Travel photos

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Last week’s business trip took me down to Jacksonville, FL and then over to Chicago, IL before returning to Philly. I took my Leica MP and my 23mm & 40mm prime lenses with me. I’m still getting a handle on how to best operate this digital rangefinder but thoroughly enjoyed using it to make the below travel photos.

Leica MP

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Using the last 30 minutes of light, this evening, I was able to get out and test my new Leica MP(240). I am absolutely loving it. Below are just some test images I took, of interesting patterns, while figuring out the best settings and how to manually focus for proper exposure. These are a little dark. Though the evening light was quickly fading. These were shot using a TTArtisan 21mm, f/1.5 lens.

1/1500 sec at f/3.4, ISO 1000, 21mm, Leica M240P

1/1500 sec at f/3.4, ISO 1000, 21mm, Leica M240P

1/500 sec at f/4.0, ISO 1000, 21mm, Leica M240P

More film

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This will have to be a part I of II post. I brought my Leica CL film rangefinder with me this past weekend and tried to remember to pull it out. (I was not too successful!) Nevertheless, I did have fun shooting it and am looking forward to seeing how I did. I’ll get this developed and posted soon.

I am loving this little camera. I blogged about it before and am still happy with it. Although it’s not a true Leica, and was really made by Minolta, it’s solid metal construction and the way it was designed to be loaded and unloaded, makes it fun to load and shoot. A quarter turn of the silver D-ring on the base plate, locks the camera together for a tight & light-proof seal. Love it.

Imp

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I stopped to make some photos of this snowcat just outside of Lake Placid, near the summit of Whiteface Mountain. I just love the vibe of this old machine. It’s an Imp. What a weird word. I had to look it up. The formal dictionary definition is: a little devil or demon; an evil spirit. a mischievous child. This little hellion was Manufactured by the Thiokol Ski-Lift and Snowcat division of Thiokol Chemical Corp in Logan, Utah. That panel light technology, down below, makes me smile. So simple.

1/500 sec at f/5.0, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/500 sec at f/1.8, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/500 sec at f/5.6, ISO 5000, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/500 sec at f/1.7, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/320 sec at f/9.0, ISO 6400, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/400 sec at f/5.6, ISO 6400, 28mm, Leica Q2

Quick dash to the Dax

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Friday night I threw some gear in the back of the Subi and set off for Keene Valley, NY; the heart of the Adirondack High Peaks Region. With no plans, other than to wake up and make some sunrise photos at Chapel Pond, I relaxed and enjoyed the 7 hour drive up to the Dax, arriving around 11pm. Through a thick snowfall, I pulled into the parking lot at the Indian Head Trailhead, cracked the sunroof, and crawled into my -20° bag for an incredibly comfortable sleep. I woke to an overcast and snowy morning around 7am. The rest of the day was mostly overcast with sporadic and brief periods when the sun would punch down, through the thick clouds, and spotlight a gorgeous scene before dimming back out of sight again.

1/500 sec at f/1.7, ISO 1250, 28mm, Leica Q2

I could not pass by this little Post Office without stopping for a few photos. Simple. Small-town. Americana.

1/500 sec at f/2.5, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

Chapel Pond

1/500 sec at f/16, ISO 3200, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/500 sec at f/2.5, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/500 sec at f/4.5, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

Whiteface Mountain

1/500 sec at f/7.1, ISO 500, 28mm, Leica Q2

Whiteface Mountain

1/500 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/500 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/500 sec at f/3.2, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

Hamburg, PA

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1/640 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/1250 sec at f/4.0, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/500 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/500 sec at f/2.8, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/640 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/800 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

Grave Yard

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This is the second time, I’ve crept around this place. I really dig the vibe of this location. Similarly cool, I would imagine, are aircraft “bone yards”. I’d love to plan out an overland out-and-back venture to someplace out in the desert! Shoot a bunch of planes during golden hour! Maybe get some astrophotography in there; that’d be so cool.

1/200 sec at f/4.5, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/125 sec at f/4.0, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/250 sec at f/4.5, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/200 sec at f/4.5, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/400 sec at f/4.5, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/160 sec at f/4.0, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/200 sec at f/4.0, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

Photo Bag

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I’ve never done a What’s in my camera bag piece before. I’d always thought about it, but lately, my shooting style has changed in such a way that I no longer need to cary a camera bag. I just cary the camera on a leather neck strap. My Leica has a fixed 28mm prime so I have no need to carry any other lenses. So, that’s it (And, sometimes an ND filter in my jacket pocket). I do however prepare, what I call a “Photo bag” which just consists of a complete clean, dry pair of clothes, a towel, my Leica & Macbook Pro. … and my tripod which I basically keep in the car these days. I’m basically packing a complete set of crispy, dry, comfy & clean clothes. Ha!

New Life

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The more I look at this scene, the more I realize why it holds my attention. It’s the combination of my two favorite subjects: Urban Decay and Nature photography. I’m also happy with the composition. Allowing just enough depth of field to make obvious the foreground subject (shrooms) without loosing so much contextual detail in the background.

It’s beautiful to me, to see this new life; these mushrooms, growing amongst the discarded & forgotten in this decaying pile of rubble. Natural beauty. Happening.

1/60 sec at f/2.0, ISO 50, 28mm Leica Q2

$20K

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Today’s forecast calls for rain but this morning gave me about forty minutes of golden sunshine so I took advantage of it. I’ve seen this tank car around the corner from my house for the last week but always seem to be passing it in the evening when the “$20,000” is backlit by the setting sun. With this in mind, I popped over to grab some shots in the morning light.

1/400 sec at f/4.5, ISO 400, 28mm, Lecia Q2

1/160 sec at f/3.5, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/160 sec at f/4.0, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

Leica's Instant Camera

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I used to travel to Munich, Germany on a regular basis and spent a lot of time waiting for connecting flights in the Frankfurt International Airport. I always looked forward to ogling the Leica cameras in the electronic boutiques and on a whim, picked up their version of today’s instant camera; the Leica Sofort. Despite it’s hefty price tag, I never regretted the purchase because I’ve enjoyed using this camera for the last 6 years. Below are just a few images that I took while on a trip in Japan. The images below are a few of my favorites, though a complete gallery of snapshots can be found here.

These days I use this camera, primarily, to take photos of my son. I like the idea that he may be one of very few people who will have actual chemical-photography photographs of his childhood. They’re different, unique and special; just like him.

Nagasaki, Japan

Bridge in Kobe, Japan

A Shinkansen train

Foggy afternoon

Havre De Grace, Maryland.

1/200 sec at f/4.5, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/200 sec at f/4.0, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/160 sec at f/4.0, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/160 sec at f/4.0, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2