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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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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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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Trip to NYC - Traveling "Camera Light"

My family and I are heading out to NYC for the Thanksgiving weekend. Our plan is to head up on Black Friday, return on Sunday (remember the delay in my posts, usually about a week).

My NYC Kit

 

I've got several cameras that I've acquired recently, which I have not fully explored. One is my Leica IIIG, which I've only used for a single test roll. It will be my main camera for this trip. I'll pair it up with my 50mm f2 Summicron collapsible lens. Since the IIIG has framelines for both 50 and 90mm, I'll also bring along my wartime 90mm f4 Elmar. I plan to shoot all black and white with the IIIG.

 

For color, and for family snapshots, I'm bringing along my Lumix DMC-LX7.

 

All of it fits in this tiny Lowepro bag. It is very light and will be easy to carry.

 

My Packed Camera Bag

 

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NYC in Winter

One of the artistic blogs I follow is "Daily Walks" by Diane Varner. Diane recently posted a little collage of images from a winter trip to New York City. It got me thinking about the City, which I usually envision in either Winter or Spring images in my mind.

 

Personally, I find NYC to be welcoming and wonderful in winter. Here's a shot I made with a Leica IIIC at the Central Park skating rink this winter.

 

Skating in Central Park, by Reed A. George

 

Diane seems to find winter in NYC a little less welcoming (based on her comments).

 

(Click Here) to see Diane's images. I find that for me, the warm yellow tint doesn't match the feel of winter in the City. The exception, to me, is the indoor shot of the bath - I think the yellow tint communicates exactly the right kind of warmth in that case.

 

It's always fun to see how different photographers interpret the same places and feelings.

 

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Some Street Photographs From My Solo Trip To NYC - Leica IIIC

In yesterday's post, I shared some images from an evening out by myself in New York City. Today's post follows on with the same theme, but in a less cohesive way. All shot with the same Leica IIIC (a Barnack-designed jewel from 1946) and either the Canon 50mm f1.4 LTM or an uncoated Summitar 5cm f2 LTM lens (ca. 1939), these are little pieces of the rest of my trip.

 

Korean Tofu Restaurant, by Reed A. George

Leica IIIC, Kodak Tmax 400 Film

 

I made this shot while eating lunch. I like how you can see a little into to very separate but adjacent worlds - that of the couple eating together, and that of the kitchen. I don't remember the exposure settings, but do remember using the table to help stabilize the camera to avoid motion blur.

 

Glasses, by Reed A. George

Leica IIIC, Kodak Tmax 400 Film

 

The shot above is my favorite of this series. Having both ladies in glasses looking right into the camera makes the moment for me.

 

Unique Cab, by Reed A. George

Leica IIIC, Kodak Tmax 400 Film

 

The Rink, by Reed A. George

Leica IIIC, Kodak Tmax 400 Film

 

What I like about the shot above is the juxtaposition of the graphic of a family enjoying ice skating together in the city (which was printed on the rink wall), and the actual people doing just that above. I wish I'd have caught the lady's facial expression a little better as she helps the young girl navigate the ice. I would have stayed longer, but had to move on to catch my bus back home. It's still presentable, I think, just could have been better.

 

I really love carrying a little Barnack film camera around in the City.

 

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