Leica M-P 240 with Leica 28mm Elmarit V1 and 21mm Super Angulon V1The ultimate in Leica wide angle legacy glass with the Leica M-P 240.

Leica 21mm SA and 28mm Elmarit V1 Two of the best legacy wide angle lenses offered by Leica.

That being said I was always curious as to what would happen on digital Leica's. I read up on them and found the issue was that the rear element receded to close to the sensor and therefore created magenta edging and inaccurate meter reading especially with the 21 SA. When I purchased my M9 I was excited to try them out. At the time both lenses had not been CLA'd and were not clean and did not work properly. The 28 Elmarit was pretty clean but the lubrication was very stiff and the focus was difficult to use. I did use it however and really enjoyed it. So when I switched over to the M-P 240 I had both lenses CLA'd and was thrilled with the results.

Right away I found that the 21 SA (now clean) was an incredible lens. Much like what I remembered when I was using it with my film Leica's. The magenta edges and terrible meter readings made me rethink how I use it. 

As you can see by this image the magenta sides are pretty ugly. Corner Fix has been known to correct this issue although I have not tried it. My solution was to use this as a B&W only lens. The meter issue is a Leica problem where the rear element is to close to the shutter to accurately represent what the sensor is seeing. So the solution is to shoot in Live View or use the Visoflex EVF. I like to use the EVF as I can see the whole field of view and the meter gives an accurate reading off the sensor.

I don't mind the vignetting, it adds to the image. The B&W jpgs out of the M-P 240 are absolutely stunning and I love going out to shoot with this lens with the camera setup to shoot B&W. Some of my best images since purchasing the M240 have been using this setup.

The interesting thing with this lens is that with the EVF you can focus this lens down to 26" which is near impossible with film unless you measure it, so chock one up for digital.

The 28mm Elmarit now focuses much smoother since being CLA'd. It is a dream lens to use. Now let me say the version I have is a rare bird. It is a version 1 made in Wetzlar. A valuable piece to say the least and very collectible.

Right away I found that the corner magenta fringing was minor and could not be seen in most cases. The meter reading was still off a bit so shooting with matrix metering, Live View, or with the Visoflex EVF worked perfectly. I love to use this lens for street shooting with the lens set to f8 and focused to about 4ft to infinity. It works great in this configuration but I try to figure out the exposure beforehand and manually set it.

This image was made with the camera in Live View at f2.8. I focused with the camera sitting on the table without these two gentlemen knowing what I was up to. 

The same was done with this shot but I have cropped out the edges as they are distracting. I tend to use the matrix meter for exposure with this lens and manually use the frame line selector to show me the field of view. Pushing the frame selector switch to the right reveals the 28mm frame line. 

Overall these two lenses are well worth it depending on their use. You can find newer versions of the 28 Elmarit f2.8 and at a reasonable price so not many folks use this much older 60's version even though it provides beautiful results. I also own the Leica 21mm Super Elmar f 3.4 which is the upgraded version of the SA and has been described as the best 21mm M lens ever made and I tend to agree. It is superb.

When I feel a little nostalgic I love to pull one of these lenses out and go for a walk and see what I can find. It brings me back to my film days at the beginning of my career and brings me closer to my photographic heritage when I was a much younger man.

I purchased a 6 stop dark cpl filter which includes a circular polarizer with the 6 stop all in one filter. I did this with three magnetic adapter rings, a 62, 77, and an 82mm. This was to fit my Canon and Sony lenses. I also purchased a 100mm square filter holder and a 100x150mm 3 stop soft GND (graduated neutral density) filter. More to come on this later.

So I went out this morning to shoot with some moving water and learned quite a bit along the way. This new system works quite well. I removed my B+W filter from the front of my 70-200 and attached the magnetic 77mm filter adapter which the 6 stop dark cpl slips into. The magnetic filter attaches to the adapter easily and it stays put. Since this filter is a cpl I use the knurled ring on the adapter to adjust the strength of the cpl. Nice touch but still a little wonky as it does not move very well and is quite thin.

The exposures on these wave photos were at 400 ISO @ 0.6 sec at f14. I like to work in the same way every time I go out. A repeatable system or process is essential when trying to make sure every thing you do can be repeated every time. I forgot that this time out and almost lost my 77mm filter adapter. After I removed my B+W filter from my lens and was trying to attach the adapter I lost control of it and it bounced down the rocks and into a pool of sea water. Bummer! It works fine but when I got home I soaked it in fresh water to try and get rid of the salt water. No damage so it will be fine. Normally with the water so close to my car I would attach everything in the car but this time I forgot, uggh.

At six stops of ND I did not expect any color change and their was non. Superb results but there was not much color involved so i converted these images to B&W in silver Efex Pro 2.

The ease of use of the system works fine. It can be a little nerve wracking getting the filter out of the mag adapter ring but with a little practice it work out easily.

Next I will shoot some color images and some GND work with the rest of the system. so far so good.

Fast forward to my college years full of shooting and developing B&W film. You see I was in charge of the student association darkroom and the year book photo staff for about three years. Then onto my career as a photojournalist. Again seeing and developing for the light. You might say B&W imagery has been my life.

When my career as a photojournalist changed to that as a photo editor I had to make sure digital images had enough tonal contrast to produce high quality B&W images for print. Again, B&W imagery. 

Then my career as a photojournalist was over after 38 years. I started shooting in the mornings on a short walk around town with my Leica going back to my formative years shooting B&W. 

What I discovered was that I was shooting the light and texture not the color. This guided me to  the Nik Collection of B&W presets known as Silver Efex Pro 2. It’s a great tool that gives you incredible control over the B&W image. There is a really cool zone graduated bar at the bottom of the app that is such a huge help. Back in school I studied the zone system. As a photojournalist I employed it almost every day in one form or another. Using this tool brings me back almost into the darkroom. So now I always look at what the B&W alternative is or I convert it right away because that's how I envisioned it when I made the image. 

Working in B&W is an incredible way to discover light and texture. It forces you to look at these elements of an image and to feel the subject. The images in this blog post were made in Oregon while I was on vacation. I was there to enjoy being with family and not take to many photos. I carried the camera with me only once and these are the images that resulted. All of them were visualized as B&W. Ordinary objects that are interesting - because they are B&W not because they are color. They are about light and texture. Learning to see the light is often taught in workshops but not often learned. What I teach in my workshops is to feel the light. Feel what it is doing to your emotions as it plays on your subject. Feel the textures as they come out in the shadows and adds depth to your images. 

One of the things I like to do at my workshops is to gather in the early morning after sunrise and ask my students to close there eyes and use their other senses to experience the light and their surroundings whether it be bright sun, cloudy, rainy, misty etc. Smelling how the light is burning off the haze or starting to heat up the things around you. I then ask them to think about what they have felt and then try to photograph what they have experienced. 

Next time you are out in the early morning try this exercise. I think you will find it will help you make images that mean something.

I have had this lens for a while now but since I own two lenses that cover that focal length I don't even look at it. I pulled it out yesterday to try it for silent street photography and only managed to pull off a few shots. Nothing spectacular but I was just testing it out. It focuses fast and is a f2.8 lens so for inside work it's not bad. I was using this lens on the Sony a6300 with silent shooting turned on.

This image was made inside a coffee shop at 1/125 sec at 2.8 at ISO 1600. With the camera on silent shooting this makes street shooting outside a no brainer with this lens. I was surprised at how sharp it is all the way around wide open. I also use back button focus which is a pain when you are not looking at the subject. Normally I put the camera around my neck and just shoot blind at whatever is moving. 

Lightroom opened the shadows a bit to much and I did not mess around with these that much to make them perfect. One thing you must do is turn on profile corrections as it changes things a little. I then went out and did some other things just for fun.

This image was shot at 5.6 and is really pretty good. I expected the focus to carry a little further at f 5.6 than it did. When I blow it up you can see it's starting to get a little soft on some of the boats int he background. 

This shot was also made at f 5.6 and you can see not much depth of field close up even on a crop camera. I am pretty happy with this lens and will continue to use it for a few things here and there. It's a great stealth lens and easy to use.

Check out The Cape Ann Photo Tours Blog about one of my students shooting a mini travel story during one of our tours

Last Thursday I was with clients from NJ and we were waiting for late afternoon light on this building which is the best time to make images of it. As we got there the heavens opened up and we had to wait about 15 minutes for it to clear before we could shoot. What we got was exactly what I was looking for, great shadows and super contrast.

Cape Ann Tool Company after rainOutside of the Cape Ann Tool Company at Pigeon Cove in Rockport, MA. The water and the light created some great opportunities. 

Abstract-1Cape Ann Tool Company outside walls abstract.

Abstract-2Cape Ann Tool Company abstract

Photo graphing the abstractOne of my clients from NJ photographs the abstract outside walls of the Cape Ann Tool Company.

The image above is one of those images that give me a sense of order with all the shapes, lines, windows, etc. I have passed by this image a few times but the light was not right. Today it was really nice.

I loved the way the light played across the back of the RAA and the door in all it's purple color. The shingles even though they are mostly gray also had some color. The light is what makes this image for me.

The steeple on the UU church in Rockport has been reconstructed and is now straight and beautiful. I have photographed it a number of times but it's always with some interesting clouds which were in evidence today. I was able to pull them out with Silver Efex Pro plugin in Lightroom.

Finally - this shot of a snowblower chained to a spiral staircase reminded me that snow is not far ahead with it in the forecast for this weekend. The camera and lens performed well. However I have noticed that the a6300 eats batteries. It does not seem to matter if the camera is off or not. When I finished my shooting this morning it was down to 50%. I started out shooting at 75% and only made a few images. The camera was off for some of that time. So a word to the wise have plenty of batteries with this camera. The lens seems to be a soft in the corners wide open which is bothersome. This image was at about 50mm in 35 terms at f4 and is soft at the bottom corners. Note to self, shoot above f4.

Feeling the BernDee Cuffe of Marlbehead checks her phone under a "Feel the Bern" sign at a Bernie Sanders event Friday night Jan. 15, 2015 at the ICC hall in Beverly.

Dancers dreamMeg Worrick strikes a dance pose with other dancers during a rehearsal at A Dancer's Dream Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson Dancing with friendsMeg Worrick walks through a dance routine during a rehearsal at A Dancer's Dream Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson Sharing a laughMeg Worrick shares a laugh with fellow dancers during a rehearsal at A Dancer's Dream Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

A little helpMeg Worrick waits to be pulled into a dance routine during a rehearsal at A Dancer's Dream Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

So I started to look for ways to figure out when this would happen again. I found an app for my phone that does just that. The Photographers Ephemeris. Click on the link to see how fantastic it is. So back to the story. A photographer friend and I were talking about how cool it is and discovered that the next full moon was on Christmas Day and would be coming up right between the Thacher Island Twin Lights. So I started to plan my photo shoot for the day before and Christmas Day. The app tells you all you need to know about when the moon will rise, when it will set and for the sun as well. It also gives you the line of sight from any location and where the moon or sun will rise or set in regards to your location. So I set up for it on the day before Christmas as a test. It was going to come up an hour earlier and the luminescent values would be more in line with each other. I waited but the cloud cover kept it hidden for to long. So I decided to try to get the moon going down early Christmas morning since it was going to line up near Annisquam Light but again the cloud cover did not let me see it.

Christmas Day was not looking very good weather wise so I was hoping and praying for a Christmas miracle! The sun was out most of the day and when I headed over to Good Harbor Beach to get set up I was disappointed to see that there was a light cloud cover in the horizon. The crowds of people walking on the beach negated any parking close so I decided to drive back to Rockport and see how the horizon was shaping up close up. So I went over to Eden Rd. in Rockport to check it out. It looked to me as though it was getting lighter so I quickly drove back over to Good Harbor getting there at about 4:45 PM with moonrise being at 4:56 PM. I got set up behind my car with the Gitzo tripod and Really Right Stuff ball head holding my Canon 300 f2.8 L with 1.4 tele extender. I used my Canon 5D MK3 in live view on manual with auto white balance set as I knew it was going to change rapidly and I would not be able to keep up with it. I also shot this image in Raw format in Adobe 1998. As the light started to drop my hopes for a great shot were starting to fade as the appointed hour started to arrive. My initial calculations for location were correct the TPE was right on the money. If the cloud cover was not in play the moon would have started it's rise at the North tower and when fully visible would have been nicely placed between the two. But as luck would have it the clouds obscured the initial rising but when it did come up it was really nice. The shot below is the first image I made. You can see how the moon has already progressed to the right past the point where I would have liked it. It's already fully above the horizon but obscured by the clouds.

Moonrise 1Moon starting to rise over Thacher's Island

Here is another shot as it started to come up and brighten the sky a bit more. 

Moonrise 2

Here is the final shot or one of many but the one I like the best without any image merging.

Moonrise over Thachers IslandThe full moon rises over Thacher's Island in Rockport MA on Christmas Day 2015. Post processing in Lightroom was able to calm down the brightness value of the moon enough to show some of the features. This is only possible because the image was made in Raw and the latitude of the new sensors is unbelievable. I was still not really happy so I tried merging some images that were very close but bracketed a couple of stops on either side. The only problem with the following image is that the red light on the south tower did not merge very well. I had to do some work in Photoshop to optimize things a bit but the image prints very nicely. Merging the bracketed exposures made a huge difference in tonality of the image.

Christmas Moon rise over Thacher's IslandThe Christmas full moon rises over Thacher's Island in Rockport, MA.

I know some of you will like the un-merged shot better and in some ways I do as well. I have made prints of both and the merged shot is clearly better. 

"Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal."

So even though I sit here at a computer typing this which will eventually go out on the web I still wish we were a bit less advanced. As I have said before even though more photographs are being taken by many more people and mostly by the camera in their phone they really have no idea what they are doing besides stopping the action in the vertical format. If more people would study the photographic process, the way the image is made, they would appreciate it more. Most people don't appreciate the images they make because they are saved on their phone or dumped onto their computer never to be seen again. My congrats to those of you who have made a print or two or put your memories in an on-demand book.

For a couple of years now I have been using a digital Leica M camera because it allows me to think about what I am doing. I focus myself and really pay attention to my exposure because to me that is important. Framing the image is second nature to me now after almost 40 years behind the lens. But the art of focusing and exposure are key elements that most certainly should be well thought out. In today's world these elements are the furthest things from people's mind. The most important thing is the cute selfie face! Ugggh!

So the next time I have mommy or daddy with a camera ask me at a sports event what I have the camera set on my reply will be:

I set my camera on "M" for Master,  I'm way past "P" for professional! The rest is up to you figure it out.

So that's my New Year message! Put the dam phone down and pick up a camera, focus it yourself and determine what the exposure is by using the Master Mode! M

Vines in Fresh Snow, Halibut Pt. State ParkAfter a fresh snowfall I went out to Halibut Pt. State Park in Rockport to see some incredible snow covering everything. It was an experience that I won't forget.

Talking with handsTwins using their hands to talk. There was plenty of verbal conversation but the hands were always being used to emphasize a point.

Two more that really show off the Leica's cool DOF.

Twins meet againEllen (Sheehy) Marchand talks about the old days on Dearborn St. as her sister Johana (Sheehy) Fessenden, right, listens. Will Rogers, left, and Linda (DiStefano) Coyne also listen to the conversation. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Getting a chuckleEllen (Sheehy) Marchand talks about the old days on Dearborn St. as Will Rogers, left, breaks up in laughter while talking about the old days during the early 50's on Dearborn St. in Beverly. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Re-pointing the brick workWorkmen re-point the brick work on a building on T-Wharf in Rockport, MA.

I really wanted some shots of Coffee's many facial expressions but I did not have my long lens with me. So I decided to shoot the rehearsal and let the chips fall where they may. Changing it up on the fly as they say. The Canon 5D MK3 with the 24-70 f4 L was the main camera and making images with that camera is effortless. Once I had made enough images with the Canon I switched over to the Leica. I first used the 35 Summicron then started using the 50 Summilux wide open at 1.4. Shooting with the rangefinder is a joy. I find that it brings me back to my formative years as a photojournalist using my Leica M5 and the 35 mm Summicron. Could I have made these images with the Canon? Sure. But it would not have been as much fun focusing myself, wherever I wanted, in any part of the frame without moving the focus point around. The images in this set are of Coffee interacting with the Ghost of Christmas Present in the finale of Act One.

Scrooge, David CoffeeActor David Coffee rehearses the finale of the first act "The Boar's Head Carol" in the play "A Christmas Carol" at the North Shore Music Theater in Beverly, MA. Scrooge, David CoffeeActor David Coffee rehearses the finale of the first act "The Boar's Head Carol" in the play "A Christmas Carol" at the North Shore Music Theater in Beverly, MA. Scrooge, David CoffeeActor David Coffee rehearses the finale of the first act "The Boar's Head Carol" in the play "A Christmas Carol" at the North Shore Music Theater in Beverly, MA. Scrooge, David CoffeeActor David Coffee rehearses the finale of the first act "The Boar's Head Carol" in the play "A Christmas Carol" at the North Shore Music Theater in Beverly, MA.

Scrooge, David CoffeeActor David Coffee rehearses the finale of the first act "The Boar's Head Carol" in the play "A Christmas Carol" at the North Shore Music Theater in Beverly, MA. Mr. Scrooge, touch my robe! Scrooge, David CoffeeActor David Coffee rehearses the finale of the first act "The Boar's Head Carol" in the play "A Christmas Carol" at the North Shore Music Theater in Beverly, MA.

Scrooge, David CoffeeActor David Coffee rehearses the finale of the first act "The Boar's Head Carol" in the play "A Christmas Carol" at the North Shore Music Theater in Beverly, MA. Scrooge, David CoffeeActor David Coffee rehearses the finale of the first act "The Boar's Head Carol" in the play "A Christmas Carol" at the North Shore Music Theater in Beverly, MA. Scrooge, David CoffeeActor David Coffee rehearses the finale of the first act "The Boar's Head Carol" in the play "A Christmas Carol" at the North Shore Music Theater in Beverly, MA.

Photographically I had a real problem. The hall I was in was lit like a dungeon and the light coming from the windows was dim as it was very cloudy. So I quickly looked around and found some display cases that were lit from underneath. Bert and the reporter leaned on the display case to talk. I had both the 5Dmk3 with the 24-70 f4L IS and the 7Dmk2 with the 100 f2. So with the help of the display case light I started shooting waiting for some moments that would give me his personality. You can see in his aged eyes the thoughts of experiences past as he recounted his trip to DC and the bombing missions he flew.

God bless all our veterans, the reason we are free is because of their sacrifices. Thank you Bert Stanley for bringing your thoughts to us and for your service to our Great Nation!

