have written in the past about using my Lumix DMC-G3 and LX5 in "rangefinder fashion." See my post on June 18 of this year for more on that. I prefer to use the Lumix 20mm f1.7 lens and an optical 35mm finder, with hyperfocal settings. Others prefer different configurations.

Old French Lady, by Andrea Costa

Image Source: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7238/7203430610_719810cbce.jpg

 
 
One of my consistent readers, Andrea Costa of Italy, is doing a nice project in a similar fashion, using a DMC-G3, Pentacon Prakticar 28mm f2.8 manual focus lens, manual exposure, black and white preview, and iso 400. Andrea's goal is to shoot at least 48 exposures every week, converting them to black and white in straightforward fashion, and choosing the good ones for posting, with no further post-processing.
 
(Click Here) to see the 47 images that Andrea's posted so far, since March of this year. Here are a couple more of my favorites:
 
 

North Fountain, by Andrea Costa

Image Source: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8315/8015017715_39abef6cfc.jpg

 
 
 

Where now, by Andrea Costa

Image Source: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8179/7950018994_6ee87e7cd0.jpg

 
I am impressed with Andrea's eye. I also love the simple, straightforward approach, not relying on extensive post-processing.
 
Thank you for sharing, Andrea! I look forward to seeing more as your project develops!
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 

More Vicarious Travel Through Other Photographers - Lapland, This Time.

 

Swedish Lapland, by Lasse Eisele on dpreview.com

Image Source: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1041&message=42573637

 
This is a series you must see. Lasse Eisele shared an impressive series of landscapes shot with the Lumix DMC-G3 (and Olympus lenses) in Swedish Lapland. The images are just gorgeous.
 
(Click Here) to see all of the images on dpreview.com.
 
Lasse expresses general overall satisfaction with the G3, yet comments on weak dynamic range and clumsiness of the design of the camera controls. I can add that the G3 indeed does do better in low contrast situations, if you're looking for tonal range. Of course, that's true of any film or sensor, but it is an area for improvement in the G3 sensor.
 
Related to accidentally hitting controls that you don't want to hit, I feel the pain. I have more than one accidental video, for example, which causes a several second delay in getting back to still photographs. You can turn the button off in the menu, but then you can't respond quickly when you do want to shoot a video.
 
I imagine the GH3 may improve performance in both dynamic range and control layout. However, that comes at significantly higher cost and large overall size than the G3. It all comes down to compromises. The G3 is a pretty good set of compromises, overall.
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 

Rome With A Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1, by Al. on Mu-43.com

 

Rome, by Al. on mu-43.com

Image Source: http://www.mu-43.com/f57/few-hours-rome-gx1-32093/

 
More vicarious travel with Lumix! I've never been to Rome, Italy. Al. on mu-43.com has posted six great images (including the one above), taken with a Lumix DMC-GX1, Lumix 20mm f1.7, and Olympus 45mm f1.8 lens.
 
(Click Here) to see all of the pictures in the post on mu-43.com.
 
The picture above tells a nice story, in my opinion. From all appearances, the musician is on own in the square, impervious to the views from passers-by. He certainly has style.
 
Some of the other pictures give totally different messages about Rome. The water fountain looks so refreshing in the Italian heat. The statue and officer say something perhaps menacing? That's the great thing about photography - we get to interpret them any way we choose.
 
Al. really was able to give us a feel for Rome with a very compact camera kit. Thanks for sharing, Al.!
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 

National Geographic Photographer Ed Kashi Shares His Experience of 30 Years in Global Photography

 
Photographer Ed Kashi
Image Source:
http://events.nationalgeographic.com/events/speakers/2012/04/17/changing-face-marseille/
 
On Tuesday, April 17, I once again took advantage of living reasonably close to the National Geographic headquarters in Washington, DC, and attended a talk by photographer Ed Kashi. The topic of the talk was his recent Nat Geo project, on the life of Muslims in Marseille, France. Ed also shared a lot of insight from his years of experience on long-term assignments overseas and away from his family.
 
 
(Click Here) to go to the National Geographic Live description of the event.
 
 
Marseille is the oldest city in France. Approximately 20% of the one million inhabitants are Muslim. The government there is very secular, which may be part of the reason that the city integrates so many cultures so effectively. Other cultures with major populations in Marseille include Jewish, Tunisian, and Roma.
 
 
Ed shared the difficulties he encountered on this assignment, even though he's used to working in less-developed places, like North Africa. In Marseille, his first "handler," which is a local contact to help you work in a foreign place, was a nightmare. Ed said that your handler basically has to be a magician - someone who's comfortable escorting you to the Prime Minister's residence, or getting you into the poorest person's home. After an altercation with his first handler, Ed found a perfect substitute, and the project took root.
 
 
Ed now regularly makes a multimedia piece to accompany his still photography projects. At this talk, he showed two - Eye Contact and Photojournalisms.
 
 
Eye Contact is a collection of images that were edited out, throughout his career, because someone in the frame was looking at the camera. While his normal style is to achieve scenes where he is basically "invisible," those with eye contact made for a very interesting set of images.
 
 
Photojournalisms is a more personal piece, and is based on journal entries that Ed writes to his wife and family while he is away for his work. It is a very heartfelt documentary, and shows the tradeoffs that a traveling photographer makes in pursuit of his or her work.
 
 
(Click Here) to go to Ed's website.
 
 
I thoroughly enjoyed Ed's work and commentary. He spent a lot of time answering questions from the crowd, and didn't shy away from any subject.
 
 
I must say, after attending two of these events, that National Geographic photographers really do concede a lot of their personal lives for their work. Ed was clearly sad about the amount of his children's childhood he missed on assignment. Ed now only takes on shorter trips, and is very focused on his family.
 
 
In the first event I attended, by Jodi Cobb, she related some level of regret for the sacrifices she made in her personal life, as well.
 
 
(Click Here) to see my review of the Jodi Cobb event.
 
 
It is great to have the opportunity to listen to the world's best photographers on a regular weekday evening. It takes me about an hour to get into the city, but the trip is always worth it.
 
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 
 

Moscow - Beautiful Series Shot With DMC-GX1 and Prime Lenses

Poster PiterM on mu-43 posted a spectacular series of images from Moscow.
 
(Click Here) to see the entire post. You really owe it to yourself to see all of the images.

Moscow, by PiterM on mu-43.com
Image Source: http://www.mu-43.com/f56/russia-love-gx1-3-primes-12-20-45-a-24469/
 
PiterM comments on how much satisfied he is with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 and three primes for his travel photography. On this trip, he carried two Olympus lenses (12mm f2 and 45mm f1.8) and the Panasonic Lumix 20mm f1.7. He notes that so far, he has used the two Olympus lenses most on this trip.

PiterM also mentions how "out of place" he would have felt if he'd been carrying his Nikon DSLR instead.

As always, I love seeing faraway places through the lens of other photographers. PiterM and I certainly agree on how well Micro 4/3 works for travel. Moscow is another place I'd love to see one day.

DMC-365.blogspot.com