"Welcome to the United States of America" - Ellis Island

I attended the recent LHSA (International Leica Society) meeting in NYC. One of the activities was a boat ride out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, entry point for 12 million immigrants to the US.

 

Quick - can you tell which two shots are film (Leica M4-2) and which one is digital (Leica M9)? Don't cheat and look at the file names.

 

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Someone Loves NY, Barefoot

Leica M4-2, 35mm Summicron f2 v.3

 

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Dreaming in Monochrom(e) - Japanese Lunch and Grocery Shopping With My Wife

I enjoy having Japanese food with my wife. Recently, we went to the (very) small area in Bethesda, Maryland for lunch and to visit the Japanese grocer. I shot these two images with my Leica M4-2, 35mm f1.4 Summilux, and Ilford Delta 3200 film.

 

 

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Dreaming in Monochrom - Jake and the Burtones in Lovettsville, VA

I haven't added to my "Dreaming in Monochrom" series in a while. In this series, I am using my Leica M4-2 with black and white film (only). In the beginning, the series was a way for me to explore whether or not I really wanted a Leica Monochrom rangefinder camera. While I love shooting black and white, I do find limiting myself to monochrome images is, well, a limitation. I think the exercise saved me a lot of money.

 

Anyway, that said, I do have a blast shooting black and white film still. Here are a couple of shots of one of my favorite Old Time music bands in the area, Jake and the Burtones. They were playing at the Mad Horse Brewery in Lovettsville, Virginia, and I was able to convince them to pose for a few shots.

 

Jake and the Burtones, by Reed A. George

Leica M4-2, Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 v.3 Lens

Ilford Delta 3200 Film

 

 

I'm finding that I enjoy shooting images of the bands I know off-stage as much as on-stage at this point. In fact, I'm a little saturated with on-stage shots. That's good, as I'm getting more requests to shoot promo shots as time goes by. An additional skill to add to my favorite photo project.

 

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Bruce Davidson's Leica - How a Leica Should Look

Image Source: http://leicaphilia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/davidson1.jpeg

 

There's a nice post on the blog Leicaphilia, about an image Bruce Davidson made of a British girl holding a kitten. The photograph is beautiful, and worth the click.

 

(Click Here) to see the girl with kitten on Leicaphilia.

 

But, the image above, of Davidson's Leica, is what impressed me. Now that's what I call brassing. Tough to call this on "minty" if it ever hits ebay.

 

As I've shared before, I bought my first Leica, the M4-2 that I've used for the "Dreaming in Monochrom(e)" series, used and cheap.

 

(Click Here) to see my Dreaming in Monochrom(e) series of posts.

 

My friend recommended that I forget about having the vulcanite replaced, stating that it would be better to look like I'd carried my camera through a war than like a dentist out with his new jewelry. I've followed that advice. My M4-2 is just a ugly/beautiful as when I received it.

 

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Dreaming in Monochrom(e) - Ilford Delta 3200 Film at a Concert

A few weeks ago, I posted digital pictures from a Keel Power Trio concert at Gypsy Sally's in Washington, DC. They were all shot on the Nikon D700, and processed in Lightroom to emulate Ilford Delta 3200.

 

(Click Here) to see that post.

 

I also shot my "Dreaming in Monochrom(e)" camera, the Leica M4-2, loaded with the real deal, actual Ilford Delta 3200 film. Here are the results:

 

 

 

 

Larry Keel Power Trio, by Reed A. George

Leica M4-2, Carl Zeiss C-Sonnar 50mm f1.5 Lens

 

Man, I really love shooting the M4-2, and Delta 3200 opens up a lot of opportunities for low light shooting. I typically shoot it as if it were rated at 1600, and have it processed normally at The Darkroom (thedarkroom.com).

 

This "Dreaming in Monochrom(e)" project has taught me so much. First, it reopened my ability to shoot film at live music events. It also refocused me on a style of monochrome images that I think fit my chosen type of music very well. In fact, it even transformed how I process my digital images from these events.