WW ll Vet Bert StanleyWW ll Veteran Bert Stanley, 96, took part in the New England Honor Flight to Washington D.C. Nov.1 and talks about the experience with the Reporter after Veteran's Day ceremonies at Abbot Hall in Marblehead Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Canon 5D MK3 with Canon 24-70 f4 L IS

WW ll Veteran Bert StanleyWW ll Veteran Bert Stanley, 96, took part in the New England Honor Flight to Washington D.C. Nov.1 and talks about the experience with the Reporter after Veteran's Day ceremonies at Abbot Hall in Marblehead Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Canon 7D MK2 with Canon 100 f2

So back to the image at hand. This one girl always made a face as she went up to block or spike the ball so naturally I was looking for something good of her. In this shot she goes up for a block and it looks like she will be successful but in the two frames after this one the ball goes right between her hands. Either way her expression makes the shot. Masconomet put up a great fight coming back from two games down to tie it up but lost in the fifth tie breaker game.

Exposure Details: ISO 6400, 1/640s, f2.8

Masconomet Girls VolleyballMasconomet’s Ayla Pitts goes up for the block during Masco’s match against Central Catholic Thursday, Nov. 5. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

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Chorus of the North Shore Spooky RehearsalAimee Ferguson, left, and Margurite Schernig sing in costume during a rehearsal of Handel's "The Messiah" at the Ipswich High School chorus room on Monday Night Oct. 26, 2015. The chorus dressed in Halloween costumes for a fun time singing. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

ISO 3200 1/85s @ f5 39mm   Canon 5D Mk3 Canon 24-70 f4 L IS

Canon 5D MK3 w/24-70 f4 L ISIpswich MA. Macro mode on the 24-70 f4 L IS Overall I really like everything about this lens. The color is right on and it's sharp across the board even wide open (well it should be at f4). So far it's been great. My only concern has been the barrel distortion at 24 mm.

As we made our way down to the waterfront the light was really cool as the passing front cleared out with beautiful clouds. The sun was heating up the docks and schooners and gave us some great opportunities.

The images above were made with the Leica MP 240 w/35mm Summicron and Sony Nex-7 with the 90mm Tele-Elmarit. We continued on our trip up to Bar Harbor and the light was just gorgeous. When we got to Bar Harbor and settled in we had some more weather come through and give us some more great opportunities.

We then headed up to Cadillac Mtn. and were greeted by windy cold weather and thunder clouds moving through as the cold front moved over us. 

After we had a spectacular showing on top of Cadillac Mtn. we headed back to Bar Harbor to relax. When we got back a light rain was moving through and gave us a grand rainbow and a magnificent sunset. The next day we headed back out to Acadia National Park for some more shooting.

We had a great short trip but I will be back to photograph either this winter or next year. I loved this place.

Remembering the pastOlder actress remembering the past. Leica MP 240 50mm Summilux ConversationThe old and young talk about acting. Walking in the RainOut walking in the rain with the Leica MP 240 and the Leica 50mm Summilux

Reflection, railroad carThis reflection in the window of a railroad car was really interesting. You can see the windows of the inside of the railroad car as well as the scene behind me. Metal railroad car siding and pineLeica M-P 240 35 Summicron Foliage and saw bladeLeica M-P 240 35mm Summicron Rotting Hiking BootsSony Nex-7 w/Leica 90 mm Tele-Elmarit Logging chains and TiresLeica M-P 240 35mm Summicron Logging Boots and Shackles Leica M-P 240 w/35mm Summicron

"The Wall That Heals"This couple stopped, found a name and paused thinking. It was very moving.

I did focus every once and a while and that was fine but the most interesting images were made using the camera in street photography mode. Here are some of the images from yesterdays shoot.

Rockport 4thThe crowd started to grow from a small group to a very large one as people were called to the town square. Rockport 4thThe Constitution was handed out so people could read along as it was read out loud. Rockport 4thWhen you know the people everyone is aware you are making photos at some point. Shot from the hip notice the lower angle. Rockport 4thBefore they started everyone was doing something different. This woman was texting while her kids were playing with their flags. Rockport 4thThe crowd is notified that the reading will begin. Rockport 4thAs the Constitution is read folks were encouraged to yell Huzzah when something good about the colonies was read. One woman followed up. Rockport 4thYou never know when Uncle Sam will make an appearance.

Rockport 4thThis young man found a spot in the tree at Dock Sq. and was kind of listening. Rockport 4thThe guy with the pitch fork had an interesting look on his face and so did the woman looking my way as the Constitution was read. Rockport 4thA hardy clap as the reading is over and the pitch fork is raised. Rockport 4thThis woman was giving me the stare or was she just waiting to hit me up for a donation for our town fireworks in August.

Chow yawn, June 2015Chow yawns as the vehicle he is riding in takes off from a red light. Canon G15 ISO 80, 1/500s @ 3.2 140mm

Flat Rock & Straitsmouth June 2015Flat Rock looking out to Straitsmouth Is.

South Light and Clouds, June 2015The South Light at Thacher's Island Rockport with wispy clouds.

South Light & Clouds, June 2015The South Light at Thacher's island with sun and clouds.

South Light and cloud circle, June 2015This lenticular circle surrounded the sun while we were out on Thacher's Island.

Building & Clouds, June 2015Some of the outer buildings at Thacher's Island are worn but kept up. The brick work and the blue sky and clouds gave a wonderful simple composition.

workshop participantsJohanna and Pat enjoy the view from the North Light at Thacher's Island.

Photographing the gullsWalter approaches some of the over 2000 nesting gulls for interesting photos.

Keeps doorA Thacher Island volunteer scraps paint from the door of the Keeper' Quarters.

Doc's wife drawingDrawing the island by one of the volunteers at Thacher Island.

Sid walks down the pathwaySid Wedmore walks down a pathway toward the North Tower at Thacher's Island.

Guarding the NestA gull looks out over a chick hidden behind the daisies at this shack on Thacher's island. Gull guarding chick, June 2015This gull made sure we did not get to close to her chick we were sitting on out at Thacher's Island. Rot Iron Bench, June 2015This old rot iron bench starts to rust up out on Bearskin Neck. Looking in the window, June 2015This stuffed bear was staring in the window of a shop on Bearskin Neck in Rockport.

Leica M-P 240 w/EVF2 and Leica 21 Super Elmar

Leica M-P 240 w/EVF2 and Leica 21 Super ElmarEVF2 tilted up for alternate viewing angle notice that the eyepiece twists for proper eye focus.

It comes with a nice little leatherette case and a rubber foot cover for protection when not in use. It is very light (read plastic) and fits very nicely on the camera and is tight enough so it won't fall off, very nice. When I picked it up at the post office I had the M-P with me and the 35 Summicron attached so I went right down to a familiar place to see if I could use it right out of the box with no fooling around with the menu's.

I must say it was all pretty easy. There is a button on the back to turn the EVF on and off. On the front of the camera there is a button to assist in focusing by blowing up the image either x5 or x10. You then move back and forth between them and full image with the wheel on the back. I learned quickly to go into the menu and make the focus assist automatic every time you turn the focus ring on the lens, nice feature. If you change the magnification with the wheel and then shoot it will stay on that setting the next time you focus the camera so keep that in mind. The red focus peaking is nice but not very heavy and there is no adjustment in the camera to increase it. This would have been nice. I am used to this in the Sony. As you can see by the image above the diopter is right on the eyepiece and stays were you set it and is easy to use. Here are the first raw files out of the camera.

As I got more used to the EVF and discovered new things it did the more excited I got. For instance no matter what f-stop the lens is set to, you focus wide open and then when you press down the shutter part way it closes down to show you a preview of what the exposure actually is. Kind of like shooting with a DSLR. Keep in mind that using the EVF2 is not a fast way to focus but it sure is accurate. Tack sharp images with whatever lens you are using. I used my old 21mm 3.4 Super Angulon on it and the images were tack sharp. To bad the edges were magenta. More to come on using this lens for B&W. Back to the EVF2. The camera itself is slow to wake up after being off or asleep. I have a 64g card in the camera so it's pretty fast at about 1 sec. But after focusing, re-framing, shooting and then waiting for the EVF to come back up it certainly is not fast. So it still makes you think about what you are doing.

Leica M-P 240 with EVF2 and Leica Tele-ElmaritVery easy to focus the 90mm with the EVF2.

I find myself checking the rangefinder back and forth with the EVF to see if I'm on target or not. It seems sometimes I am off a bit. So using the EVF has been a  great tool to get better at using the rangefinder. I'm still pretty accurate using the rangefinder but I can always get better. For me the EVF is so much bettr than using the old 21mm viewfinder and I don't think I will be going back in that direction.

Leica M-P 240 with EVF2 and 21mm Super ElmarMy dad's sailfish he caught back in the late fifties.

So far I have enjoyed using it and it will a fixture on the camera when I am out shooting so I don't have to take it on and off. That being said I will not be using it all the time only with the 21mm Super Elmar and the 90mm Tele Elmarit. I have done some early testing with my 135mm Tele Elmar but it was a bit tricky to focus. At 10x multiplication the image was bouncing all over the place and I did better focusing with the rangefinder.

Leica M-P 240 withEVF2 and the Leica 21mm Super ElmarThis was taken on a newspaper assignment and is a jpeg out of the camera.

The shot above was made at 1/8s at 3.4 using the 21mm Super Elmar and the EVF2 with camera balanced on one knee, pretty amazing what the Leica can do.

In the spring and summer thunderstorms roll through and if caught at the right time of day can produce very dramatic images. It's important to always be aware of the weather and what it's doing and what it is predicted to do so you are prepared to make that iconic shot. My favorite subjects are storm fronts and and thunderstorms. Dramatic clouds have always been a favorite subject of mine. Tracking thunderstorms by radar is relatively easy now with GPS on our phones with weather apps that do this. The shot below was made after tracking a thunderstorm and getting to the right place just as they were moving through.

As you can see the clouds are very dramatic. The light is starting to come down on the horizon but not at sunset. Prior planning as to where to go made this shot successful. As Ansel Adams once said, "There's nothing worse than a bald-headed sky". I have always remembered that and keep it in mind when making images that use the sky as the main ingredient. 

I have always felt that if you seldom carry a camera then you will never be ready when that iconic photo presents itself. The photo above is just such a case. I had the full arsenal with me as I came home from work. The weather that day was interesting with a cool ocean breeze coming in under a warmer land and producing this wonderful fog along the shore. I knew this was going to happen after listening to the weather report in the morning and knew that the wind was going to shift to an on-shore breeze in the afternoon. I hoped that sunset would give me something so after work I tried to think of places to go that would hopefully give me something. Little River in Gloucester is right near the highway so it was an easy task to stop by on my way home. I was blessed with this lovely scene as the sun came down and the fog moved in.

Paying attention to what the weather is going to be can help produce the most dramatic images in your portfolio. I have been chasing sea smoke for most of my career. Back in the 80's the best shots for the day's paper were the dramatic B&W images of sea smoke as it rolled across some of the harbors of the North Shore. The shot above of Thacher's Island was made a few years ago but is still my favorite. Sea smoke happens when the air temperature is much lower than the sea temp. The morning this image was taken it was -9 degrees to the sea temp. of 40-45 degrees. I made the shot about an hour after sunrise. This usually occurs in January as the sea temperature is still somewhat warm but the air temperature can be very low. By listening to the weather report the night before I was able to determine that this condition was going to happen. So I was ready.

Winter always produces some great images. The weather is always changing and listening to the weather report will give you a good idea of what will be going on. Rapid temperature changes will always give you something. The photo above was made after we had a light fog and mist moving through after a light snow. I think you know what I mean as a snow comes through with a rising temperature and then it starts to become a light rain and then a mist and fog. Then very rapidly the temperature drops, freezing everything. That was the case here as the water froze to the trees and the mist became a light snow again for a brief period of time.

So as you can see weather plays a huge role in dramatic landscape photography. I am always keeping an eye on it so that I can make that next iconic image that will spruce up my landscape portfolio.

While I was looking at the cloud formations an older man walked by with his dog and I was able to work him into a photo with the clouds and net. I think the the clouds, net, and man make an interesting photo.

Clouds and manShot with the Leica M-P 240 and the 35mm Summicron.

This image was shot as a B&W jpg and then brought into Silver Efex Pro for more processing. 

Clouds and netClouds and net make an interesting image taken with the Leica M-P 240 and the 35 f2. This image was shot in color optimized and then converted in Silver Efex Pro.

Leica M-P 240 w/35 SummicronWW ll veteran Frank Cotoia of Swampscott talks about being a member of the famed 3rd Division that fought at Anzio all the way to Hitlers Eagles Nest. Leica M-P 240 w/35 SummicronWW ll veteran Frank Cotoia of Swampscott talks about being a member of the famed 3rd Division that fought at Anzio all the way to Hitlers Eagles Nest. Leica M-P 240 w/35 SummicronWW ll veteran Frank Cotoia of Swampscott talks about being a member of the famed 3rd Division that fought at Anzio all the way to Hitlers Eagles Nest. Leica M-P 240 w/35 SummicronWW ll veteran Frank Cotoia of Swampscott talks about being a member of the famed 3rd Division that fought at Anzio all the way to Hitlers Eagles Nest.

Sauvier Island FarmLeica M9 w/90 mm Tele-Elmarit

Tree and furrowsA tree sits among the furrows of newly planted vegetables in Hamilton, MA.

By the way I still have a couple open seats for the Thacher Island Photography Workshop. Check here for more information.

Leica M-P 240 w/35 CronDizzy Gillespie blows out those famous cheeks. Leica M-P 240 w/35 CronJodie Foster by Herb Ritts has its photo taken. Leica M-P 240 w/35 CronA woman looks over a collage of Herb Ritts work at the MFA. Leica M-P 240 w/35 CronTwo women look over the DaVinci exhibit at the MFA in Boston.

Leica M-P 240 w/35 CronFlying men MFA Boston Leica M-P 240 w/35 CronA couple looks at their phone while at the Tsunami exhibit at the MFA in Boston.

Leica M-P 240 w/35 CronFlying men MFA Boston Leica M-P 240 w/35 CronInteresting design near the Green Monster at Fenway Park. Leica M-P 240 w/35 CronAn Asian couple takes advantage of the blossoms on this tree to make a photo.

Former lighthouse keeps at Thacher's IslandDottie and George Carroll take a moment to relax before doing some more island chores. The Carroll's were lighthouse keepers from 1986 until 1991.

Leica M-P 240 w/ 35 f2 SummicronCape Ann Tool Company Rockport MA Leica M-P 240 w/ 35 f2 SummicronCape Ann Tool Company Rockport MA Leica M-P 240 w/ 35 f2 SummicronCape Ann Tool Company Rockport MA Leica M-P 240 w/ 35 f2 SummicronCape Ann Tool Company Rockport MA Leica M-P 240 w/ 35 f2 SummicronCape Ann Tool Company Rockport MA

Leica M-P 240 w/ 35 f2 SummicronCape Ann Tool Company Rockport MA Leica M-P 240 w/ 35 f2 SummicronCape Ann Tool Company Rockport MA

Yesterday was my birthday and it showed up via UPS whoohoo. Now you have to understand that a camera that cost this much requires some special packaging and it was pretty special. A nice black box that housed the camera in it's on special box plus two pull out drawers (yes drawers) with the battery, charger, cables in little bags and literature, very nice. So last night I started figuring out the menus and setting things up which was pretty easy but I a still have a long way to go. So I charged up the battery, about two hours while I read the book of instructions. This morning I took it out for a spin with my M lenses and here are some of the images I got. All I have done in Lightoom was a normal tone then and a slight crop if it needed it. Just some quick shots walking around the wharf for testing.

Leica M-P 240 w/21 Super Elmar 3.4A wire lobster guards a memorial to Gail King at Pigeon Cove in Rockport.

Leica M-P 240 w/ 90 Tele ElmaritLobster traps wait to be deployed at Pigeon cove in Rockport.

I was pleasantly surprised by the dynamic range of the CMOS sensor as the reds did not block up like the M9 would. More to come on color rendition in future posts.

Leica M-P 240 w/21 Super Elmar 3.4Lobster trap buoy painting station on the hill above the anchorage at Pigeon Cove.

Leica M-P 240 w/50 Summilux 1.4Used paint and brushes harden after use painting lobster trap buoys on the hill above the achorage at Pigeon Cove.

Leica M-P 240 w/ 50 Summilux 1.4New buoys wait to be deployed out in Sandy Bay in Rockport.

Leica M-P 240 w/ 21 Super Elmar 3.4New traps wait to be deployed in Sandy Bay Rockport MA.

Leica M-P 240 w 21 Super Elmar 3.4An old "red nun" sits idle while lobster boats wait to be worked on before going in for the season at Pigeon Cove Rockport, MA.

The image below was processed in Silver Efex Pro 2 to bring the sky up then back in Lightroom I did some more work with the gradient tool.

Leica M-P 240 w/ 21 Super Elmar 3.4Lobster traps sit idle with winter straw at Pigeon Cove in Rockport, MA.

I really like this shot - the black and white guy could not resist converting at least one image.

The conditions this week have been inspiring. Nice early morning light and a crisp off shore breeze (depending on where you are) combined for some images this morning. Some photog friends on Facebook have some really nice wave images so after seeing some awesome wave curls this morning early on my bike ride I went back to shoot some more. Now I shoot this stuff differently than most. I used my Canon 7D mk2 (cropped sensor) with my Canon 300 2.8 and a 1.4x extender which brings the focal length to 672mm. I was rushed for time or I would have ditched the 1.4. I only climbed down a bit to the water. The exposure was 1/2000 sec. at f4 100 ISO. Here are a few from today's shoot.

Canon 7D Mk2 w/300 2.8L & 1.4XWaves along Atlantic Rd. in Gloucester, MA

Canon 7D Mk2 w/300 2.8L & 1.4XWaves along Atlantic Rd in Gloucester, MA Canon 7D Mk2 w/300 2.8L & 1.4XWaves along Atlantic Rd. in Gloucester, MA Canon 7D Mk2 w/300 2.8L & 1.4XWaves along Atlantic Rd. in Gloucester, MA

Sony Nex-7 w/90 Tele-elmaritThe Ipswich river mostly frozen over in January of 2015.

This next image is of frozen snow on one of my sky light windows. The early morning light was making some interesting tones and I just had to make an image of what was going on. To me it was a great abstract moment that just begs to be made into a B&W. I processed it in Lightroom and added a little contrast but really not much tweaking involved. I made this image again with the Sony Nex-7 but this time with the 50mm Summilux 1.4. Which on this camera is a 75mm. To some this image may seem dark but this is how I envisioned it with sparkles of light areas interesting tones everywhere.

Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 50mm SummiluxMorning light bouncing around this snow and ice on skylight windows.

I don't know what it is but when I shoot with the M9 I like to convert my images to B&W. They just have a different look to them when I convert them. Today it was obvious as the AWB was off and on, mostly off. My brain also thinks in B&W as I was trained in my early years shooting B&W all the time so I tend to think that way. The images below are from today's shoot. Some are converted and some are not. They are all made at ISO 1600 at 5.6 or 2.0. Normally I try to process my B&W in Silver Efex Pro but this time I did them in Lightroom. 

