"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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Wrapping Up - LHSA International Leica Society Spring Shoot in NYC

 

It's been a while since I last posted, but I think I feel a wave of refreshed enthusiasm coming on. Springtime is here, and there's plenty to get out and photograph.

 

Speaking of Spring, we just wrapped up the Spring Shoot of the LHSA, the Internatioanl Leica Society, in New York City. (Click Here) to check out LHSA.

 

While I mostly shot black and white film on this trip, the image above, from Central Park, was shot on my Leica M9, with the Elmar C 90mm f4 lens. This is a great little telephoto for travel, so tiny.

 

Anyway, the image won second place in the LHSA contest for the Spring Shoot. The prize is a free 16"x20" print from Digital Silver. (Click Here) to check these guys out. They may silver prints from digitial files, as well as offering film processing services. My plan is to get the image above printed for my prize. It will make a nice memory of this event.

 

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Yearning for a Trip to the City - the Real City - NYC

 

City Dweller, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Summicron 35mm f2 v.3

iso 320, f6.7, 1/125 sec.

 

It's time. I will start planning my next visit to NYC.

 

It's such a vibrant place, literally full of stories and photographs waiting to be made.

 

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"Captured by Chance" - Inspired by the Work of Masahiko Kishino

 

Weekend at NYC Fish Market, by Reed A. George

Leica M8

 

As you may know, after many years of photography, I have yet to narrow my focus on a particular subject, style, or approach. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever grow up and narrow my definition. For now, the answer appears to be no. I love street, event, wildlife, even landscape photography. That's why I'm so impressed when someone else focuses and perfects just one thing.

 

That's the case with Masahiko Kishino. He shoots Leica M film cameras, PolyPan F black and white film, and that's it. He's an expert at photographing people, capturing a tiny bit of their personality without ever really getting to know anything about them. I feel that I kind of pulled that off in the image above, and would like to do more of it.

 

(Click Here) to read about Kishino's work on the Leica Camera Blog. Be sure to take a look at his images. The lead image, of a young lady in a coffee shop, is just astounding.

 

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Ruslan Pelykh and the Leica D-Lux 6

Made with the Lumix DMC-LX7, Sister to Leica D-Lux 6

 

As you may know, I recently purchased a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100, which is the approximate equivalent to the new Leica DLux (Type 109). It was a tough decision to buy the LX100, as the previous camera in the LX series, the LX7, is so darned good. The LX100 has the LX7 beat hands-down in image quality; the Micro 4/3 sensor stuffed into the LX100 assured that. But, the LX7 has some features (built-in ND filter, manual focus memory, real depth of field preview) that the LX100 lacks. All that said, I'm very happy with my purchase of the LX100.

 

I was just reading about Ukrainian photographer Ruslan Pelykh, and how he's used the Leica DLux-6 (equivalent to the Lumix LX7) to make both films and still photographs that are most impressive. Pelykh now lives in NYC, and is "obsessed" with the hazy weather that sometimes comes to the City. While Pelykh focuses a lot of effort on his movies, I find his still work to be very good. He tends to plan his shoots roughly, but then let the unexpected factors take control. He likes to add some chance to his plans. Pelykh likes to use the DLux-6 in low light situations, usually at iso 200, which necessitates very long exposures.

 

(Click Here) to read the article on the Leica blog, and see Pelykh's movies and still shots with the DLux-6. I bet he's really going to love the DLux (Type 109) when he gets his hands on one.

 

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The Fountain at Bryant Park, NYC

I'm getting ready for a quick weekend trip to NYC. I love the place, and can't wait to walk around the City with my camera(s).

 

Here's a rather unremarkable shot I made earlier in the winter at Bryant Park, when it wasn't too cold:

 

Bryant Park Fountain, by Reed A. George

Leica IIIG, Summicron 50mm f2 Collapsible Lens

 

To see a truly remarkable image of the fountain as I assume it looks today, (Click Here).

 

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Going Up

Going Up, by Reed A. George

Leica IIIG, Summicron 50mm f2 Collapsible

 

I'm about to start making regular posts again.

 

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Sikh Pride, NYC

Sikh Pride, NYC, by Reed A. George

Leica IIIG, Summicron 50mm f2 Collapsible

 

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Street Photograph, NYC

Street Photograph, NYC, by Reed A. George

Leica IIIG, Summicron 50mm f2 Collapsible

 

I just really like all that's going on in this image. The pointing pair on the right, the paired smiles of the kid in the advertisement and the guy in glasses, the flag reflected in the glass.

 

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Happy New Year!