 

But the experience is giving me the distinct feeling that restricting any given camera to black and white only may not be for me. While I love shooting the M4-2 with TMax 400 or Delta 3200, I sometimes leave it at home because I've temporarily dedicated it to this project and am not using it for color. I would not be happy with a several thousand dollar digital Leica Monochrom that I couldn't carry without reservation any time I want.

 

I feel very fortunate to be around such great musicians. What could be better than bringing together two passions - live music and photography?

My Friend, Polly, by Reed A. George

Leica M4-2, Carl Zeiss C-Sonnar 50mm f1.5 Lens

 

 

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By and By Bluegrass at Gypsy Sally's - Including Some "Dreaming in Monochrom(e)" Shots

I've already posted some shots of the Larry Keel Power Trio (aka Larry Keel Experience) that I shot at Gypsy Sally's in Washington DC a while back.

 

(Click Here) to see my earlier post and link to my images on the live music blog Cosmic Vibes Live. Since that post, which was all digital shots, I've received my film back from The Darkroom. I have more Keel pictures to post, when I get to it.

 

In the meantime, here are some images of one of the opening bands, By and By. The bass player, Matt Iadanza, is a friend and co-worker in my regular job. The first set is digital, all shot with the still-amazing Nikon D700. I processed these in Lightroom using my settings to emulate Ilford Delta 3200 film.

 

(Click Here) to find my Lightroom settings that lead to this look.

 

I'll follow that with a couple of film shots from the Leica M4-2 that I'm using for the Dreaming in Monochrom(e) series.

 

 

 

 

By and By, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor AF-D 20mm f2.8, Nikkor 85mm f1.8 AF-D Lenses

 

And here are a couple shot with my Leica M4-2 and real honest-to-goodness Ilford Delta 3200 film.

 

By and By, by Reed A. George

Leica M4-2, Zeiss C-Sonnar 50mm f1.5 Lens

Ilford Delta 3200 Film

 

This was Matt's last show as bassist for By and By. He's now in the UK, working at the University of Leeds. Best wishes, Matt! But, the band continues on. (Click Here) to learn more about By and By Bluegrass.

 

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Dreaming in Monochrom(e) - Buddha in Snowstorm

Here are a couple of shots I made with Ilford Delta 3200 film in my Leica M4-2, at a Buddhist temple during a snowstorm. Both were made with the Zeiss C Sonnar 50mm f1.5 lens, one of my favorite lenses.

 

Wat Yarn in Snow, by Reed A. George

 

I selected 1/125-1/250 sec. for my shutter speed, in an effort to catch the falling snowflakes.

 

Parasol, by Reed A. George

 

I like how the statue's eye shows up in this image.

 

I wouldn't normally use high speed film for images like this, but it was what I had with me. I think it worked out pretty well.

 

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Dreaming in Monochrom(e) - Mink's Miracle Medicine Show

My friends Rudy, Melissa, and Erik, former members of the band Acoustic Burgoo, came together to play a show under Melissa's new band name, Mink. The show was at Cristina's Cafe in Strasburg, Virginia.

 

(Click Here) to find Cristina's. If you're ever passing through Strasburg, stop in for a "Sexi Mexi Combo!"

 

I shot the show with my "Dreaming in Monochrom(e)" camera, the Leica M4-2, and my new favorite black and white film approach, using Ilford Delta 3200 exposed at iso 1600, and processed by The Darkroom.

(Click Here) to learn about The Darkroom, the best film processing service I've ever used.

 

Melissa Finishing Up the Set List, by Reed A. George

Leica M4-2, Ilford Delta 3200 Film

 

I shot with two lenses, the Zeiss C-Sonnar 50mm f1.5, which is a modern remake of the classic Sonnar design, with the latest materials, technologies, and optical coatings. The second lens was my Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 version 3, from the 1970s.

 

Mink and Friends, by Reed A. George

Leica M4-2, Ilford Delta 3200 Film

 

This was a very laid back show, which is sometimes nice. I got to hang out with my friends, have some excellent Mexican food, and move around and shoot as much as I liked.

 

Erik Burnham, by Reed A. George

Leica M4-2, Ilford Delta 3200 Film

 

We saw various combinations of the three performers, and when not playing on stage, Erik stayed busy playing off-stage, dancing with our lovely waitress (whose name I didn't get, sorry!).