Back in 1990 I had photographed the Salem High team go all the way to the Sate semi-final before losing to Duxbury and eventual college Div.1 and NBA player Bill Curley. That team was special! Coach Jack O'Brien had done a marvelous job of pulling that team together and had instilled in them a winning attitude. Duxbury and Curley (35 pts) were just to much to handle. One of the players on that team was Zach Zegarowski. At the time he was 15 and a sophomore but a very good player. His twin sons now 15 play for Hamilton Wenham. They are projected to be Div. 1 college players. I talked with Zach about his whole experience after so many years had passed losing to Duxbury. He said he thinks about it almost every day. He also talks with coach O'Brien four to five times a week about his sons development on and off the court. You see - coach O'Brien is more of a life coach and is a big part of Zach's life. So as Zach and I talked about things before the big game he causally mentioned that Coach is coming to see the game. I looked around the arena and there O'Brien was up in the stands black wavy hair watching the goings on before the game.

So you see I had a special reason for covering this team. Not only had four of the seniors been playing together since they were very young but the Zegarowski twins were another very special story to me. I had photographed their father in the same situation 25 years ago. Zach's comment to me was that he, his wife Mandy, daughter Maizee, and son Michael (now an NBA player) were not able to get it done (state championship) so it was up to the twins now to make the dream come true. Indeed a very special game for the Zegarowski family. So when they won it all going undefeated it was a dream come true for everyone. Here are some of the photos I made that day at WPI in Worcester.

The Hamilton Wenham crowd rushes the floor after the Div. 4 championship game as the Generals went on to win over Sutton 59-50. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

The Hamilton Wenham student population rushes the floor after the game.

Nolan Wilson and Max Zegarowski celebrate with the Div. 4 State Championship trophy after defeating Sutton 59-50 Friday, March 13, 2015. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Nolan Wilson and Max Zegarowski celebrate with the trophy.

Austen Michel, Nico Serpa, Nikos Lara, and Mark Vivenzio celebrate after the Hamilton Wenham boys basketball team defeated Sutton 59-50 to win the Div. 4 State Championship at WPI on Friday, March 13, 2015. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Nikos Lara and his teammates celebrate

Marcus Zegarowski, left, Max Zegarowski, C.J. Cooper, Nikos Lara, Jimmy Campbell and Jimmy Baras celebrate with the trophy after the Hamilton Wenham boys basketball team defeated Sutton 59-50 to win the Div. 4 State Championship at WPI on Friday, March 13, 2015. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Nikos and friends celebrate with the trophy

Hamilton Wenham senior Jimmy Campbell gives his coach Doug Hoak a hug after winning the Div. 4 State Championship by defeating Sutton 59-50 Friday, March 13, 2015. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Senior Jimmy Campbell gives coach Doug Hoak a tearful hug after the victory.

The Hamilton Wenham teammates Austen Michel, Marcus Zegarowski, Nico Serpa, Jimmy Campbell, and Mark Vivenzio celebrate with the trophy after the Hamilton Wenham boys basketball team defeated Sutton 59-50 to win the Div. 4 State Championship at WPI on Friday, March 13, 2015. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

The team celebrates with the tournament ball and state trophy

Nolan Wilson celebrates with the Div. 4 State Championship trophy with fellow students after defeating Sutton 59-50 Friday, March 13, 2015. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Nolan Wilson and a fan celebrate with their fans.

Marcus Zegarowski celebrates with his parents Zach and Mandy after winning the Div. 4 State Championship by defeating Sutton 59-50 Friday, March 13, 2015. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Mandy and Zach Zegarowski celebrate with son Marcus after the game. The excitement was contagious and I was so happy to be a part of it.

Max Zegarowski gets a big hug from his dad Zach as Jimmy Campbell and Marcus Zegarowsky share the moment after the Hamilton Wenham boys basketball team defeated Sutton 59-50 to win the Div. 4 State Championship at WPI on Friday, March 13, 2015. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Zach gives his son Max a big hug after the victory as Jimmy Campbell and Marcus celebrate.

Marcus Zegarowski celebrates with the Div. 4 State Championship trophy by giving it a kiss after defeating Sutton 59-50 Friday, March 13, 2015. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Marcus gives the state championship trophy a kiss.

Marcus listens as legendary coach Jack O'Brien talks about errors made during the game and how to avoid them in the future. 

I guess I was expecting to much out of the AF system on this camera. I have been using the old 7D for quite some time and was moderately happy with the AF performance. Sometimes it was unbelievable and other times it was dismal. So when the new model came out I waited a bit and got a good deal on it (thanks John). I immediately did some research on how to set up the AF settings and ran across an article by Peter Read Miller a well known sports photographer. He ran through the settings he has done on his 1D X. Since the AF systems are basically identical I have set up the 7D Mk2 the same. So far the results have been mixed. I love the 10 frames a sec. as I get a lot of choices but in the end I'm not getting a good ratio of in to out frames. I still blame myself for some of the errors like not holding down the AF button hard enough or at all. I'm still getting used to it. Basketball is really difficult as it is with so many people running around in the frame it's hard for the camera to lock on. But it has missed some really easy ones like a single player driving to the basket with no one around. I have been able to get some good frames and I post them here as a combination of images from the past couple of weeks. We still have more to come this week as two of our teams have been undefeated throughout the season. I did do an experiment with my older Canon 100 f2 (I love this lens) on my 5D Mk3 and the results were much better. I used this lens back in the day with my EOS 1 system and loved it for basketball. All of these images were made at ISO 6400 or 3200 1/800s @ 2.8. After a little practice with the 70-200 L the camera and I should get along better.  I have some nice images so I thought I would share some of them with you. 

phone selfiesMasconomet students celebrate senior night for the girls basketball team with headshots on sticks of the senior players while they take a selfie of themselves during Masco's 62-34 win Friday night Feb. 13, over the Hamilton Wenham Generals. Canon 7D Mk2 w/Canon 70-200 2.8 L

Girls basketballBeverly's Ashley Augulewicz passes from the baseline to a teammate as Salem's Brianna Rodriguez, Rachel Zipper, and Jaclyn Panneton defend during Salem's 56-46 tournament loss to Beverly at the Salem High Fieldhouse Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015. Sony Nex-7 w/Sony 20 2.8

Girls basketballBeverly's Ashley Augulewicz goes up for a rebound with a host of Salem players during Beverly's 56-46 win at the Salem High Fieldhouse Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015.

Canon 7D Mk2 w/Canon 70-200 2.8 L

Boys basketballHamilton Wenham's Nolan Wilson goes up for a shot as Manchester Essex' Justin Eigenlebiger and Craig Carter try to block during the Generals 87-44 win Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Canon 7D Mk2 w/Canon 70-200 2.8 L

Canon 7D Mk2 w/Canon 70-200 2.8 LDanvers Peter Merry can't find the handle on this rebound with Wakefield's Andrew Auld during Danvers 69-52 win over Wakefield Friday, Feb. 27, 2015.

Canon 7D Mk2 w/Canon 70-200 2.8 L

Boys basketballDanvers Devin Harris chases down the ball with Wakefield's Tighe Beck during Danvers 69-52 win over Wakefield Friday, Feb. 27, 2015.

Canon 7D Mk2 w/Canon 70-200 2.8 L

Boys basketballThe Danvers High cheering section was very active as seen here during a rough play on the floor during Danvers 69-52 win over Wakefield Friday, Feb. 27, 2015.

Canon 7D Mk2 w/Canon 70-200 2.8 L

Boys basketballDanvers Devonn Allen dives after the ball with Wakefield's MJ Urbano during Danvers 69-52 win over Wakefield Friday, Feb. 27, 2015.

Canon 7D Mk2 w/Canon 70-200 2.8 L

Girls basketballBeverly's Natalie Mellinger takes a contested shot past Arlington's Grace Caulo during Beverly's exciting 56-55 win Monday, March 2, 2015.

Canon 7D Mk2 w/Canon 70-200 2.8 L

Girls basketballBeverly's Melissa Lubas, right, celebrates with teammates after Beverly's exciting 56-55 win over Arlington Monday, March 2, 2015.

Canon 5D Mk3 w/Canon 100 f2

Girls basketballThe student cheering section celebrates after Beverly's exciting 56-55 win over Arlington Monday, March 2, 2015.

Canon 5D Mk3 w/Canon 100 f2

Sow shutter speedI made this as I drove home with the snow falling. The Leica M9 and the 35 Cron at 1/6s at f2.

Then when I got home my outside light did some interesting things with the large flakes falling.

snow slow shutterThe large snow flakes shot with a slow shutter speed made an interesting image.

East Coast blizzardBeverly resident (name withheld for this blog post) snowblows through a snowdrift on the sidewalk on Abbot St. in Beverly Wednesday morning Jan. 28, 2015.

This shot was made with the Canon 5D mk3 and the 70-200 I love the way the snow looks backlit.

East Coast blizzardThis store on Main St. in Rockport was completly blocked by a snowdrift during the 2015 blizzard Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2014.

This store on Main St. in Rockport had an eight foot drift in front of it at 12 noon Tuesday I wonder if it ended up being as tall as the building.

East Coast blizzardAndrew Bettencourt clears snow off his front stoop on Bearskin Neck during the blizzard Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015.

This guy was trying to dig out his front steps on Bearskin Neck in Rockport Tuesday. Then he had to do it again this morning.

East Coast blizzardMartha Sutwak and her Britney Spaniel "Tripp" shovel out the end of their driveway on Ober St. in Beverly Wednesday morning Jan. 28, 2015.

This shot was made this morning with the Canon 1D MK2 and the Canon 16-35 I love it!

Marblehead vs Masco girls hockeyMarblehead's Sydney Cresta of Swampscott is knocked off the puck by Masco's Lily Dow of Amesbury during Masco's 6-2 victory Monday night Jan. 19. at Salem State. This play resulted in a penalty against Masco near the end of the first period.

For action coming right at you the camera performed flawlessly. The glass was clear and I have a whole series of images that are sharp of this action.

Marblehead vs Masco girls hockeyMarblehead's Faithe Shatford of Manchester Essex fights for the puck with Masco's Lexi Rosenbaum during first period action of Masco's 6-2 victory Monday night Jan. 19. at Salem State.

Shooting girls hockey is a little different than shooting the boys or men. The game is slower (getting faster every year) and there is not as much action. The best place to stand to shoot through the glass is in the corner where you can get one team coming at you and a clear shot of the goal. Action with the girls happens around the net and along the boards a lot so you have to be ready for this.

Marblehead vs Masco girls hockeyMarblehead's Brooke Keough follows up on her shot on Masco goalie Molly Kelley of Newburyport as Masco's Brynne O'Connor of Hamilton Wenham helps out during first period action of Masco's 6-2 victory Monday night Jan. 19. at Salem State.

Here the camera was focused on the player in the middle so the goalie is a little out of focus. If the focus had hit the goalie instead it may have been enough to include the player in the middle. With the 7D the smaller sensor may have been enough to make the goalie sharper. The amazing thing to me is that with the 5D mk3 the results were pretty darn good. The 7D would have had a little more noise at 3200 but it would still be negligible. The other issue with the 7D is the crop factor may have given me to much reach. Usually I shoot from the stands for playoff games and the 7D is way better for that.

Which brings me to my point. Is Sony on the verge of blowing up the professional camera market with a Super Mirrorless Full Frame camera? I am only speculating here but the facts bear some of this out.

The specs as I see it would be this.

49 megapixels

High ISO capability similar to the A7s or slightly less so

5 Axis image stabilization like the A7 Mkll

Very advanced autofocus similar to the A6000

And the street price would be somewhere in the vicinity of $3000.

Think about it, by bringing all of these incredible advancements into one pro body would be killer. For me I could do everything I want, photojournalism, sports, landscapes - wow! All that and better than Canon and Nikon at a similar or less than, price point. So let the speculation begin. Canon is on the verge of announcing a mirrorless system as well. The camera wars are really heating up and getting very interesting.

Sony Nex-7 and Leica glassSony Nex-7 with Leica 35mm Summicron f2 v1 attached, Leica 50mm Summilux f1.4 v1 and Leica 90mm Tele Elmarit f2.8 v1

The Metabones adapter seen above was unacceptable to me as it was very tight in use so I have now changed to a Novoflex which is typical of German engineering fits and works perfectly.

Canon 7D w/ 70-200 2.8LMarblehead Light at Chandler Hovey Park with Islands in the background in seasmoke Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

This one below was processed in Silver Efex Pro.

seasmoke-2Marblehead Light at Chandler Hovey Park surrounded by sea smoke.

Canon 7D w/ 70-200 2.8LMarblehead Light at Chandler Hovey Park in seasmoke Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

 This one below was processed in Silver Efex Pro.

seasmoke-1Marblehead Light at Chandler Hovey Park surrounded by sea smoke.

Canon 7D w/70-200 2.8LLobster boats sit in seasmoke at the end of Marblehead Harbor Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 21mm Super ElmarThis image is handheld at 1/10s at f16. Straight Photoshop conversion

Rushing water and ice1Water rushes down a stream near Meadowbrook Park in Rockport, MA.

Converted in Silver Efex Pro

So with that done I decided to head home but as I was looking over the bridge down onto the stream another shot presented itself. It just so happened that I had the Leica 90mm Tele-Elmarit in my pocket (love these small lenses) and made the change to shoot over the bridge for the next shot. This was a bit easier as I was able to brace the camera on one of the large granite piers holding the bridge up. I only needed three shots to get a sharp one. This time the exposure was 1/13s at f16 instead of 1/10s.

Rushing water and iceSony Nex-7 w/Leica 90mm Tele-Elmarit I made this shot braced against some granite for the slow shutter speed. Converted in Photoshop

Rushing Water and ice 2Water rushes down a stream near Meadowbrook Park in Rockport, MA.

Converted in Silver Efex Pro

So you see if you act on ideas instead of sitting on them you just might get something interesting. I envisioned both of these in B&W as I would do with any subject like this.

Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 90mm Tele-ElmaritMassachusetts Governor Charlie Baker talks with the Swampscott Reporter at his home in Swampscott MA in December of 2014. Leica M9 w/35mm SummicronCharlie Baker relaxes with his dog Lucy at home before Christmas in Dec. 2014.

Next I switched over to shooting with the Leica and the 50mm Summilux f1.4. I started out at f2.8 and then made the rest at wide open to give the images more of a dreamy look in the background. These two were made wide open at 1.4. I really love this lens it gives the images a nice 3d look to them.

Leica M9 w/50mm Summilux wide open at 1.4Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker talks with the Swampscott Reporter at his home in Swampscott MA in December of 2014.

Leica M9 w/50mm Summilux wide open at 1.4Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker talks with the Swampscott Reporter at his home in Swampscott MA in December of 2014.

This next one was made with the Sony Nex-7 and the 50mm Summilux which with a 1.5 crop gives me a nice portrait lens at 75mm.

Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 50mm SummiluxMassachusetts Governor Charlie Baker talks with the Swampscott Reporter at his home in Swampscott MA in December of 2014.

The last thing I did was look for something different. I already had plenty of images but I really wanted a shot showing him in a pensive mood. He was tired as heck and it was 8:00 AM. You know he has a lot on his mind trying to figure out how to turn the state around with the new budget. I could have got him to smile but that would have been one of those fudged staged portraits you get when you say - smile! So I just let it take it's natural course. This last shot was made with the Leica 21mm Super Elmar with a pretty hefty crop. It gave me that pensive thinking shot I was looking for.

Leica M9 w/Leica 21 mm Super ElmarMassachusetts Governor Charlie Baker talks with the Swampscott Reporter at his home in Swampscott MA in December of 2014.

Leica M5 w/35mm Summicron f2.This shot was made in 1978 while on maneuvers with an army unit using an all manual camera. I processed the film myself and made the print myself.

Fast forward to today and it's completely different. One does not need to be knowledgeable about the photographic process at all. The process is all done by a computer embedded in the camera. This is why I have gone back to shooting with my Leica M9 rangefinder because it has slowed the process down and made me think about the image more. I have to think about what aperture and shutter speed I want to shoot at. I also have to focus the camera and figure out my aperture to determine what I want in focus. The new cameras make it so easy to make quality images it's amazing. What really shocks me is the amount of money people spend on pro quality gear not knowing how to use it at all. Back in the old days shooting with a high end Canon or Nikon meant you were a pro or an advanced amateur that was invested in the craft. Nowadays it seems just about anyone can plop down a bunch of cash for pro gear and think they are instantly a professional, I guess that's what the P setting on the dial means. Just the other day I handed the M9 to friend who has purchased some of that pro gear and asked them to see if they could use it. I showed them where the ISO setup was and how to focus and said OK go to it. I got the camera back in about five minutes with the comment "how do you use that piece of crap?" I explained that some of the best professional photographers in the world use it or the newest Leica M because it makes you think. The comment I got back was "I don't need to think my camera does it for me". 

There's the rub for me. These new cameras are breeding a world of photographic dummies. These folks now have thousands of images all shot in jpg sitting on memory cards that will never be looked at. If these folks have figured out how to get them off the card then they are on a hard drive someplace never to be seen again. The real pros and advanced amateurs who are invested in their craft are printing their work out for all to see. Which brings me back to the "photographic process", it may have changed but it is still there when considering the end result - a beautiful print to look at and admire. 

Leica M9 with 35mm Summicron f2This image was made with the M9 which is mostly manual. I have to figure out what ISO I want to use and what lens (no zoom), and pick the right aperture and shutter speed.

As a professional I still use the high end Canon pro gear for work. I love auto focus and the ability to use auto ISO. Picking my shutter speed and aperture then letting the camera figure out the ISO is fabulous. The only reason I do this is because the cameras can handle the enormously high ISO's and - I KNOW HOW TO USE IT. Since I know how to frame a good photograph, that's all I have to worry about unless the conditions are really tough. As a photojournalist these advances in camera and computer technology have made my life easier. My wish for the new year is for more people who have purchased the high end equipment is to learn the photographic process and make some prints so all can see. The only way they will get better is for people to see their images.

Shooting tip: When photographing children make sure to get down to their level. Looking down on kids while you photograph them is a classic mistake. Then only way to get their perspective on things is to be at their level. B&W conversions are not the best. I will try to clean them up if I can. 

Preparing for the Christmas pageantChildren prepare for the annual Christmas pageant at the Annisquam Village Church in Gloucester, MA.

Preparing for the Christmas pageantChildren prepare for the annual Christmas pageant at the Annisquam Village Church in Gloucester, MA.

Preparing for the Christmas pageantChildren prepare for the annual Christmas pageant at the Annisquam Village Church in Gloucester, MA.

Preparing for the Christmas pageantChildren prepare for the annual Christmas pageant at the Annisquam Village Church in Gloucester, MA.

Preparing for the Christmas pageantChildren prepare for the annual Christmas pageant at the Annisquam Village Church in Gloucester, MA.

Preparing for the Christmas pageantChildren prepare for the annual Christmas pageant at the Annisquam Village Church in Gloucester, MA.

Preparing for the Christmas pageantChildren prepare for the annual Christmas pageant at the Annisquam Village Church in Gloucester, MA.

Preparing for the Christmas pageantChildren prepare for the annual Christmas pageant at the Annisquam Village Church in Gloucester, MA.

