This describes the Noctilux f/1.0 lens… Night time sharpens, heightens each sensationDarkness stirs and wakes imaginationSilently the senses abandon their defensesHelpless to resist the notes I writeFor I compose the music of the night This is from the song, The Music of the Night, from the Phantom of the Opera. It remains…
I have an article on What Makes a Great Lens about half-way drafted. As I was working on it, I received back from Leica, NJ my Chrome version of the Leica Elmarit-M 24mm f/2.8 ASPH lens. I had it 6-bit coded and a CLA performed (as an aside, Josh Lehrer at Leica…
Pages for Black and White with the Fuji X-Series Settings for Great Black and White with the Fuji X100s – Part I Settings for Great Black and White with the Fuji X100s – Part II (here) It’s a long time coming, but I wanted too finish the discussion I started…
I love the Leica Monochrom. Today I shot the Monochrom along side my Leica MP with TMax 100 loaded. Of course, I am way to slow to have any film developed yet, but the Monochrom made me feel like I was looking at well scanned negatives. I was on Main…
One of the great results of the internet is the ability to read the musings of others around the globe that would otherwise be inaccessible. As a photographer, one of those I enjoy reading is Ming Thein. Ming’s black and white photography has always inspired me – both in tone…
With all the hype (myself included) about the Fuji X series OOC jpeg quality, and the super results from the new Leica M(240), I took another look at my M9-P and what the JPEG output could do. After all, Leica spends significant time on their JPEG output routines. RAW is…
Storm clouds are a favorite of mine. They are always changing, never the same twice and contain bright highlights and dark shadows. Clouds have character and live and breath in the upper sky. Clouds have terrific tonal changes and graduations. Clouds contain sharp edges and almost bokeh-like interiors. Coulds are…
First, forgive me for the pun as you will see. A good friend of mine (and much better photographer) sent me a critique of some recent photos and made some comments that stuck with me. He said that many people today are so caught up in the dynamic range of…
There are several photography quotes I really like. First, “the best camera is the one you have with you” and second, “practice, practice, practice.” There is no doubt in my mind that anyone aspiring to produce great photographs has to practice exposure techniques more than anything else. Learning the physics…
So many times I read reviews of the Monochrom in which the reviewer says that the Monochrom is a niche camera. They are correct, the Monochrom is a niche camera, even in the world of Leica. However, the reasons I see for reviews placing the Monochrom in a niche are…