 

Dance, by Reed A. George

Leica M4-2, Ilford Delta 3200 Film

 

Rudy B. and Erik, by Reed A. George

Leica M4-2, Ilford Delta 3200 Film

 

Erik and Rudy are in another band, The Plank Stompers. You'll see images from my frequent attendance at their shows as well here at DMC-365.blogspot.com. The shot below is from behind them on stage. That's Britt in the audience (with the beard).

 

 

Mink and Friends, by Reed A. George

Leica M4-2, Ilford Delta 3200 Film

Here is a shot that took advantage of the stage lights to play with some internal reflections and unpredictable properties of optics. Chance rather than design, I like how it turned out.

Erik and Rudy, by Reed A. George

Leica M4-2, Ilford Delta 3200 Film

 

I think I have a style for many of my concert images now, at least the ones I want to shoot in monochrome.

 

I'm in the process of testing a new color film (CineStill), to see if it can be an equally satisfying solution for color. I shot two 36 exposure rolls of it last night at a house concert; we'll see how that turns out in a week or so.

 

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The Joy of a Film Leica Rangefinder

Yoko Ono's Tree, by Reed A. George

Leica M4-2, Summicron 50mm f2 Lens

 

If you know me, you know that I love to shoot Leica rangefinders. And, I love to shoot film.

 

Having read a post by Rikard Landberg on Steve Huff's site, I just felt the need to find an old film Leica image and share it. Mr. Landberg writes of his experience of selling off all of his digital (Canon) gear and shooting film only for a year.

 

(Click Here) to read Mr. Landberg's post on Steve Huff Photo.

 

While I don't find it necessary to be exclusive of digital (or exclusive of anything in particular) in my photography, I do appreciate the narrowing of variables and focus on attention and concentration that Rikard discusses in his post.

 

He shoots Kodak TMax 400 film, usually at iso 1600, which leads to the high contrast you'll see in his shots there. I like the look. However, I also notice that all of his images have extremely large depth of field. This is likely due to the need to shoot at small apertures while shooting at iso 1600 outdoors. Not really a problem, but as you can see in my image above, I like to take advantage of very shallow depth of field in some cases. For me, if I had to pick a single iso to shoot at (thank goodness I don't), it would probably be 400.

 

 

If you're wondering, the note just left of center in the image of Yoko Ono's tree, above, says:

 

"I wish I was happy and no one I love feels sad."

That's a pretty noble wish.

 

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Dreaming in Monochrom(e) - Taarka (Live Music) on Ilford Delta 3200 Film

I recently wrote about how I wanted to try Ilford Delta 3200 for my live music photography.

 

(Click Here) to read about what sent me in this direction.

 

Well, here are my first results, from a great show by the band Taarka at the Barns of Rose Hill in Berryville, Virginia, on March 1, 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I shot all of these with my Leica M4-2 (ca. 1978) and Zeiss Sonnar C 50mm f1.5 lens. On some of them I use just a tiny touch of fill flash (1/32 power on the compact Nikon SB30 flash). The shot immediately above is one of those. It helped to fill in some of the shadows.

 

I exposed all of these as if the Delta 3200 were rated at iso 1600, and had them developed by The Darkroom (thedarkroom.com) normally (as if shot at 3200). This decision was based on my previous experience with Delta 3200, where my negatives were a bit thin when shot at 3200. I found lots of references to shooting it this way (at 1600), and I agree.

 

So, how does Delta 3200 compare to Kodak TMax 400 pushed two stops to iso 1600? I think it did help me to tame the extreme high contrast of pushing TMax 400, which was one of my goals. The grain is more pronounced with Delta 3200, but I kind of like it. So, as far as I'm concerned, this experiment was a success. I'll certainly be shooting more Delta 3200.

 

(Click Here) to see how I've made presets in Lightroom to emulate Delta 3200 in my Leica M9 shots.

 

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Dreaming in Monochrom(e) - Single Shot I Like

Here's a shot I made of my kid, using the Leica M4-2, Kodak TMax 400 film, and the awesome Zeiss 50mm f1.5 C-Sonnar:

 

I have learned some things from my "Dreaming in Monochrom(e)" project. I started the project to investigate how much I'd enjoy having a modern digital monochrome rangefinder camera, the Leica Monochrom.