Before the end of the month I will be posting images I made of the governor-elect in Massachusetts Charlie Baker. I was over to his home to make photos for an article on his new administration this past Monday.

Rockport Christmas Pageant 2014Hundreds of people gathered on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014 for the annual Christmas Pageant in Rockport, MA. With a light snow falling the procession made it's way up Main St. stopped at the Rockport Art Association (no room at the inn) and ended at the Congregational Church with a manger meant for a king.

Yes ugly fill flash. Interesting flash globs flying around from the on-camera flash. I show this because it's the best of the bunch. Ya ugly.

Rockport Christmas Pageant 2014Hundreds of people gathered on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014 for the annual Christmas Pageant in Rockport, MA. With a light snow falling the procession made it's way up Main St. stopped at the Rockport Art Association (no room at the inn) and ended at the Congregational Church with a manger meant for a king.

This was the scene from far away as it is really tough getting close to the creche scene at the church. Look a that crowd wow! Christianity is a live an well no matter what the media says.

Rockport Christmas Pageant 2014Hundreds of people gathered on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014 for the annual Christmas Pageant in Rockport, MA. With a light snow falling the procession made it's way up Main St. stopped at the Rockport Art Association (no room at the inn) and ended at the Congregational Church with a manger meant for a king.

Before the pageant started folks walked around Rockport shopping. A popular stop is Tucks Candies where this father and son filled a box full of taffy. I'm sure a giant candy cane was also part of the purchase. Hundreds of people gathered on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014 for the annual Christmas Pageant in Rockport, MA. With a light snow falling the procession made it's way up Main St. stopped at the Rockport Art Association (no room at the inn) and ended at the Congregational Church with a manger meant for a king.

Christmas in Rockport, MA 2014This giant Christmas Tree comes from somewhere in Rockport and stands in Dock Square for the Holiday's including First Night! Hundreds of people gathered on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014 for the annual Christmas Pageant in Rockport, MA. With a light snow falling the procession made it's way up Main St. stopped at the Rockport Art Association (no room at the inn) and ended at the Congregational Church with a manger meant for a king.

Old Ford Truck & Gas PumpThis 1950's era Ford truck stands idol next to a vintage gas pump at the Russell Orchard and Winery in Ipswich, MA. A light snow was falling and had collected on the windshield.

Canon 7D w/300 f2.8L Canon 7D w/300 f2.8L Canon 7D w/300 f2.8LWhen you can't see through your glasses what do you do take them off and squint of course.

Canon 7D w/300 f2.8L

Canon 7D w/70-200 f2.8LWhen covering a big event that captures the communities excitement getting crowd photos is a big deal. They are as much a part of the event as the actual game.

So I do my best to shoot long stuff for the first half unless the team I am covering gets near the end zone then I start shooting with the camera that has the 70-200 f2.8 on it. When the action is close the 300 is not a great lens and the shorter telephotos are better.

Canon 5D Mk3 w/70-200 f2.8LMelrose's Jack Hickey reacts to scoring Melrose's only touchdown during their close loss to Dartmouth 14-7 in the MIAA Div. 3 Super Bowl Saturday, Dec. 6, 2014. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

When I get into the second half I take off the 300mm and set things up differently. I put the 70-200 on the 7d and the 24-70 on the 5D MK3. This gives me more flexibility. So at the end of the game I can get all the sideline action as well as some decent on field action with the 70-200.

Canon 7D w/70-200 f2.8LMelrose's Christian Pizzotti just misses this pass at the end of the game as Dartmouth's Marley Dembitski attempts to break it up during Melrose's close loss to Dartmouth 14-7 in the MIAA Div. 3 Super Bowl Saturday, Dec. 6, 2014. Canon 5D Mk3 w/24-70 f2.8LEnd of game reaction is so important. Getting the distraught player in the foreground and the excited players in the background are key.

Problems did arise as the cool cheap plastic cover I had does not allow for the camera straps uggh. Therefore a puddle was forming on the back of the camera. I noticed it in time and was able to wipe it off, thank god, or the 5D would have been toast. For the second half it worked out great as I did not use the camera straps. My other camera was a challenge as I grabbed a trash bag out of the press room and just covered it up until I needed it. I then poked a hole in the end and stuck the lens out. Yes I was pretty soaked but the LL Bean 3-1 worked great. I wound up with 13 images transmitted and another 18 images of the crowd transmitted as an online gallery.

The little EOS M was a start in the right direction but has major issues. Like no EVF and the new mount has few fast lenses and is not a full frame sensor. At one time I thought Canon was onto something with the G1X and I bought one right away. I loved the results from the camera but hated almost everything about it. No EVF, lousy macro, slow lens at the long end and on and on. The new version is much better with the optional EVF, close focus macro and much faster lens at the long end. See my blog post here on the first version and my complaints about it - which they fixed with the new one. 

Canon G1X a user complainsThe Canon G1X taken with the Nikon V1 which allowed me to get close to it.

I sold this baby almost as fast as I got it. Nice results but lousy typical Powershot G series viewfinder and the lens was a 2.8 to 6.3, yikes. So that brings me to the point of this article. Canon, I hope you have thought this through! As a working pro I will be all over a system that does a number of things. The first is a full frame sensor which will enable it to shoot at high ISO's without sacrificing quality. The second is small and light weight. This is a key element. Third the EVF has got to be top notch no ghosting or lag. Basically everything that Sony now has with their A7 series cameras. I will need to be able to use an adapter for my Leica glass including my 21 Super Elmar. Of course Canon may not think that's a big deal but it is to me. Now for the biggie. New fast lenses for the smaller format camera. I can't jump completely into a system until I know I have lenses like my monster L series glass. Canon you better think about that one long and hard. Fast, small, light, glass at f2.8 or better. Using my giant lenses on a smaller body only makes sense for one lens my 300 f2.8 so I can shoot sports with it. So the adapter they sell better be able to handle fast autofocus. So as you can see this is a tall order for Canon and lets hope they come through because even though I own a Sony Nex-7 I really don't want to buy the Sony/Zeiss 16-70 and a Sony flash to do my job with. Why - because I'm a Canon guy!

Leica M9 w/35 Summicron

Leica M9 w/90 Tele-Elmarit Vers.1

Exposure ISO 160  1/3000 @ f 2.8

Leica M9 w/21mm Super Elmar

Leica M9 w/21mm Super Elmar

Leica M9 w/21mm Super Elmar

Canon 5D Mk3 w/Canon 24-70 L

Exposure ISO 4000 1/160s @ f2.8

Canon 5D Mk3 w/Canon 24-70 L

Exposure ISO 4000 1/160s @ f2.8

Canon 5D Mk3 w/Canon 24-70 L

Exposure ISO 2000 1/160s @ f2.8

Canon 5D Mk3 w/Canon 24-70 L

Exposure ISO 6400 1/160s @ f3.2

Canon 5D Mk3 w/Canon 24-70 L

Exposure ISO 4000 1/160s @ f2.8

Canon 5D Mk3 w/Canon 24-70 L

Exposure ISO 4000 1/160s @ f3.2

Canon 5D Mk3 w/Canon 24-70 L

Exposure ISO 2500 1/160s @ f3.2

Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 90mm Tele-Elmarit

Exposure ISO 160 1/3000s @ f1.4

I love the way the pumpkins nicely fall out of focus.

Exposure ISO 160 1/90s @ f8

The interesting thing is that after I shot the first one I went back in the house and looked at the images on the back of the camera and decided that maybe I need to do this again at f8. So back out I went and did it again at a tighter f stop. This image above is the one shot at f8.

Here is a color one just to show what they looked like in color.

The light started to get lower as the sun went down, and the sky started to turn orange above the river and fog. The fog started to get a little heavier and started to enshroud the coastline so I switched over to my Canon 5D Mk3 and the 70-200 L to get in tighter to the dory. In Lightroom I adjusted things slightly but overall this is the scene I envisioned as I was standing there.

I love both these images and they are so different. With just a little time in between them and a longer lens created something totally different but magical each in their own way. I look at these images as some of my most important to date. Seeing the same scene in two totally different ways is a departure for me and I hope that my vision will keep improving. I also took some wider shots with the Leica M9 and Leica 35mm Summicron which I worked on this morning. As promised, here are two wide angle shots.

Here is the color version which I don't like as much but your opinion may be different.

These images may work for you or may not please let me know what you think.

The following are my opinions and not that of anyone else and are © 2014 Kirk R. Williamson

Mary Ann Hoomis talks with a reporter before her giant pumpkin is weighed at the Topsfield Fair giant pumpkin weigh-off Friday night Sept. 28. Wicked Local Photo by Kirk R. Williamson

Thsese Images are from the story "The Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off"

Photojournalists seem to have a knack for being in the right place at the right time. They seem to know when something will happen that will produce a quality image. I like to think of this ability as the combination of four things which I call COPE for short. They being Curiosity, Observation, Patience (Persistence), and Experience.

Curiosity - The first of these is something that all successful photojournalists have. Always being curious as to what is going on around them and wanting to know what the story is. Where is there a good image - always looking and digging both visually and mentally for the story. Asking the right questions can open up areas of a story that may produce good images. If you are always curious you will never be wanting for good imagery. 

Observation - This is my personal favorite. I like to think that photojournalists are trained observers. The other day my wife and I were having lunch across the street from a house on the main drag of a small tourist town in Maine. Just for fun I said to my wife, what's the story behind that house? She looked at me with a puzzled look and said what do you mean. So I started telling her what I had observed in the last few minutes. The windows were covered by something other than curtains but kind of looked like a window covering of some kind. The house looked a little run down and there were some posts outside that were meant to hang something on. This was a regular old New England style house but something was going on. So I challenged her and after thinking and observing for a bit said, "It used to be an office or professional building and they are rehabbing it". Bingo, she guessed what I had surmised after looking at the house for five minutes. Just after she said that a contractors truck (which was out back and out of sight) pulled out of the driveway confirming most of what we had thought. This is just a minor example of what I am talking about. If you are constantly aware of what is going on around you the pictures will happen because you will know the inside story.

Patience or as some say Persistence - This is one of the most over looked aspects of being a good photojournalist. The pressure of making photos on deadline and lots of them can sometimes be overwhelming. I tell young PJ's to slow down and observe. Wait for the moments to happen. If you are running around to much you are going to start to miss things. Being patient and waiting for the moments to happen will produce better images. In some cases it's just plain persistence that pays off in the end, waiting is the name of the game in a lot of cases. Ye who sticks around usually ends up with the shot.

Mary Ann Hoomis of Ipswich thinks positive thoughts before Ron Wallace's world record pumpkin is weighed at the Topsfield Fair giant pumpkin weigh-off Friday night Sept. 28. Wicked Local Photo by Kirk R. Williamson

Experience - There is no other thing that helps a photojournalist more than experience. Over time you see the same situations over and over again and eventually you are running on instinct. Younger people coming into the business don't know some of the things it takes to make good images because they have not been there and done that yet. Only the experience of doing and making mistakes will make you better. When I came into the business back in 1978 I was as green as they come. I had a mentor that helped me through some of the tough times of dealing with difficult people and situations but it was experience that eventually gave me confidence. Instinct tells you where to stand to make the best images - or is that experience.

Armand Michaud of Ipswich, left, George Hoomis and Mary Ann Hoomis also of Ipswich cheer as a pumpkin is weighed at the Topsfield Fair giant pumpkin weigh-off Friday night Sept. 28. Wicked Local Photo by Kirk R. Williamson

I hope this helps. The acronym COPE is in itself a word that has meaning to photojournalists. Coping with things that happen while on assignment are part of the job and can sometimes be very trying, this is where patience comes into play. 

The images above were made as part of a story I did on a group of giant pumpkin growers in our area. I got to know them while doing a multimedia piece a few years ago. I knew this woman was excited and kept my eye on her the whole time. I was rewarded with some great images. For more images form the story go to "The Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off".

This is my opinion and not the opinion of anyone else. So therefore it is © 2014 Kirk R. Williamson

All the moorings are out and Billy Lee's Ocean Reporter sits waiting for more work.

A lobsterman backs off the dock to head back to his mooring.

An interesting composition of lobster buoy's wait to be deployed.

The fog enshrouded inner harbor in Rockport.

Guillaume and Jenna have done a great job with the house as I think you can see from the photos. I struck up a conversation with Guillaume about his photography and he mentioned that he was using an A7 and an A7s with some Leica and Voigtlander glass. Check out his great images here. Guillaume told me the reason he switched from his full Nikon Pro system was because of the size. The A series and rangefinder glass fit in a smaller camera bag for storage - for the tiny house, cool. Here is the link to their sites tinyhousegiantjourney.com they have plenty of really good stories and images of their journey.

Then I went out again this morning to shoot some more early morning light over in Annisquam and this little lens did not disappoint.

My main reason for purchasing this lens was because it is small! Really small for a 21mm lens. The other lenses may be faster but this little lens packs a punch. The 21 Elmarit is a beautiful lens and used is much less expensive than a new Super Elmar but it's a much bigger lens. This lens is the same size as my 50mm Summilux a perfect size on the M camera. I can't imagine why someone would want to spend $7600 on a 21mm Summilux that is clearly enormous for an Leica M camera.

Right from the start I was impressed with the wonderful amount of contrast this lens has. The color is just gorgeous and it is tack sharp even wide open. No wonder it's very rarely seen on the used lens market. I waited for close to eight months for one to show up and none did. If you can find one used that has not been beat up grab it. I will continue to post more photos soon. Tomorrows post you will see images from an assignment I did today. Very cool stuff.

Leica M9 w/35mm Summicron ASPH

I made this shot with the Leica and the 35 and was kind of cool looking but I wanted a tighter composition. I like the narrow depth of field as I shot this at f4. So I switched over to the Sony with the Leica 90 Tele-Elmarit. I kept the narrow depth of field by shooting at f2.8 but the 90 turns into a 135mm with the 1.5 crop factor. I think the image is much more striking than the wider view.

Sony Nex-7 w/90mm Tele-Elmarit

If I was printing these in the darkroom it would have been a simple task to either use a grade 4 paper or pump up the contrast using a multi contrast paper and adjusting it in the enlarger. But since this is digital it was a little easier. I just desaturated the image and added some contrast to give me what I wanted. I did not use any other software besides Photoshop. These images did not need any special attention which would require software like  Silver Efex Pro. Simple and effective impact by shooting against the light.

Sony Nex-7 w/90mm Tele-Elmarit

Leica M9 w/35 Summicron ASPH

Exposure ISO 1600  1/160s @ f2

and really loved the color and dramatic shadows of the window. As the sun lowers quickly at this time of year the images are very striking. I consider fall and spring to be the best times of the year for shooting as the light is lower. In the fall it makes the leaves pop and in the spring it does the same to the beautiful greens and yellows of the leaves. I shot this image wide open at f2 and the area of sharpness fell just right for me.

Leica M9 w/35mm Summicron ASPH

Exposure ISO 160   1/750s @ f2

Please be aware that these images are all copyrighted Gatehouse Media, my employer, and may not be used for any purpose outside of this blog and our Wicked Local sites, so be aware that if you try to use them in any way you will be prosecuted. 

Sony Nex-7 Images

Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 50 SummiluxBeverly's Angie Miller talks with Wicked Local about her new album "Weathered"; at What's Brewin Cafe in Beverly Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Sony Nex-7 w Leica 50 SummiluxBeverly's Angie Miller talks with Wicked Local about her new album "Weathered" at What's Brewin Cafe in Beverly Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Sony Nex-7 w Leica 50 SummiluxBeverly's Angie Miller talks with Wicked Local about her new album "Weathered" at What's Brewin Cafe in Beverly Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Sony Nex-7 w/ Leica 50 SummiluxBeverly's Angie Miller talks with Wicked Local about her new album "Weathered" at What's Brewin Cafe in Beverly Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 50 SummiluxBeverly's Angie Miller talks with Wicked Local about her new album "Weathered" at What's Brewin Cafe in Beverly Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Leica M9 Images

Leica M9 w/ Leica 90 Tele-ElmaritBeverly's Angie Miller talks with Wicked Local about her new album "Weathered" at What's Brewin Cafe in Beverly Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Leica M9 w/Leica 90 Tele-ElmaritBeverly's Angie Miller talks with Wicked Local about her new album "Weathered" at What's Brewin Cafe in Beverly Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Leica M9 w/Leica 90 Tele-ElmaritBeverly's Angie Miller talks with Wicked Local about her new album "Weathered" at What's Brewin Cafe in Beverly Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Leica M9 w/Leica 35 SummicronBeverly's Angie Miller talks with Wicked Local about her new album "Weathered" at What's Brewin Cafe in Beverly Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Leica M9 w/ Leica 35 SummicronBeverly's Angie Miller talks with Wicked Local about her new album "Weathered" at What's Brewin Cafe in Beverly Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Canon 7D w/70-200 f2.8LMcGlynn Elementary School fifth grade teacher Anthony Petrelis, center, waits for the Milken Award announcement as second grade student Lara Madkhali with her hand on his shoulder and fifth grade student Jonathan Dias, right, wait as well Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014.

Canon 7D w/70-200 f2.8LMcGlynn Elementary School teacher Anthony Petrelis reacts to winning the Milken Foundation Award during a ceremony at the school Wednesday, October 8, 2014.

Canon 7D w/70-200 f2.8LMcGlynn Elementary School teacher Anthony Petrelis reacts to winning the Milken Foundation Award as fifth grader Jonathan Dias congratulates him during a ceremony at the school Wednesday, October 8, 2014.

Canon 5D Mk3 w/24-70 f2.8LMcGlynn Elementary School principal Diane Guarino congratulates fifth grade teacher Anthony Petrelis after he won the prestigous Milken Award Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014.

Canon 5D Mk3 w/24-70 f2.8LMcGlynn Elementary School fifth grade teacher Anthony Petrelis, right, looks at the giant check that represents his award as Elaine Swain and Lucille Feragamo former award winners from Massachusetts in the year 2000 hold it for him after he won the prestigious Milken Award Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014. Dr. Jane Foley of the Milken Awards looks on.

Canon 5D Mk3 w/24-70 f2.8LMcGlynn Elementary School fifth grade teacher Anthony Petrelis is mobbed by students after he won the prestigous Milken Award Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014.

Leica M9 w/35mm Summicron ASPH

Exposure 1/60s @ f5.6  ISO 400

Leica M9 w/35mm Summicron ASPH

Exposure 1/60s @ f5.6  ISO 400

Leica M9 w/35mm Summicron ASPH

Exposure 1/60s @ f5.6  ISO 400

Leica M9 w/50mm Summilux ASPH

Exposure ISO 250 1/250 @1.4

I'm not sure what he is referring to here but the harem of ladies got a kick out of it.

Leica M9 w/50mm Summilux ASPH

Exposure ISO 250 1/250 @1.4

When listening to folks talk Wayne often does this chin up thing that shows he is listening and understands. Interesting!

Leica M9 w/50mm Summilux ASPH

Exposure ISO 640 1/750 @1.4

Talking to a friend.