Holiday Trimmings, NYC, by Reed A. George

Leica IIIG, Summicron 50mm f2 Collapsible

 

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Going to the Anime Section, Kinokuniya Book Store, NYC

Anime Section, by Reed A. George

Leica IIIG, Summicron 50mm f2 Collapsible

 

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Subway Musician, NYC

 

Subway Musician, by Reed A. George

Leica IIIG, Summicron 50mm f2 Collapsible

 

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My Persian Friend

This is Alex. We met early one morning in Bryant Park in NYC when I was out taking pictures. I thought he was the perfect model for winter coming on in NYC. Finally, I got enough courage to ask permission to take his picture.

 

 

 

Alex, by Reed A. George

Leica IIIG, Summicron 50mm f2 Collapsible

 

Alex was born in Persia and has lived in NYC for over 30 years. We talked about the fact that under our feet at that very moment, there were 28 miles of stacks (archived documents) in the basement of the NYC Public Library. So much knowledge.

 

Meeting Alex was a major positive influence on me, though I'll probably never see or hear from him again.

 

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Alone

Alone, by Reed A. George

Leica IIIG, Summicron 50mm f2 Collapsible

 

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Black Friday

 

Black Friday, by Reed A. George

Leica IIIG, Summicron 50mm f2 Collapsible

 

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A Little Holiday Hibernation

I've been writing this blog every day, literally every day, for five three years. I don't know if it's apparent, but I'm the only one who writes here.

 

I'm not burnt out or planning to quit. But, I am planning to take a couple of weeks of time at the holidays to relax and regroup. So, while I'll continue to post, it's going to be just a single photo (of mine) each day. Usually without much text.

 

I'll be back full-force after the holidays, and may even have a new project or two to share.

 

So, here's your first installment of a photo a day:

 

White Rabbit Spies White Rabbit, by Reed A. George

Leica IIIG, 50mm f2 Summicron Collapsible

 

Stay tuned!

 

Reed

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Scanning Test - Anti-Newton Ring (ANR) Glass

I've been talking with my friend, Charlie Arnhold, lately about film scanning. I think I've gotten lazy in my scanning with my Epson V750 flatbed. I've gotten my workflow down so routine that I stopped thinking about it. Almost always scanning 35mm at 2400 dpi, just enough for an 8x12 print without resizing things, using the Epson Scan software and the standard holder, because it's easy.

 

Well, in chatting with Charlie, I decided that I should try scanning at 6400 dpi, then resizing after the scan. Then I remembered that I have one of the anti-Newton ring (ANR) glass pieces from Better Scanning.

 

(Click Here) to see the ANR insert offered by Better Scanning.

 

I've tried it in the past, but was not convinced that it made a difference. But, I didn't test it at this resolution.

 

So, with a recent roll of TMax 400 that I'd shot in my Leica IIIG in NYC, I gave it a try. Here is an image scanned twice - Epson film holder on left, Epson film holder with ANR glass on the right, at 1:1 magnification:

 

 

I can see some difference here. The detail in the subject's hair is more clear on the right, in my opinion.

 

But take a look at this one:

 

 

I can see a significant increase in sharpness on the right. Look at the difference in detail in her shirt on her left arm. Pretty striking. I can also see what looks like film grain on the right, which I don't see on the left. That could be an artifact of the texture of the ANR glass, but I don't think so. Being able to see defined grain means that I've reached the necessary limit in scanning accuracy; now resolution is limited by the film instead of the scanner.

 

So, I'll be continuing to use the ANR glass. In fact, I should probably order more, so that I can scan four strips at a time, as I did with the normal Epson film holder.

 

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Opening at the NYC Public Library: "Public Eye: 175 Years of Sharing Photography"

From December 12, 2014 - September 4, 2015, the New York Public Library is hosting an exhibit of a selection from the library's enormous collection of photographs, collected since the 1800s. I saw the banner announcing the show on my visit to NYC last weekend, but the show had not yet opened at that time.

NYC Public Library, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, 50mm Summicron f2 v.3 Lens

iso 400, f8, 1/125 sec.

 

The exhibit will be arranged around contemporary themes from social media: crowdsourcing, image sharing, and street view. It will be interesting to see how these themes are interpreted and which images from such an expansive collection will be included.

 

The exhibit will be held at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Fifth Ave at 42nd Street, NYC.

 

(Click Here) to read more about it on the NY Times' blog "Lens."

 

I really hope that I can get back up to NYC before the show ends next September.

 

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Big City Profession

NYC Subway Rider, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7

iso 800, f1.8, 1/125 sec.

 

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