 

One thing I learned is that I can do a lot with black and white only. That said, I'm not sure I want my camera to limit me to monochrome only.

 

Using the M4-2 for live music shots has actually changed the way I shot concerts, whether with film or digital. Shooting in low light with TMax 400 pushed two stops and with Ilford Delta 3200, I re-learned at least one style I like for my music photography - high contrast and with grain. So, I am processing some of my digital concert images to emulate that look. An unexpected lesson.

 

As with most of my projects, the answers I find are not absolute. But, they do add to my overall knowledge and enjoyment of photography.

 

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About to Try Ilford Delta 3200 For My Concert Photography

As you may know, I've been shooting some concerts with black and white film in my Leica M4-2 film camera, as part of a series I'm calling "Dreaming in Monochrom(e)." The idea is that I'm exploring using one of my Leicas in monochrome only, exploring how I'd really work with a digital Leica Monochrom if I had one.

 

Anyway, I've been shooting concerts with Kodak TMax 400 black and white film, pushed two stops to iso 1600.

River Whyless, by Reed A. George

Leica M4-2, 50mm Zeiss C-Sonnar f1.5 Lens

Kodak TMax 400 Film Pushed to iso 1600

 

While I'm really liking this new look to my concert photography, I'm finding the extreme contrast that I get by pushing 400 speed film two stops a little bit limiting. So, I've decided to try some Ilford Delta 3200 black and white film. My experience with Delta 3200 in the past was that the negatives can be a little thin; I've had better luck shooting it at iso 1600 than the labeled 3200. Apparently, the native iso is more like 1000, but it's got extremely wide exposure tolerance.

 

So, I think I'll shoot it at 1600 this time.

 

Here's an example concert shot on Delta 3200by Kontantinos Bezios:

 

Image Source: http://kbesios.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/20120904-105104.jpg

 

Konstantinos shot this on a medium format Plaubel 67 camera. I think the gray tones are very nice, and I hope to get a similar effect in my Leica.

 

(Click Here) to visit Konstantino's blog and see more of his work.

 

My only question now is whether or not I need to inform The Darkroom (my favorite mail-in film developer) that I shot Delta 3200 at 1600 or not. I tend to think not, as I read a lot of posts about shooting it at 1600 and developing normally.

 

By the way, if you want truly excellent film developing, (Click Here) to visit thedarkroom.com.

 

With any luck, I'll have some interesting new concert photos to share in a week or so!

 

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Dreaming in Monochrom(e). I'm Starting to Like This Look for Live Music

I've been using my Leica M4-2 film camera with Tmax 400 film, pushing it to iso 1600 (+2 stops) for shooting live music lately. I'm really starting to like the high constrast black and white look I'm getting.

 

Here are some shots I took recently at the Bright Box, a wonderful venue in Winchester, Virginia.

 

(Click Here) to learn more about Bright Box.

 

This show happened to be opened by one of my favorites, you may recognize Melissa Wright, now in a band called Mink.

 

Mink, by Reed A. George

 

The headliner band this particular evening was River Whyless, who I can add to my list of must-see-again bands.

 

River Whyless, by Reed A. George

 

The third shot is my favorite from the evening. I love how each band member comes across quite individually, yet makes up a part of the whole. I'm pleased with it.

 

I shot three lenses with my M4-2 on this evening: Leica 35mm f1.4 pre-aspheric Summilux, Zeiss 50mm f1.5 Sonnar-C, and Leica 90mm f2.8 Elmarit. I'm really beginning to like the combination of this very light, easily maneuverable kit and the look of pushed black and white film. Of course, it wouldn't work for everything, but in already harshly-lit stage settings, I think it does just fine.

 

Continuing on the path of learning how I may like the new digital Monochrom rangefinder, I do wonder how it would be to shoot at iso 1600 or even higher and get the wonderful low contrast, high dynamic images that camera is capable of. Maybe I'll have to borrow a Monochrom and see!

 

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