Leica M9 w/50mm Summilux ASPH

I will always remember Wayne's smile. I know that his town is still very special to him and will keep an eye out even though he is retired.

Sydney Wedmore, president of the Thacher Island Committee, looks out over the island from the top of the north tower.

Leica M9 w/50mm Summilux

The other day I decided to shoot this interesting fall foliage photo. I was using my Leica M9 with the 35mm Summicron. I was a distance away so I knew the background would not be totally out even at f2. But as you can see I was able to knock out enough of it so it is not distracting. Whenever you can focus the attention where you want it the photograph will have much more impact. Shooting close to your subject with a wide aperture will take care of the background and bring the impact you are looking for.

Leica M9 w/ 35mm Summicron

Leica Nex-7 with Leica 90mm Tele-Elmarit

It looked like these folks were heading out to bring the boat back to dry dock because there was no wind at all. I love the ripples in the calm water and some of the foliage on the shore starting to turn. I get the feeling of fall and time to bring the boat back into drydock.

Sony Nex-7 with Leica 90mm Tele-Elmarit

The still water with just ripples running through it with the sun reflecting off it was such a cool affect that I shot this image and then another vertically. 

Sony Nex-7 with Leica 90mm Tele-Elmarit

This next shot of seaweed reminds me of heads of trolls with lots of hair.

Sony Nex-7 with Leica 90mm Tele-Elmarit

Then as I turned around I saw this mother and daughter having a quiet moment looking out at Sandy Bay and I just had to make a shot of them.

Sony Nex-7 with Leica 90mm Tele-Elmarit

Leica M9 w/ 35 Summicron ASPHStephen Lewis hangs one of a set of three anti-racism posters at the Beverly Public Library in preparation for an exhibit of his diversity posters starting Monday, Sept. 22, 2014.

Exposure 1/60s @ f2   ISO 400 at 35mm

As you can see this image at f2 is exciting as the woman's face and the Mr. Lewis's face are tack sharp but everything else is slightly out focusing the attention right where it should be. At 2.8 it would not be as nice. My problem with this image is the hot spot on Lewis's head. This is a problem with the jpg mode on the M9 and srgb mode. The original still has no information there. As you will see the Canon handled this much better. New technology trumps everything.

Canon 5DMk3 w/ 24-70L

Exposure 1/60s @ f4.5  ISO 1250  24mm

At 4.5 this image does not have that special character to it with the interaction between the woman's face and Lewis's. This is also because of the wider angle lens. This lens is only a 2.8 and at 35mm would not have given the same look as the Summicron. I kind of like both images but this one I like a little better because there is no hot spot on Lewis's head. But the Leica does have a special look to it. Let me know what you think!

I'm glad I know the M9 menu system inside and out and quickly changed it over and searched around for something white. I found a roll of paper towels and made and exposure of that. I then shot a test shot of the subject. The preview on the screen showed me that it had done a pretty decent job of figuring out the overly green light and had given me some natural skin tone. Pretty amazing. If you are ever in a situation where you need correct color and you will be shooting in the same location you should use this method. Just don't forget to set it back to AWB after you leave the situation you are in. Carrying around something white like a note book works great. 

In full disclosure I also used my Canon 5D Mk3 with it on AWB and a 430EX2 with a stofen box as the wide alternative. The flash over powered the florescent lights and gave me a good WB. I knew that would be the case especially with the flash. If I had used just the AWB and natural light the 5DMk3 would have been spot on. New technology is wonderful. Below I show both situations with the Leica M9 and the 50 1.4 ASPH and the Canon 5DMk3 with the 24-70L.

Leica M9 w/50 1.4 ASPH MWBPhil Hopkins sits amongst a growing collection of old films that need to be restored at his storage facility in Rockport Tuesday, September 16, 2014.

Leica M9 w/ 50 1.4 ASPH MWBPhil Hopkins looks at a few frames of one of a growing collection of old films that need to be restored at his storage facility in Rockport Tuesday, September 16, 2014.

Canon 5DMk3 w/24-70L AWB 430EX2 & StofenPhil Hopkins looks at a few frames of one of a growing collection of old films that need to be restored at his storage facility in Rockport Tuesday, September 16, 2014.

Leica 50mm Summilux ASPHThe going away party Leica 50mm Summilux ASPHThe going away party Leica 50mm Summilux ASPHThe going away party Leica 50mm Summilux ASPHThe going away party Leica 50mm Summilux ASPHThe going away party Leica 50mm Summilux ASPHThe going away party Leica 50mm Summilux ASPHThe going away party

Of course the internet helped some with the lyrics in places but for the most part Brian had them down pat. The Leica M9 performed really well. I just shot B&W jpg's and these are pretty much right out of the camera. I did shoot some color jpgs and the auto WB was a little off but could be corrected very easily.

DNG

DNG Uncompressed - 6 sec.

DNG Compressed - 3.5 sec.

DNG+JPG fine (color) 

DNG Uncompressed - 8 sec.

DNG Compressed - 6 sec.

DNG+JPG fine (B&W)

DNG Uncompressed - 7.5 sec.

DNG Compressed - 5.5 sec.

JPG Fine

B&W - 2.5 sec.

Color - 3 sec.

My conclusion here is that unless I really need it I will be shooting in DNG compressed since it's the fastest and if I need the B&W jpg I will also use the DNG compressed version with the jpg. I'm glad I did this as I was normally shooting in uncompressed mode but really, does it matter - I doubt it. By the way these results are really not the same as tests other folks have done mine are slower. I have no idea why but the camera will be going back to Leica for a CLA in the winter so maybe it will come back better.

Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 50mm Summilux ASPHJake Burridge chuckles while recounting tales of his around the world trip aboard his sloop "Trepidation" many years ago while at his home in Ipswich Monday, Aug. 25, 2014.

Leica M9 w/Leica 50mm Summilux ASPHJake Burridge recounts tales of his around the world trip aboard his sloop "Trepidation" many years ago while at his home in Ipswich Monday, Aug. 25, 2014.

Leica M9 w/50mm Summilux ASPH

This image of my friend Brian making a point is stunning. You can count the individual hairs on his beard stubble. The Cape Ann light was just beautiful. You can see the reflection of the masts of the sailboats in the background.

Leica M9 w/50mm Summilux ASPH

John and Shirley were enjoying the front porch and the beautiful light as the sun receded behind the Rockport skyline. I closed down the exposure a bit to f2 to get John more in focus than 1.4 would have given me. The exposure was perfect, the M9's center weighted meter hit the exposure right on the button. 

Our launch operator Emma makes a great subject as she waits for folks to come in off the water. The aperture of 1.4 isolates her perfectly. The 50 1.4 is a great lens for people as you can still be farther away and not be right on top of them.

I could not resist shooting a B&W or two. So under the club I went to shoot the pilings that hold the building up. At the 1.4 aperture very little is in focus and that was what I was looking for with the out of focus pilings receding into the distance.

I brought along my Canon 1D Mk ll as it is mostly weather proof and my other cameras are less so. I used the Canon 16-35 L on it which makes it approximately a 21-45 which was perfect for the compact space inside the cabin of the lobster boat. I think I got some really nice shots of these folks in action and I am posting a few here.

Arrrrrrgh Ye Maties

Exposure ISO 400 1/100 @ f7.1

Exposure ISO 400 1/100 @ f7.1

Exposure ISO 400 1/100 @ f7.1

Wicked Local Photo by Kirk R. Williamson / 090810 / The 935 ft. Eurodam sits at the head of Gloucester harbor as some of the 2100 passengers walk around Gloucester, Rockport and other North Shore communities.

I made this photo to show the enormity of this cruise ship inside Gloucester Harbor. By luck a small fishing boat happened by which gave it the needed scale. The Euro Dam visits Gloucester Harbor.

He took me out into the woods without any photo gear and handed me a plastic slide mount and said here ya go. I looked at him like he had three heads and said "what the hell is this for". He then said "use this 35mm slide mount as a guide as you look around for possible subjects". I still had my doubts but gave it a whirl anyway. As I moved around looking through my "slide mount" I began to discover that it was indeed a really cool method of looking at the world through a 35mm frame.

I have since adapted this way of "seeing" to my M9. Since the M9 gives you the opportunity to see several frame lines with the use of the frame line lever under the rangefinder window one has the ability to visualize how things would look with different lenses. I feel this is unique but has been around for many years. Yes, you can do this with your big dslr and a zoom lens but is much simpler with the rangefinder. I have found that I feel free with my lightweight M9 looking around for interesting subjects.

Here is a lesson in seeing that I challenge you to do. It can be done anywhere at anytime. I find it works best when you are alone in an interesting place not doing anything. Relax and start to look around concentrating on elements around you. If you concentrate hard enough you can "see" as a lens on your camera. Look for different areas that can be focused in on from one location not moving around and try to visualize the lens you would use. The key to this exercise is to do it from one location and see how many interesting images you might be able to come up with. I did this recently at a funeral of all places. Not really the best place since it was packed with people. It was in a Greek Orthodox church which was very ornate. I had no idea what the priest was talking about so I started to look around imagining images and what lens I would use. If that was not enough to keep my mind busy I started thinking about exposure and what f-stop would be appropriate for certain images. 

The Leica M9 or any rangefinder for that matter is the perfect tool for "seeing". It enables you to be unencumbered by the beast DSLR and jumbo pro lens. If you get a chance, try using your rangefinder in this way or do it "old school" as my friend does with the 35mm plastic slide mount. I think you will be amazed at what you see.

I came upon this image on Bearskin Neck in Rockport many years ago but it is still one of my favorites. The use of the wide angle lens makes the globe seem larger than it is and the many reflections (four I believe) really hold my interest. It's been photographed by many people over the years but I still feel mine is unusual.

The lens has an infinity locking focus lever which I find very useful when shooting landscapes and for storing the lens. This lens is a screw mount version and requires a bayonet mount adapter which screws onto the lens. I have never taken it off. I also have a wonderful little Leica lens shade that uses a set screw to attach it to the lens. The lens feels just like it was new. The focusing is smooth and the f-stops click into place easily. The results from this little lens are remarkable. I find that it gives me more of a film look but with plenty of contrast and the colors are just slightly cool. I have compared this lens to my 35mm Summicron in another post on this blog and was pleasantly surprised at how similar they are. 

Leica M9 w/35mm Summaron

Here are some shots from this mornings shoot with the setup seen above.

Wonderful reflections in Rockport harbor.

And in Black and White, flipped! This is the B&W jpg out of the camera and adjusted in Photoshop. It's a really high quality jpg and needs only adjustment to taste. Only problem with this image is the junk in the water looks like dust on the sensor! 

Rockport Harbor

Rockport Harbor

Ah, Motif #1 again

A beautiful pair of Icelandic Sheep dogs

My friend Skip shooting some images with his iPhone.

Sony Nex-7 w Leica 90mm Tele-Elmarit Vers1

This image was shot directly into the sun and survived! This lens was built in 1964.

Leica M9 w/Leica 90 mm Tele-Elmarit Vers1

If not for the spectator this would be a keeper!

Leica M9 w/ Leica 35mm Summicron

A heavy crop on this frame but still nice.

Leica M9 w/ Leica 35 mm Summicron

End of a rough day on the road ... road rash!

As I walked out of the museum this image caught me by surprise. The clouds were very interesting and I was drawn to it right away. I had the 90mm Tele-Elmarit mounted on the camera and the camera set on aperture priority so the camera figured out the exposure at f 2.8. Normally I would not shoot something like this at 1/4000 sec. at f2.8 but I was shooting inside the museum at a high ISO at f2.8. When I got outside I adjusted the ISO down to 200 while I was walking out the door. I looked up and saw the seagull coming in and the clouds over city hall. I instantly turned the lens barrel to infinity and got the shot. I really wanted the seagull in another place but he would not cooperate.

Leica M9 w/Leica 90mm Tele-Elmarit vers. 1

Sony Nex-7 with Leica 90mm Tele-Elmarit vers.1Cape Ann sculptor Daniel Altschuler smooths the joint between the wings and the rest of the body on the scale model of Gloucester sculptor Walker Hancock's famed "Pennsylvania Railroad War Memorial" at the Cape Ann Museum Thursday, July 17, 2014.

I started shooting late in subdued light which was the first problem. This operation really takes bight sunlight as I was shooting at 1/8000 sec. wide open at ISO 12,800. So I was trying to see what the camera could do more than capture the birds. I was surprised to see that for the most part the resolution held up at 12,800 (still grainy) even after some post processing in Lightroom. It's alright for the screen but not so much for printing.

I moved the focus area to the left and down a bit to give myself a better chance of focusing with the bird to the left in the frame. It's a good thing the Hummingbird hovered for a split second so I could nail the focus. It was a challenge. Next time it will be about the bird not the camera. I will do it in the late afternoon with tons of light coming through my yard and set up some perches and flowers for them to make it look somewhat real. In bright sunlight the colors on the bird will be much more vibrant. Stay tuned for more.

Canon 5D Mk3 w/ 300 2.8 & 1.4 extenderHummingbird at feeder.

Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 90mm Tele Elmarit Vers.1

Exposure ISO 1600 1/125s f2.8 

My complete rig is as seen below with the Leica 90mm Tele-Elmarit attached via the Novoflex adapter to the Sony Nex-7.

I used the focus magnification to zero in on her eyes because the focus peaking was not real strong around her eyes. If you look close you can see a highlight in her eyes which turned slightly red under magnification which showed me the lens was focused correctly. I could barely see it without the focus magnification on. I could pick it up with the magnification on which really helped. The Sony is a more advanced camera than the M9 and allows me to take many frames quickly unlike the M9 which will fill the buffer fairly soon. The EVF on this camera is excellent and allows me to see what I am getting. To me it resembles a small Leica M240 with it's features and ease of use. The thing I really enjoy about the Sony is the ergonomics. The twin dials which are right at thumb level I have set to shutter speed and exp. compensation. The dial on the back I have set to control the ISO. This combination works best for me but may be different for you. I have found that using the camera in shutter speed priority works best for my purposes. I hope to post some more images from this camera and lens setup soon so keep coming back to see.

I have posted several images with some of my other Leica glass that really got me excited. I have since auctioned off my 1958 50mm Summilux f1.4 Vers.1 Black Paint which worked perfectly on the Sony and the results were really cool. The shot below was made with this lens which I will miss dearly. I started my career with it back in 1978. 

Sony Nex-7 w/50mm Summilux f1.4 vers.1 black paint (circa 1958)

Leica M9 w/35mm Summicron ASPH

This is my favorite shot of this group. I converted it to B&W because of the nice contrast difference. 

Bags of beans wait to be roasted at Atomic Cafe Roasterie.

Roasted Arabica beans are cooled after being roasted.

A coffee roaster inspects the roasted beans for imperfections.

The roaster adjusts the roasting machine to get the right amount of air into the roaster.

The roaster empties the cooling bin on the outside of the roster.

35mm Summicron f2 ASPH

Exposure ISO 200 1/250s @ 5.6

The contrast and warmer color temp of the Summicron ASPH can be seen in this image. 

35mm Summaron f3.5

Exposure ISO 200 1/250s @ 5.6

Not much of a difference with the Summaron besides being a little cooler and the contrast is just a little less. Pretty amazing to me.

35mm Summicron f2 ASPH Exposure ISO 200 1/350s @ 5.6

You can still see the warmer tone and better contrast in the Summicron image above.

35 Summaron f3.5

Exposure ISO 200 1/350s @ 5.6

This Summaron image is a tad darker but is cooler and with a little less contrast.

Leica M9 w/ 35 cron f2 ASPH

I purposely shot the Leica images at f2 to add that 3D look to it. This image is tack sharp it's almost shocking. Below is the Canon 5D mk3 image.

Canon 5D Mk 3 w/ 24-70 LJohn Early carefully carves the beginnings of one of his whales downstairs in his basement workshop Monday, July 7, 2014. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

This is my standard news shot most everything in the foreground is in focus. I really like the look of this image, yes I love my 24-70.

Leica M9 w/ 35 cron ASPH

Leica M9 w/ 35mm Cron ASPH

Leica M9 w/ 35mm Cron ASPH

Leica M9 w/ 35mm Cron ASPH

Maybe a little to warm with this one!

Canon 5D MK3 w/ 24-70L

Exposure ISO 200 1/160s @ f8

Leica M9 w/35mm Summicron

Exposure ISO 200 1/350s @5.6

Canon G15

Some of the scenery along the trail was spectacular. This giant tree was covered with moss and with the trail going right past was perfect for an image.

Canon G15

This dead fern looks almost prehistoric and the worn path on the right side and the left side un worn made for an interesting shot.

Canon G15

Moving water is always a challenge. This shot was made at 1/4 of a sec with the built in N/D filter on, which gave me the latitude I needed. The trees, rocks, moss etc. were unmatched. The light was very choppy with it being mid day but there was not much I could do about that. 

Canon G15

When behind the falls you need to show the water as well as the scene. In this situation I stopped the water at 1/2000 sec. If I had shot it at 1/30 or slower it would have been a mist. So I stopped it to show it was water.

Canon G15

The G15 has a great macro mode. The tiny sensor gives you some really great opportunities in regards to options in the wild.

oregon-12

The Canon G15 is my view camera in my pocket. The depth of field with various subjects with such a small sensor is remarkable. The color with this shot was just ok so I converted it and the tones were very nice.

Leica M9 w/35mm Summicron

The next thing that struck us was this incredible scene across the street. The storm clouds where zipping by a farm house with it's silo. I have never seen clouds so intense and my wife commented on this as I changed lenses to my Leica 90 Tele-Elmarit. We raced across the street to get this incredible scene. I have also run the B&W jpeg through Silver Efex Pro 2 which has enhanced the clouds a little bit more. All I can say is wow! It was such an other worldly scene. I remember this scene as you see it. I envisioned this in B&W just like the flower scene above. Color never really entered my mind as the clouds really dramatically took over. 

Leica M9 w/Leica 90mm Tele-Elmarit

Earlier in the day we were looking for waterfalls along the Columbia River and the clouds were just as dramatic. The image below was made with the Leica M9 and the 50mm Summilux ASPH.

Leica M9 w/50mm Summilux ASPH

The Canon G15 was really awesome, did I say that already? Well it's true. The only thing missing was the tripod and the electronic release. Since the lens only stops down to f8 I had to use the built-in ND filters to shoot at 1/6 of a sec to slow down the waterfalls. Most of the time I just went with 1/30 sec since that's what our eyes and brain perceive things at. 

My son had his Canon SL1 with him with the kit lens the 18-55 which did a great job in the woods and of the waterfalls. He had a light cheap Vivitar tripod with him and he was able to shoot at 1/4 sec at f22 which made a huge difference. Of course we left the electronic release back at his apartment.  Here is the link to 12 of the photos. There are more but I will wait until I get back before I add to the gallery.

Here is the link Oregon Gallery

Leica M9 w/50mm Summilux 1.4

This is certainly one of my favorites so far.

Leica M9 w/35mm Summicron f2

Everything in the woods is just plain green.

Leica M9 w/35mm Summicron f2

This old John Deere tractor was turned into a jungle gym for kids a local farm.

Leica M9 w/50mm Summilux f1.4

We are going out to the Columbia Gorge today so I will post some more scenic images tomorrow. I have been using my iPad to process the images but the software that lets me process the color DNG's keeps crashing. That's why everything is in B&W. When I get back I will do some in color to see what they look like.

Canon G15

Leica M9 w/35mm Summicron ASPH

Exposure ISO 160 1/500s @5.6

This lens is silly sharp with contrast that really just blew me away. The color version was not really what I wanted even though the color was right on. These two kids were playing on this hammock and they always had their back to me so this is the best I got. The light was uneven as you can see with the top half of the frame a little overexposed. I just took an average reading that included more of the foreground and it worked out great. 

Leica M9 w/35mm Summicron ASPH

Exposure ISO 800 1/500s @5.6

The graduate and her mom boogie to some music. When I first saw this frame I was amazed at the contrast and sharpness to me it was way over the top. I love this photo it just summed up the party for me and told the story of this young lady her graduation and party. This is really what I was looking for a shot that summed it up in one photo. I knew I had a good chance with the women out dancing. 

Leica M9 w/35mm Summicron ASPH

Exposure ISO 800 1/500 @ f4

This guy is from Alabama and he had one heck of a tan. His little girl is 8 months old and was adorable. This is one of the only examples of the type of image I was looking for an unguarded moment. The two B&W's are straight jpg black and white's right out of the camera with just a little work done in Photoshop. Really amazing. I have the M9 give me a color DNG and a jpg black and white. I love this because Lightroom gives them to me side by side.

Needless to say I was looking around for different photos for the blog. Here are a couple shot with the Canon 7D and the 300 2.8. The crop factor for this rig turns out to be a 480mm f 2.8, excellent for sports and other far away objects.

Canon 7D w/Canon 300 f2.8

I noticed these two standing on wires used to make sure cars did not fly off the top of the parking garage across the street from the stadium and I thought it was a cool shot with the lamps.

For a moment I thought I was at Belmont Park waiting for the Belmont Stakes to start. Sun protection, a cool hat, sunglasses, fieldglasses and a racing form? No actually the lineup card for the game.

Here are some shots from the games.

Georgetown's Ben Noelk is out at third after a runndown with Lowell Catholic's James Sullivan in the first inning of Georgetown losing to Lowell Catholic 9-4 in the Div. 4 North Sectional Championship game Saturday, June 7, 2014 at LeLachuer Park in lowell. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson Georgetown's Ben Noelk is forced out at second by Lowell Catholic's James Sullivan in the fifth inning of Georgetown's loss to Lowell Catholic 9-4 in the Div. 4 North Sectional Championship game Saturday, June 7, 2014 at LeLachuer Park in lowell. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson Georgetown's Michael Goddu reacts to Georgetown losing to Lowell Catholic 9-4 in the Div. 4 North Sectional Championship game Saturday, June 7, 2014 at LeLachuer Park in lowell. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson Georgetown's Mike O'Leary wears everyone's rally caps during the last inning of Georgetown's loss to Lowell Catholic 9-4 in the Div. 4 North Sectional Championship game Saturday, June 7, 2014 at LeLachuer Park in lowell. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson Hamilton Wenham's Austen Michel slides back safe to first during The Generals 8-7 loss to North Reading in the Div. 3 North Sectional game at LeLacheur park in Lowell Saturday, June 7, 2014. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson Hamilton Wenham's Austen Michel watches the last at bats for his teammates during The Generals 8-7 loss to North Reading in the Div. 3 North Sectional game at LeLacheur park in Lowell Saturday, June 7, 2014. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Masconomet catcher Michael Manni, Jr. signals he has the ball after tagging out Glocuester's Jordan Pallazola at the plate during Masco's win over Gloucester to win the Div. 2 North Sectional at LeLecheur Park in Lowell Saturday, June 7, 2014. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson Masconomet pitcher William Twiss celebrates his five hit 5-0 shutout win over Gloucester to win the Div. 2 North Sectional at LeLecheur Park in Lowell Saturday, June 7, 2014. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

Leica M9 w/Leica 135 Tele-Elmar

Exposure ISO 400 1/180s @ f4

The cool thing about this image are the spider webs that are tack sharp. Really amazed me. The background is just beautiful.

Leica M9 w/Leica 135 Tele-Elmar

Exposure ISO 400 1/125s @ f4

I thought this refection of my car on my boats hull was kind of cool.

Leica M9 w/Leica 135 Tele-Elmar

Exposure ISO 400 1/350s @ f4 

These flowers really worked out nice. I love the sharpness of the leaves in places I think it really adds to it.

Leica M9 w/Leica 135 Tele-Elmar

These are the same flowers as above but in color. I have cropped it a bit to make it a little more interesting. Of course I messed up again and forgot to set the camera for the Tele-Elmar and left it on the 28 Elmarit. Pretty stupid of me.

Leica M9 w/Leica 28mm Elmarit V.1

Exposure ISO 1600 1/24s @f2,8

Processed in Silver Efex Pro 2 Tri-X filter added

I like this version much better using Silver Efex Pro 2. The Tri-X grain really adds something. The other filter was Full Spectrum.

Well I gave it a whirl at ISO 2000, which for the Leica M9 is kind of a stretch. You can't imagine what it's like to time the lighting so you get something at 1/25s or 1/15s or even 1/6s it's brutal. It was a struggle to get the exposure right with this camera. Here are few of the images I got.

Leica M9 w/90 Tele Elmarit

Exposure ISO 2000 1/60s @2.8

I was lucky in some respects as my friend Gary had the LED strobe lights mounted pretty close to him and the bright blue light would occasionally light him up. I did make a rookie error while using this camera. I have found that setting the camera on manual for lens selection works well for my 28 Elmarit. I use the oldest setting which is 11804 which I think is for Vers. 3 Elmarits, mine is a version 1. But I forgot to change it over every time I shot with the Leica 90 oh well. The results were not to bad.

Leica M9 w/28mm Elmarit

Exposure ISO 2000 1/45s @2.8

So you can see in this image how dark it was. The band was only lit by these colored LED bars on either side of the band. Dismal at best but I guess it's all about mood with rock music.

Leica M9 w/90mm Tele Elmarit

Exposure ISO 2000 1/15s @2.8

Since the guitarist was in such a dark place and never got much light on his face I decided to just shoot his guitar with his hands blurred if I could.

Leica M9 w/28mm Elmarit

Exposure ISO 2000 1/25s @2.8

I was lucky to some extent as one of the horn players was lit up by his own music stand LED lights. If you can call 1/25s lucky.

Leica M9 w/90mm Tele Elmarit

Exposure ISO 2000 1/15s @ 2.8

Being a photojournalist requires waiting for peak action when shooting at slow shutter speeds. I just caught the lead singer at the right moment to freeze his moving around at 1/15 of a second. Talk about luck and skill meeting at the right time.

Leica M9 w/90mm Tele Elmarit

Exposure ISO 2000 1/60s @ 2.8

You can just make out the LED light on the right side of the frame lighting Gary up. 1/60 of a sec. was a real luxury. Using the Leica M9 for low light work is a challenge when you can't see the top of the camera. I was using it on full manual and not auto at all. Turning the dial on top to get the right exposure was a pain since with my close up eye sight is nil I had no idea what shutter speed I was at most of the time. Using it in auto would have allowed me to see the exposure but then I could not do much about it since I was shooting wide open at 2.8. It was still a worth while experience and I learned quite a bit about using this camera in almost total darkness.

Leica M9 w/ 28 mm Elmarit v1.0

Most everyone is paying attention here except the guy in the foreground. It looks like he's dozing off but I know he was listening. I was hoping for some good people photos but nothing really jumped out at me. 

Leica M9 w/ 28 mm Elmarit v1.0

As I was walking out I noticed this old run down building in a very old industrial section of the city. I love the way the shingles show up in B&W and the old easy chair just thrown outside. Typical of parts of Gloucester. This building has so much character I can only imagine the characters that live in it.

A wonderful old 1955 Chevy Bel Air.

Leica M9 w/Leica 28 Elmarit

Old and new pass each other at the car show.

Leica M9 w/Leica 28 Elmarit

Some serious engine going on here.

Leica M9 w/Leica 28 Elmarit

Leaving old friends on their way back home after the show.

Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 90 mm Tele Elmarit

The dresses match the paint job on this hotrod.

Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 90 mm Tele Elmarit

Old friends gather to talk about their cars.

Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 90 mm Tele Elmarit

This guy was really into what he had done to this old truck.

Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 90 mm Tele Elmarit

I could not resist these stickers on the side of this old wagon.

The Canon 5D Mk3 is really incredible at low light. I shot this with the Canon 24-70 f2.8 L (not the latest version) lens which is pretty heavy. As a matter of fact the whole rig is a beast since I use the battery grip on the camera. This is one of the reasons I have been playing around with the Leica M9 and the Sony Nex-7. If I was able to use my rare version 1, black paint Leica 50mm Summilux f1.4 (currently in the Tamarkin Spring Auction) I would not have used this rig at all. But I digress. I was able to shoot this image in almost total darkness at ISO 6400 1/30s @2.8. Of course being the photojournalist I am I cheated and used a chair to steady myself. The image is tack sharp. I only wish I could have moved to a better angle to eliminate the fire extinguisher on the wall. I did burn it in a bit to make it less obvious. Moving to the right gave me a very ugly partially covered window and moving to the left gave me people and a door way. So I chose the best option I could.

Canon 5D Mk3 w/24-70 LEileen Fitzgerald studies Mary Rudolph-Black's lines by the light of her cell phone during the Theater in the Pines rehearsal of "The Heiress" Tuesday, May 13, 2014 at Sprian Hall in Rockport. Black was not able to attend the rehearsal because of a family emergency so Fitzgerald had to fill in for her. Fitzgerald stated she was hoping not to get her lines mixed up with Blacks.

Exposure ISO 6400 1/30s @2,8

Sony Nex-7 w/20mm pancake

Exposure ISO 1600 1/125s @2.8

The juxtaposition of the lobster boats, a couple of fishing vessels, and a schooner really add to the working waterfront feel to the photo. Then as I started to look around for interesting light play on the buildings these shadows started to show up. 

Now that I have gotten used to the fringing feature of this camera it has become really easy to focus with the lens wide open at 2,8. 

The real-time viewfinder is barely adequate but serves the purpose. It only shows 75% of the actual scene so be prepared to crop things a bit. The other thing you can do to make this a really cool street camera is to turn on the mute. This feature is really great. It's pretty close to totaly silent. I can't wait to try this out on the street. If you use the viewfinder a green light shines steady to let you know when it's in focus and when the image has been taken (blinking). If mute is off then a beep sounds to let you it's in focus and a shutter click when the image is made. The viewfinder adjusts in and out to show you the scene the lens is adjusted to but like I said only shows 75% of what the lens sees. I have overcome this to some extent by zooming to 85mm instead of 50mm which means you get what you actually thought was 50mm from the same position. It's more of a mental thing.

I came to this decision after using the M9 and Sony Nex-7 and really hating looking like a total noob by holding the G15 in front of me, god how I hate that. I'm a photographer and not some nit wit with a cell phone or a P&S. The shot below was made in the method I have described above using the viewfinder and the step zoom on aperture priority.

Canon G15 step zoom @100

Exposure ISO 125 1/200s @2.8 step zoom 100mm 

This was a fun experiment and I plan on using it more. I get to set my focal length, shutter speed or aperture on auto. The camera focuses automatically and the camera has matrix metering so I get to do old school but with some of the auto features I love. I can't wait to take this to the streets and see what I get. This camera is so small and compact and when I choose silent it's ideal for stealth street photos. When I get the chance to do more street shooting I'll post some photos.

Sony Nex-7 w/ 20 mm pancake

Exposure ISO 100 1/800s @2,8

At 2.8 the buds just jump out at you. A really cool 3-D affect! Of course this is true when shooting wide open on just about any lens depending on how close you are and the focal length. I find experimenting with f-stops and shutter speeds adds to the fun of getting out there and shooting some frames. Glad to be out of the office.

So here's the story - the Leica M9 with the 28mm Elmarit V.1 and the Sony Nex-7 with the Leica 90 mm Tele Elmarit which makes it a 135 f2.8. These cameras are tiny in comparison to the giant Canon L glass laden behemoths I usually travel with. I carried the M9 around my neck and the Nex-7 on my right shoulder. Everything was very easy to use and nothing got tangled up and no switching lenses what a joy.

Sony Nex-7 w/ Leica 90mm

The director talks with Albert about what is expected of him during his performance.

I decided to show one of each in this post. The Sony Nex-7 with the Leica 90 mm is really unbelievable as you can see above. So small and easy to use, wow I can't wait to travel with it. 

Leica M9 w/ 28mm Elmarit V.1

Here the Leica M9 with the 28 mm is perfect to use for this assignment. With it around my neck up it comes for the shot at any time. The longer shots are also quite easy as I can pull the Nex-7 around off my right shoulder very easily. When I am just walking around I tend to carry them both on a shoulder with the cameras hidden by my arm and hands which are in a coat or pants pocket.

With these two cameras I matched the exposure and was happy to see they did a great job. As you know the M9 has issues with mixed light and AWB and in this case did a reasonable job but still had the tell-tale green cast at times. I was going to put it into manual WB mode but decided against it since I was shooting in RAW. The Sony Nex-7 had no such issues and produced good WB though out the images. Overall I felt a conversion to B&W was the answer as you can see here. I did not put them through Silver Efex Pro2 as I had intended and may try that tonight we'll see how it goes.

Leica M9 w/ 28 Elmarit V.1

Exposure ISO 200 1/750s @ 5.6

Another key to making the happened photo is to have the camera ready to go. This is not so much the case with the new cameras that make coffee for you but with the M9 I feel it's essential. I like to control the ISO and the f-stop and let auto control the shutter speed in this situation. That would be bright sun. I find myself using the camera in different ways depending on the situation. Of course you folks might use it differently - let me know how you set the camera up because it's a really personal thing. Either way the Leica M9 is a great camera for carrying with you everyday for those unplanned photos.

Leica M9 w/28 mm Elmarit V.1

So I bet you are asking yourself - this guy must be nuts making frames through the window while driving while it's raining. Well yes that's true to some extent. I preset the focus before I left my driveway so all I had to do was lift the camera up and make the shot, no focusing involved. The camera was on auto. I set the aperture to 2,8 before I left and let the camera figure out what the shutter speed was. Pretty simple. 

My Life with the Leica – Part One

Ever since my younger days in high school I have been a Leica guy. My dad was a big Leica fan and had a nice collection of cameras and lenses. He even had a Leica 2c enlarger in the darkroom. Yes my dad really enjoyed his Leica's and passed that on down to his two boys.

When I was 15 he gave my brother and I each a Leica 3g with a collapsable 50mm lens on the camera. He instructed us on the use of the lens and camera operation but for two teenagers it was a bit overwhelming. The amount of very dark frames with a circle in the middle were annoying to he and us so the 3g's and the collapsable 50's went back and were replaced with used Leica M3 double strokes. My brother and I love these cameras just as much today.

During my high school years the M3 and the 50mm went everywhere with me. I was in Jr. ROTC and I was the official photographer for our unit. I travelled to several army bases with our high school battalion and recorded everything we did. My dad had a Leica leather case for the M3 and meter and we fashioned two Agfa film tins to the strap to make the camera easy to carry. I felt like a war photographer - well kind of. I was also in charge of photography for the year book for two years which meant I went everywhere with that camera. Proms, teachers, classrooms, sports, graduations, you name it I was there with the Leica and my only lens a 50mm f2. The sports events were more sideline stuff since shooting action was out of the question with the 50mm.

Back in 1971 our family took a trip to northern Italy for a skiing vacation. My dad was ill with cancer at the time but was in remission and this trip was something he always wanted to do with us. We had a wonderful time making pictures as we travelled throughout northern Italy. I will always remember my dad waking me up early to go on a little photo expedition in the northern city of Milan which at the time was a very industrial city. I just remember it as dark and foreboding but unfortunately non of my photos have survived. The Leica M3 and 50mm with the meter on top of the camera were a technological marvel for the time. We wandered around the city by our hotel looking for people out walking their dogs or interesting buildings or signs. It was a fun time with my dad and I will never ever forget it.  As we made it up to Cervinia, which is the other side of the Matterhorn in Zermatt Switzerland, the photo taking was more interesting and all of us had fun taking photos of the Alps and the skiing that we were there for. It was here that my dad taught my brother and I the secret behind correct exposure with snow. He said "the reflected meter only tells you what the exposure is for the light falling on the subject in 18% grey so you need to open up a stop and a half". It worked like a charm. Back then you had to wait until you got back to see the results. We used to mail them out in pre-paid mailers to be processed by Agfa or Kodak. It was like Christmas when they came back.

While still in high school my dad started a photo class for my friends and I with the carrot being a group show at a gallery in Rockport. We all took to it with gusto. My dad bought us all these small Kodak books that had tons of information in it and we would have an assignment each week regarding something in the book like depth of field or composition. It was a great experience. All of us kids, which totaled about five, including my brother gained an enormous amount of experience during this time. But it was the access to my dads darkroom and the magic that happened there with the Leica 2c that floored all of us. The other kids quickly got their parents to set up their own darkrooms and the fun was on. The result was a great show at a gallery in Rockport. Several of us sold pieces (including myself) which hooked me on photography as a career at the age of 16.

The Leica 2c is such a wonderful enlarger and I still have it in the basement covered up in my now unused darkroom. Back then auto focus was unheard of and it was pure magic to see it work. My dad and a friend of his John Fields helped me see what could be done with a little dodging and burning to bring out the best print possible. It was this formative training in the darkroom that started my career for me. As I think back my dad and John Fields showed me the importance of full contrast prints. My early editors were wowed by my prints and that is a full reflection on my dad, his friend, and the Leica 2c.

John K. WilliamsonMy Dad, John K. Williamson in Sweden Maine sometime in the late sixties with a Leica M3 and collapsable 50mm Suumicron.

My dad John K. Williamson on a photo expedition with his friend John Fields (who made this photo of him) in Sweden Maine in the mid 1960's with what looks like a Leica M3 and collapsable Leica 50 or 90.

In my next installment – In part two I talk about my college years with the Leica and the start of my career.

I was able to make it kind of useful with my antiquated version of Photoshop and Camera Raw at work to the image below.

Then I decided that B&W was better 

While I was thinking of how to test out the 21 SA on the M9 I was trying to shoot girls high school lacrosse. Here is the best image from that game.

Swampscott's Melissa Gavin tries to gain control of the ball as Beverly's Grace Otterbein moves in during their game at Beverly High School Friday, April 25, 2014. Wicked Local Staff Photo / Kirk R. Williamson

I must tell you that my Canon 300 f2.8 is ancient! But by god it is damn sharp and with plenty of contrast. Ya, it may not be as fast and small as the newer versions but I love it. I only pull it out for sports or for the occasional fine art shot ("Autumn Skiff" in my homepage slideshow) was made with this lens and the very new Canon 5D Mk lll. They worked beautiful together even though they are years apart in age, almost 20 years. I use the 300 f2.8 on my now pretty old Canon 7D and the focus might be a bit slow but with my experience of shooting sports for over 30 years I know where the action will be and I wait for it. The camera does just fine for me. I refuse to spend $6000 on a Canon 1D X. Now if it made coffee ....

Early in my career everything was in B&W. The film was Kodak Tri-X and by god if it did not pop then it was kind of useless. So I learned early on that if the image did not pop it was going nowhere. So my favorite way to shoot (and still is) is against the light - I love it. So whenever I can I shoot against the light to give me that great contrast and an image that pops. News photography is all about impact. We look for images that make you look and pick up the paper. I don't know why but when I switched back to using the M9 I found myself converting my color images to B&W. Even my first shots with Leica M glass and the Nex-7 I converted, and man do I love the way they look. I find myself converting 75% of the time and bringing them into Silver Efex Pro to tweak them a bit.

This afternoon I went out for lunch and as usual had the M9 hanging off my shoulder. The sun was bright and the shadows straight down (boring) but the image below presented itself as I was walking into the building. The flowering bushes drew me in but in color it did not resonate with me that well so I converted it and it came alive. As far as photos go it's not the best but hey not everything you take is going to win awards. I love my Vers. 1 (11 801) 28mm Elmarit. It is a really beautiful lens for something that is really old. This lens was made in the sixties and is the 1,637th 28mm Elmarit made in Wetzlar. I love the red feet numbers. This lens is a rare bird and sings every time it makes a frame, it's awesome. What's really cool is I have the original box it came in with the S/N hand printed on the bottom of the box.

Thanks Dad!

Leica M9 w/Leica 28mm Elmarit

Exposure ISO 160 1/750s @ 5,6

The image below was made yesterday as the spring showers came through the area. I was stuck inside doing work on several papers and wanted like crazy to be outside shooting so I went over to the window to make something. This is what I came up with. Double click on this to see it larger.

Think about what Hondros and the unit he was embedded with were thinking as the car speeds towards them. I know for me I would have been firing at the car just like our soldiers did. After all these guys were in self preservation mode and a speeding car can only mean one thing "bomb". Hondros was there to record the aftermath, the horror these young children were going through. We will miss him and his images just like those of Tim Hetherington!

Leica M9 w/Leica 28mm Elmarit

Exposure ISO 160 1/250s f 5.6

In this shot our music director is leading the congregation in song at the beginning of the service. Trying to get something different from an event you have shot so many times over the years is a tough one. As a news photographer this has been something of a practiced craft. As a news assignment you try to get the normal stuff you always do then you look for the unusual things that will get you that one shot people will remember. The Leica M9 really gives you that opportunity. The camera is very quite and not imposing at all. I have the red dot and the M9 logo blacked out and people don't seem to react much to me taking photos. If I was carrying around two big Canon pro cameras with big "L" glass I would be noticed by everyone. When I am on the job that's what I carry.

For this shot I just placed myself off to the side so I could see everything going on. As luck would have it the music director turned as she was singing and I was able to make this shot. Nothing else really moved me photographically besides just a few odd things here and there. I will post a few more photos in a gallery some time today so you can see the other images. I did bring my Leica 90 mm Tele-Elmar along and made some images before the service. I really miss having another camera along with that lens on it to give me some balance (long and short). As a news photographer I have always shot with two boxes. You miss shots when you have to change lenses.

Update: Click HERE to go to the gallery of more images.

Canon Powershot G15

Exposure ISO 1600 1/125s @ f2,2

I really like the way some of the droplets show the scene upside down. Overall I would like to keep experimenting with this somehow and see if I can get more interesting effect.

Canon G15

Exposure ISO 400 1/25s @ 2.2 @ 54.5 mm

I looked all over for a way to fit one of these model mural's with some people and came across these two people having a drink under one of them. It took a couple of shots to get something I liked but was amazed at the quality this little camera gives me. I converted it to B&W as the giant mural was a B&W and the lighting was an interesting slight yellow. I also liked the motion the guy is making to the waiter. I recently ran across this blog post that highlighted a 58 yr old photographer in Brazil who uses the Canon G15 exclusively. He posted some really nice images. HERE is the link to the blog.

Leica M9 w/ Leica 28 Elmarit

Exposure ISO 1000 1/25s @ f2,8

To me this really tells a story. The design of the palm fonds really makes it for me. I wanted to do these in B&W which I am doing a lot of recently. In color it's just ok as the palms are a nice green yellow color. I added a slight vignette to this image to focus on the palms. The darkness on the left was already in the image so I did not have to do much.

palm6

Exposure ISO 1000 1/15s @ f2,8

This is another favorite of mine. I focused on the girl in the center as she was getting ready to walk down the isle as part of the service. The movement around her was great as it showed that in the midst of all the commotion this little girl was concentrating on what page the hymnal was supposed to be on. I enjoy doing these events on my own where I don't have to just record what is going on but can look for more interesting images. Click HERE to see the rest of the images.

Model builder Eric Ronnberg adjusts the rigging on the model yacht "America"

Leica M9 w/28mm Elmarit

The second image is one I have made before but I wanted to try it again with the M9 and the 28 Elmarit. I got down to a lower angle and made this perspective shot that is kind of interesting. Both shots were processed in Silver Efex Pro after some minor tweaking in Lightroom.

Leica M9 w/28mm Elmarit

Leica M9 w/ 90 mm Tele-Elmarit

Exposure ISO 1000 1/45s @ 2,8

This past Saturday I was able to visit with my 85 yr. old aunt for lunch. My Leica M9 came along for the ride as it was the camera that would be easiest to handle in this situation. After lunch we were sitting around looking at photos on her iPad and felt it was the perfect time to break out the camera to make some photos. I hobbled over to a good spot where there was some light coming through two large sliding glass doors and asked my aunt to turn towards me. The light was still low and very cool but beautiful. I tried to get as low as I could but still at a slightly higher angle than her as it would be more pleasing than straight on. I had on my dad's (her brother) Leica 90 mm Tele-Elmarit. This lens is so smooth to focus and made this situation easier. Just imagine me with one leg kind of working stretched out behind me leaning on a crutch to get the right angle. It was a neat trick.

Leica M9 w/90 mm Tele-Elmarit

Exposure ISO 1000 1/24s @ 2,8

With the shot above I wanted to show more of the room and give me the feeling I had when I made it. The light coming in from the windows was lower and the exposure tougher. The Leica M9 and 90 mm combo worked out perfectly at 1/24s, tack sharp. I warmed it up a bit in Lightroom but left it kind of alone. The background is a wonderful bokeh, nice and soft. The light from the iPad is giving her face a nice glow and really adds to the photo. A portrait I will remember for a long time. 

Leica M5 w/ 50 mm Summilux

One of the highlights of my early career was to follow a group of North Shore National Guard troops as they did their one weekend a month commitment at Fort Devens in Ayer MA. It was a great experience and I will never forget it.  At the time I had an old college friend that was stationed at Devens and it was great to see him. He had been stationed in Korea and had recently been moved to Devens so it was a great treat to be able to stay with him for the weekend.

For this assignment I brought along three Leica cameras. The Leicaflex SL, Leica M3, and Leica M5. The lenses that I brought along were the Leica 50 mm Summilux, 35 mm Summicron, the 90 mm Tele Elmarit and the Leica 280 mm for the Leicaflex. This lens was originally made for the Visoflex housing. 

So off I went with about ten rolls of film which I found out later was not quite enough for the whole weekend. The images are really a collection of images from the weekend and not a complete story. At that time I really had no dea what I was doing as far as story telling goes so I just have a few good images. I am missing a few because I don't know where the negatives might be. All of the images were scanned from prints I had  in the archive. They were then pulled into Lightroom and post processed in Silver Efex Pro using different presets. Check out the slideshow below of all the images in the set.

Canon F1 w/ Canon 300 f4

 I'm a little disappointed in myself for not shooting from a lower angle but the image turned out great despite this issue. I think what has always intrigued me about this image is the look in the horses eye as he is twisted around by the rider trying to hit the ball. The other thing is the definition of the muscles in the horses neck and the riders arm as he swings the mallet. For many years I included this in my sports portfolio. Peak action in sports is key and this has it in spades. The rider is off the saddle and looks like he is falling off, the horse is looking into the frame wondering if he is going over too. And even though the player has not hit the ball yet the action is right there.

If you ever get a chance to shoot polo, do it. The results will amaze you. Oh and don't forget to shoot the crowd too they are a pretty interesting bunch.

Canon F-1 w/ Canon 300 f4

As a photojournalist I am always on the look out for images that portray everyday life. Most of the time we do this by just driving around looking for interesting things to shoot or by going someplace and waiting for things to develop. On this day I was over in the Hamilton / Wenham area of the Northshore of Boston looking for something interesting. I had stopped at convenience store for a can of Pepsi and noticed this rather large dog sitting in the back seat of this car with his head sticking out the window. So I grabbed the camera and made a few shots but as I was putting the camera away the owner jumped into the car and sped off. All I could do was follow to try and get the dogs name as well as the owner. Luckily the owner pulled into her driveway just a few hundred yards down the road. As I pulled in the dog was very interested in who I was but seemed pretty tame. The owner was no where to be found. Well the background looked very good compared to the previous shot I had taken so I made some more of the dog looking at traffic. This is one of those shots. As I was taking this image the owner finally came out and wanted to know what I was doing. When I explained I was from the paper she was very excited to see her Great Dane "Nemo" make it in the papers. This shot ran above the fold on A1 3 cols across. We got so many calls and notes from folks saying how much they enjoyed it. For me it was just another day as a photojournalist.

This image was taken on Kodak Tri-X film at ASA 400 and developed in a curious mix of D-76 and D-76 replenisher known to us as skunk piss. It processed the film very quickly but enhanced the grain as you can see. 

Leica M5 w/ 50mm Summilux 1,4

Since I am laid up from my hip replacement I thought I would dig back into my archives to look for images or stories I worked on many years ago. This image comes from the barber story I was working on for North Shore Sunday back in 1978. The "barber" Mr. Cooney participated in the Memorial Day ceremonies in Rockport. This is one of those grab shots that you get when you turn around and there it is. These school children were waiting to place flowers at a grave site. Over the years I have enjoyed looking at this image from early in my career. I love the white Mickey Mouse belt on the kid at right. The looks on these kids faces is priceless. I remember what it was like to stand and wait not really knowing why you were there or what you were doing.

Over time the negative of this image has some fungus on it and when I tried to print it at 11x14 the fungus was obvious. This image is a scan from a 8x10 inch print (image size 6x9). It was scanned as a color image then turned B&W in Lightroom and then moved into Silver Efex Pro for some more processing. This is great so if I have a decent print I can scan it and make a better version then print it larger than I could before. 

Sony Nex-7 w/ Leica 90 Tele-Elmarit

I made this shot at the same time as the last one. This red ring made for an interesting image against the dirt and snow. I processed it in the iPad app Photogene and picked one of the presets that gave me a cool blue cast. The Leica 90 at 2,8 really gives a nice soft background. 

Sony Nex-7 w/ Leica Tele-Elmarit

Exposure ISO 100 1/1250s @ 2,8

The snow banks are melting at an alarming rate and at the same time creating some really interesting formations. I thought this was kind of cool so I made a shot of it. This lens is really nice and sharp for an older Leica lens. This is wide open at 2.8. All of the post processing was done in my iPad app Photogene. I used the B&W presets to make this image then used some vignetting to darken the corners.

Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 35mm Summicron 3,5 SM

Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 35mm Summicron 3,5 SM

This morning I dug out my old Leica 35mm Summicron f3,5. My dad gave this lens to me when I was in high school. It's an old screw mount lens built in Germany back in the 50's. I have a bayonet mount adapter on it so I can use it with my M cameras. At the moment it needs a good cleaning. On the inside one of the elements is getting a little foggy but I can still use it. It does give a soft affect to the images. So this morning I put it on the Sony to try it out and I was surprised at what I got. In bright sunlight it gives remarkably sharp images considering its condition. I also tried to do something a little different as I did all the post processing in Photogenie on the iPad. This app excepts raw files from the Sony so it was a revelation to see that I could process them like I do in Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro. Some of the presets were pretty cool like the infrared one in the bottom photo.

Sony Nex-7 w/Sony 20mm f2,8 lens

Exposure ISO 100 1/320s @ f5.0

If you always have a camera with you then you won't miss opportunities for an interesting image as they come up . I was out to the post office and when I got back this car in front of me had tons of road salt on the hood and the interesting reflection of the trees just asked me to make a photo. B&W was the only way to go so I converted it in Photoshop adding some contrast and darkening it up some.

Leica M9 w/ Leica 28mm Elmarit

Exposure ISO 400 1/500s @ f13  

As you can see I made this shot as we passed Landsdowne St. and the legend sports bar the Cask'n Flagon near Fenway Park. I really wanted to give the sense of passing by this famous area in a car so I left the window up and left the rear view mirror in the frame. No need to focus with the lens set to infinity at f13 (in between f11 and f16). Without the person in the frame it would not have given the same effect as it does. After correcting color in Lightroom I pulled it into Silver Efex Pro and used the Full Contrast and Structure preset to bring out the reflections in the window and the clouds.  

Leica M9 w/ Leica 28mm Elmarit

Exposure ISO 400 1/500s @ f9.5

This shot was done the same way as the shot above. I used the same preset in Silver Efex Pro to bring up the clouds and reflections in the window. I love the reflections in the window of the bar showing the buildings. The billboard just adds to the sense of driving around Boston as they are all over the place.

Leica M9 w/ Leica 28mm Elmarit

Exposure ISO 400 1/250s @ f9.5

This shot was made with the window open as I wanted to show city living without noticing the window or any part of the car. Apartment style in Boston. I used the tools inside Lightroom to correct converging lines and it worked pretty good but not really what I wanted. I did also pull it into Silver Efex Pro and used the Full Contrast and Structure preset for the desired effect.

Leica M9 w/ 28 Elmarit

Exposure ISO 400 1/500s @ f8 no focusing

While I was receiving a ride home from the hospital with a friend (after giving the vampires some blood) I decided that the M9 needed a workout. So just before we got onto Storrow Dr. I hung out the window a bit and grabbed this shot. The camera was locked on infinity (my lens lets me do that, no drift). Like they say f8 and be there. So I guess this would be auto focus right. Not the most interesting thing I've shot but the building is just plain cool looking, for an apartment building. A quick grab shot out the window of a cool building. I opened the DNG image in Photoshop and then adjusted the color and converted to B&W then added contrast and lightened it a bit. I will do it again at home in Lightroom and add a vignette. 

This image is crazy sharp! The lens is really old. It was made in 1964 in Germany, is black, and has red feet numbers. The s/n starts with 206xxxx so it's 50 years old and fairly rare. I love it. I use a viewfinder with it since for some reason the brightlines for 28 don't come up. I seem to be having an issue with that as my 90 Tele Elmarit does not pull up the 90 lines either. So it may be a trip back to Leica for the M9 to see what is going on. 

Zone focusing with these wides used to be standard practice. For instance this shot at f8 gave me from 12 ft. to infinity in focus. That really is like having an auto focus camera. Just as an example I could have made this shot at f2,8 and 25ft to infinity would have been sharp. I need to do more experimentation with this camera. Street shooting in Boston this spring would be a cool thing to do.

Sony Nex-7 w/Sony 20mm f2,8 lens

Exposure - ISO 100 Aperture Priority f2,8 shutter speed not recorded

So ok, I'm a little late to the game with this but I thought I would add my two cents. This is my second Sony 20mm lens. The first one showed up last week and was defective - so much for Japanese quality control! Or is it Chinese, who knows. I purchased this lens as a knock around all purpose leave it on the camera lens to go with my Leica glass. I don't have a wide angle Leica lens to complement the camera. I went down to the harbor to make a few first shots with the lens and was for the most part pleasantly surprised. This image has only been toned a little, no sharpening, and the curves adjusted a little for contrast after conversion to srgb for the web. At 2,8 it vignettes as you can see in the above photo. It also underexposes by about a half a stop which is not surprising. The image quality of the jpgs out of the camera are not to bad and for B&W should be outstanding. I'm not sure if I have a setting wrong but with the camera in aperture priority the camera does not record EXIF shutter speed data. Strange. The lens does not focus real fast but does not have to hunt either. I may post a few more later but I wanted to get one image up right away. 

I will be writing a hands on review of this lens tonight so stay tuned. 

Leica M9 w/Leica 28mm Elmarit

So I roamed around looking for interesting photos and this particular arrangement caught my attention and was easily the best combination of elements at the site. I took a few other things but this one really got my juices going. I envisioned this as a high contrast black and white and after adjusting the colors the way I wanted them in Lightroom I pulled it into Silver Efex Pro. One of the presets was perfect and gave me the image you see above. I am really thrilled with it. You never know, it could end up at the RAA this summer.

Leica M9 w/ Leica 28mm Elmarit

While I was at the station the train was beginning to leave and a couple of families quickly ran out of Dunkin Donuts to catch the train back to Boston. I was ready to catch folks running by. This little girl decided that I was much more interesting than catching the train as she was looking at me the whole time. Today with the flat light I really felt like I was using Tri-X so I converted this image in Silver Efex Pro using the Tri-X preset. It is really close to what I was thinking at the time. Who would have thought street photography in Rockport in the winter.

Leica M9 w/28mm Elmarit f2,8

After leaving work one day last week I turned around to see this car with the snow falling off and the wiper blades up in the air. It was almost dark out and I decided to make a shot anyway. It's a little soft from movement but hey it was at 1/6 of a sec.

Leica M9 w/28mm Elmarit f2,8

The other morning I was outside my car looking at all the ice and snow I had to navigate and saw this interesting pattern. So I grabbed the Leica not knowing if it would be of much interest. It took me a while before I downloaded it and decided to do it on my iPad. I have not done this in a while but it was really easy. I next pulled the image into my favorite photo processing app Photogenie. Tons of tools with this app. I killed the color and added some contrast and clarity then added a little vignette and this is what I got.  I did the same with the car photo in color.

Sony Nex-7 w/ Leica 90 Tele Elmarit

The Leica 90 mm Tele Elmarit is one of those lenses that is always overlooked. In the used lens market it is only worth between $600 and $800 but is really worth a look for you folks that are out there looking for an inexpensive entry into the world of Leica glass. The combination of Leica legacy glass and the Sony Nex-7 is a super combination. I bought my Nex-7 for about $500 used and with the M adapter it totaled about $630. I was not thrilled with the tightness of the Metabones adapter so I am on the lookout for the overpriced Novoflex one. I am borrowing one at the moment and it is superior in every way.

So back to the 90 mm Tele Elmarit. As you can see it is tack sharp! On the Nex-7 it is a 135 f2,8 and this shot was made at an incredible 2 feet away wide open. With the M9 things would be different. At wide open the focus peaking works flawlessly and the highlight in Kodak's eyes was a nice bright red (peaking) so how can you miss - the focusing was fast. This is not always the case but it happens quite often. I think the best thing about my experience with the Sony and Leica legacy glass has been that the whole combination is so small and easy to handle. The upside benefit is that you have all the great features of the new digital cameras with Leica glass - what a combo.

Leica M9 w/28mm Elmarit f2.8 Exposure ISO 800 1/90s @2.8 "Kodak"

Shooting with my Leica M9 really has been a trip back in time. I am enjoying the experience. One of the several things that folks have complained about in the now five year old Leica M9 is the center weighted metering system. This really is old school but a very effective and accurate metering system. It does make you think however. Get it! This process of thinking through a photograph instead of just depending on the camera to do it all has been very enlightening. So I took myself back to the late seventies and early eighties when this form of metering was all there was. My Canon's only had center weighted, 9% spot and 12% spot. So to fine tune my exposure I did what all photojournalists did back then. Take the meter reading off my hand. In most cases you can simulate what you want by adjusting your hand to the light. So what I do now is stick my hand out there and press the shutter button down half way to lock exposure (aperture priority) or in manual just point the camera at your hand and adjust the exposure manually. I like auto because quite honestly I hate not being able to see any kind of exposure info in the viewfinder. Red dots and triangles just don't cut it Leica, sorry. In auto at least you get to see what the shutter speed is and adjust from there. In Alfred Eisenstaedt's book "The Eye of Eisenstaedt" he says the following about seeing or feeling light; "When I'm on location, I feel the light. Very often I'll put my hand out and turn it, testing different positions to see if the light is favorable or not." Back when I started my career this was standard procedure in low light or high light situations to test the shadows.

Even now with my Canon's, I shoot in manual when shooting inside sporting events and I still use the hand method, it works flawlessly. The shot of "Kodak" above was done with the meter not on my hand. Since the dog takes up the whole center of the photo I knew the meter reading would be spot on. This photo is the B&W jpg out of the camera with very little tweaking involved. It is beautiful - worthy of a print on fine art paper. The tones are fabulous. The Leica 28mm Elmarit Version 1 circa 1964 used for this photo is a beautiful and very rare lens since it was built in Wetzlar at the beginning of production. (Red feet numbers, ya baby). 

As a photojournalist back in the 70's - 80's we were still using ASA 400 or 800 film. There was no such thing as ISO or auto ISO. So we pretty much knew that an outside exposure in bright sunlight was 1/1000s at f11. And it was kind of fun to try and guess the exposure and then check it with the camera. We would often show up at a night sporting event inside and never having seen the place before guess the exposure within a stop. I'm again having fun doing that and at the same time honing my skills, again!

Leica 50mm Summilux f1.4

Harold poses for a portrait.

Leica 50 Summilux f1.4

Cooney does one of his classic razor cuts as part of a normal haircut.

Leica 50mm Summilux f1.4

It would not be a classic Cooney haircut without an mirror inspection!

Leica 65mm Elmar macro The worn handle of the inspection mirror.

Leica 65mm Elmar macro

The stock and trade of any barber his equipment.

Leica 65 mm Elmar macro

Cooney's collection of barber's scissors.

35 mm Summicron f2. Cooney, at his best with a good laugh.

Leica 35mm Summicron f2

Cooney relaxes at the end of the day.

Leica 21mm Super Angulon f3.4

Cooney goes over the town's politics with Gordon Hull.

Leica 21mm Super Angulon f3.4

Cooney relaxes in his barber shop after a hard day on his feet.

Click here to see a PDF I created back in 2003 with a little bit of a story.

Leica M9 w/ 90 mm Tele Elmarit

This shot was made with the Leica M9 out the window with the 90mm Tele-Elmarit. The flakes were huge and the wind was blowing it all around - really cool stuff. I have the preview on the Leica M9 set to B&W and it really gives you a good idea what you have for exposure and at the same time a great idea of what you have in black and white. The jpegs this camera puts out when this is set to B&W are really good. The image above however was converted in Photoshop. After doing that I compared the jpg to this conversion and they were real close and that was straight out of the camera. I can't wait to do more shooting with this camera but the weather has been a major problem.

I hope to do more zone focus work with the 28 mm Elmarit soon I will post when I have some.

Leica M9 w/28mm Elmarit 2.8

This camera is now five years old but to me its brand new. So the technology is really old. I have been a big Canon fan for my whole career and still own a full high end Canon set up. But my career started with the Leica M3 and M5. So the M9 is like coming home and it feels good. I do have to say it has taken some getting used to as I am used to my Canon's being so technically perfect. I am able to do so much with them that I don't have to think much when making images. I call it effortless photography and the results are spectacular. The lenses are so sharp that the images are really stunning. 

But Leica was doing that in the sixties! The images I was making back in 1979 were really super. Tack sharp with just the right amount of contrast and the bokeh was just wow at wide open. I hope to pull some files of B&W negs I scanned from back then and post them here. You have all read about how quirky the M9 can be and of course the pundits are correct it does have some issues. I tend to look beyond all that and concentrate on making great images like I used to with my old cameras. I set my ISO and go about it like I was shooting film. Set my shutter speed for the conditions and let the aperture fall where it may often times wide open!  As a photojournalist that's how I shoot. With the M9 I shoot slower as the buffer fills quickly, that's a good thing, I have to think. I have the screen review turned off and set to B&W so when I do want to call it up to check exposure it's like shooting in the old days in black and white. The color screen on the M9 is pretty bad so what's the use of looking at a bad representations of what I shot. That being said if I'm shooting color I need to check the white balance if things are critical. Most times I can tell from the black and white preview if the exposure is right and since I like to convert to black and white most of the time it works out great.

I have not had a chance to shoot much with the M9 yet as the weather has been pretty lousy around here, to much snow! This week I'll be using the camera on assignment following a politician for the day, it should be fun. I'll post some shots Weds. Or Thurs. I have tons of shots of my dog, Kodak, I'll have to add one to this post tomorrow. 

Leica M9 w/Leica 28mm f2.8

Exposure ISO 1600 1/30 sec. @ f4

Well the Leica M9 showed up today and introduced me to a whole new way of thinking. Maybe not new, but I have not done it this way for a very long time. The camera itself posed some interesting problems that I knew about before I purchased the camera. The technology is really old, 2009. The rear LCD is awful so instead of checking color I turned it B&W so I could just check focus and lighting. The lens I was using was the 28 mm Elmarit 2.8 which is pretty old itself. So old in fact that there is no way for the lens to push the brightlines out to 28 mm because when this lens was made there was no 28 mm brightline on the M3 or M5 so you used an external viewfinder. So I had to use the preview lever for the brightlines to see what I was getting.  There will be more to come on this now ancient camera but one that a lot of folks will be picking up because they have Leica glass and don't want to spend the $7000 for the new M. These images are from a play rehearsal in Rockoprt. More images below. 

Leica M9 w/ 28mm Elmarit 2.8

Exposure ISO 1600 1/30 sec. at 3.4

Leica M9 w/Leica 28mm Elmarit f2.8

Exposure ISO 1600 1/25 sec. @ f4

Sony Nex-7 w/ Leica Summicron 35mm f2

Exposure ISO 1600 1/20 @ 5.6

Yesterday I had the opportunity to take a tour of the Cape Ann Museum as it is being renovated. This shot was made in a third floor gallery which has these giant windows overlooking Gloucester City Hall and it's environs. Most of the time I was shooting away with the Canon gear but every once and while I was able to make a shot that lent itself to the Sony/Leica combo. This shot, with the snow falling outside gave me an interesting photo which I new was a B&W right from the start. When I used auto correct in Lightroom with the image in color it opened up the shadows nicely. I then put it into Silver Efex Pro and added one of their presets which gave me the look I wanted. I then brought it back into Lightroom and vignetted the edges slightly.

Sony Nex-7 w/ Leica 35mm f2

Exposure ISO 1600 1/20 @ 5.6

I call this image "Our Lady and Freznel". This was also made at the Cape Ann Museum where everything had been moved into this space where the giant freznel lens from Thacher's Island is stored along with the old statue from the Our Lady of Good Voyage Church in Gloucester. The juxtapostion of the lens with the statue and all the covered stored items just caught my eye. This image was also brought into Silver Efex Pro and converted.

Abstract with Sony Nex-7 w/ Leica 50 mm f1.4

Exposure ISO 1600 1/250 @ 1.4

This past weekend I went over to the Essex Shipbuilding Museum and made some more shots of volunteers working on the Lewis Story with the Sony Nex-7 and the Leica 35 and 50. This time I looked around for some interesting images around the shop, here is one of them that just jumped out at me. The screen is tack sharp and at ISO 1600 gives a great look in B&W. I also brought the Canon 5D Mk3 with the Canon 16-35 2.8L with me for this shoot. I am missing any type of wide angle shots with my Nex-7 rig and I really needed the super wide for close quarters shooting. I got some cool stuff. See the images below.

Canon 5D Mk3 with Canon 16-35 2.8L

Exposure ISO 2000 1/200 @ f8

Canon 5D Mk3 w/ 16-35 2.8L

Exposure ISO 100 1/250 @ 5.0

Canon 5D Mk3 w/ Canon 16-35 2.8L

Exposure ISO 2000 1/100 @ f4

I am thrilled with the B&W conversions of the three wide angle images. I used Nik Silver Efex Pro for the conversions. I still have some work to do on the vertical image, the guys face is a little light for me. This really gave me the wide angle images I needed. Using my Canon 5D Mk3 was so easy because I use this camera every day for my job. It is starting to turn into a mindless exercise as the camera does a superior job of exposure and focus so all I have to do is frame the shot and rip off a few frames. I love it. But it is one heavy beast with the 16-35 and battery grip on it. Shooting with the Nex-7 has been more of a challenge and frankly takes more work using my Leica lenses. If I were using Sony lenses it would be just as easy as the Canon. Now for the big surprise. My new (to me) Leica M9 will show up on Tuesday and I will be back with my wide angle lenses again. I can't wait to use my Leica 21 mm Super Angulon 3.4. It will be perfect for this project!

Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 35mm Summicron f2Play rehearsal, low contrasty light test.

I am always looking for ways to challenge myself and the equipment I am using so when the opportunity arose to shoot some test shots with the Sony/Leica combo I gave it a whirl. I also shot this rehearsal with my Canon 5d Mk3 and the 24-70 but at a much higher ISO. The Sony/Leica combo surprised me a bit in two ways. First I was literally shooting in the dark with the shot above. The only light in the place was directed on the scene. The Sony made it pretty easy focusing as I used the focus assist to zoom in on the kid in the middle, awesome. If I'm not mistaken, since the camera only records the ISO, which was 1600, this was shot at 1/60 at f4. Everything worked really well and the exposure for the faces was good. I also used the spot meter to get the exposure right. Secondly, the image is not really great when blown up to 100%. You can see some fringing and halo things going on in the highlights around the girls faces. The image you see here is srgb, in the Adobe rgb version you can see more shadow detail in the shirt of the woman playing the piano. I opened this up a bit in Photoshop with the shadow adjustment tool but this is really close to what I experienced. All in all for such a tough situation the camera and lens combo worked out pretty good. 

I made this photo on Saturday while at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum. Dave was happily making shots with his digital camera of his friends at the meeting. So I thought it would be fun to make some shots of him. By the way this image is razor sharp. The Leica Summicron 35 f2 Vers.1  was perfect. I decided to make some changes to the setup of the Nex-7 so I could more easily check focus and exposure. 

Here's what I did - I changed the focus assist to the soft button located with the AF/MF-AEL switch. It's in a great location for your thumb to activate it. Since I bought the camera used I'm not sure the previous location (the soft button below the wheel) was the default. When I used it in that location  the focus assist stayed on until you pushed the shutter button. With the location at the AF/MF switch you have to keep your thumb on the button for it to stay on. I still have some experimentation to do so it may just be a menu adjustment. 

The other thing I did was to move the selection of light meter setup (center, spot, multi) to the right side of the wheel. It's a great location when you need it quickly. You just push on the right side of the wheel with your thumb and turn the wheel to select. It works great for those times when you want to get an accurate meter reading on one area instead of using the exp. compensation dial.

chebacco-2736

chebacco-2732 More heat gun work to remove the paint.

chebacco-2668 Volunteer Len Burgess looks over the hull of the Lewis Story where the paint has been removed.

I had a great morning hanging with the gang at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum. After a meeting of volunteers some of the crew went over to the shed to help do maintenance work on the Louis Story a working schooner built by Harold Burnham. These are just a few shots made with the Sony Nex-7 and two different Leica lenses. The 35mm Summicron f2. and the Leica 50mm Summilux f1.4. Both lenses worked really great. I am still learning the ins and outs of focusing with these lenses as the fringing gets tricky at times. You can see all the images from this shoot here. Or Click the slideshow below.

Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 35mm Summicron f2.

Black and White conversion

This image was made wide open at f2 with the Leica 35mm Summicron version 1 and it is so sharp! This lens was made around 1959 by Leitz Canada and is very rare. The color here does not do this image justice as it was shot in the Adobe rgb color space and converted to srgb. I tried to bring it back as best I could.

This image was pure luck. I just happened to hit the shutter button as the woman on the right walked into the frame. I kind of like it.

Well the experiment is going really well. I have discovered my photographic identity again and get excited to go out and use this new new/old tool. Yesterday's political assignment was fun just wandering around looking for interesting situations that might bring a great moment. I did use two of the images in the previous post to go online and in the paper. Most of the job was done with my high end Canon gear. Which at this point just seems like it does not take much skill beyond pointing the camera in the right direction and pushing the button. Yes, you need to be aware of the ISO and shutter speed. Which for this shoot was ISO 4000 with the Canon's. The images were shot at 1/160 and 1/100 at 2.8 or 3.2. The images like the one done with the Sony above were done at ISO 1600 at between 1/100 and 1/125 at f2.

With my big cameras the lady above would have noticed my taking here photo not because of the cameras motor drive noise (the Canon 5d M3 in single silent is incredible) it was pretty noisy in the hall, but because of the huge camera. The Sony is so small and silent that it makes for a great street camera. If I had used my Leica 90mm it would have been even better because I could have picked out people in the crowd as the Sony 1.5 crop makes it a 135. I just did not have time to use two lenses.

I will be creating a gallery of all these images under the Projects tab above. I will be doing an ongoing project on Politics for the near future. I am also looking forward to shooting another personal project on volunteer shipwrights working on restoring a small schooner over at the Essex Ship Building Museum. Please keep checking back.

Serious conversations were going on everywhere. Wow this image is tack sharp at f2.0.

The candidate shows up and makes his speech. There is a little bit of a crop here and a little straightening but not much else.

The candidate meets with his supporters. I just love this image the light is awesome. Notice one of my pj friends shooting with the Canon box right behind the ladies head, he was photographing the candidate.

How dare you interrupt my time with the candidate! I just love the look on this ladies face - "hey I was talking with him!"

The Press finally get their time with the candidate. The lighting here is very cool.

This assignment was a lot of fun using the Sony Nex-7 and Leica 35mm Summicron f2.0. Of course I shot most of the event with my Canon 5D Mk3 and Canon 7D with the 24-70 and the 70-200 for the paper. These photos with the Sony were a real bonus. Plus they were fun to make. The camera is so quite people have no idea what you are up to. Great for street shooting or crowd shooting either way I had a blast.

I never really used a 50mm lens much. I always thought it was kind of boring. The Leica 35 on the Nex-7 makes it a 52.5mm. I found that I could have shot the whole event with just that camera if I had really worked at it. Back to the old days when I enjoyed what I do.

Sony Nex-7 w/ Leitz Summicron 35mm f2.0

Sony Nex-7 w/Leitz Summicron 35mm f2.0 This shot of Kodak relaxing with an eye out the window looking for birds shows the complete control you can get over depth of field using the lens wide open. This image was shot with the Leica Summicron 35mm at f2.0 Vers. 1 with a shutter speed of 1/250 sec and the ISO at 640. The sensor on the Nex-7 is top notch as it gave me tons of information in the shadow areas so I could pull up his left eye. Really amazing for such a small sensor. To check out all my Nex-7 images with Leica glass here.

Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 35mm f2 ISO 12800 at f2

Last night as I drove home in near blizzard conditions a hauled out the Nex-7 to see if I could get some cool shots. As you can see the shutter speed was pretty slow but it was pretty dark. For small images on a computer screen the resolution is not to bad. I was surprised by the results. The focus was set to infinity hoping to get as much in focus as possible. To bad the shutter speed was to slow.

Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 35 f2.0 at ISO 12,800

As I got closer to home there was more snow on the road and as I was going slow so I tried to focus on the car in back of me through my rear view mirror. I was very rushed as you can image and I was trying to do it with the camera in Live View. What a pain trying to see what was fringed and what was not in about 15 sec. Kind of interesting but does not quite hit the mark. In hindsight I probably would have been able to make a better shot with my Canon G15 as the ISO goes up to 12800. Then with the auto focus and easier control of the shutter speed it just would have been faster and more accurate. Fun but a little dangerous.

A drizzly day turned into this winter wonderland of snow as the temperature started coming down unexpectedly this last Sat. I really wanted to show how big the flakes were and the three dimensionality of the scene. It was all B&W anyway so I converted it. This shot was made at ISO 1600 at 1/160 of a sec. at f8. The light was starting to come down which made for the high ISO. The Nex-7 and the Leica 50 f1.4 performed wonderfully. Since I have the fringing turned up to high it was tough to figure out what was sharp and what was not. At this distance and at f8 I was looking to get as much in focus as I could. Locking the lens at infinity was not going to do the trick as I wanted the foreground and the large trees to be as sharp as possible. I think it worked out. I made a print on Epson Cold Press Natural which is really nice.

Sony Nex-7 and Leica glass rolling review #2The Sony Nex-7 with a collection of Leica glass.

Sony Nex-7 with Leica 35 f2.0 Vers.1 , 50 f1.4 Vers. 1 and 90 f2.8 Tele-Elmarit

This morning I went out to shoot some more test shots on a really flat light day - fog. I headed over to Pigeon Cove in Rockport and was able to make some nice images that had no focusing issues.

This was my setup:

Lenses to test - 35, 50, 135

I set the camera up on Shutter Priority, Auto ISO

This gave me the opportunity to use the full extent of the two dials at the right on the back of the camera. The left control dial of the two controls shutter speed, the right one controls exp. compensation and the camera controls ISO very cool. You just have to be aware of what is going on with the ISO. You may inadvertently be shooting at a high ISO without meaning to. Auto ISO only goes up to 1600. On manual it goes up to a much higher value.

Nex-7 with Leica 50 f1.4

Today I really wanted to test out my Leica 135 f4.0. I have never used this lens much and wanted to give it a whirl. Wow - it really is a nice piece of glass. I pumped up the red fringing to high and started doing some shooting with the lens of some lobster boats going out for the day. I was very careful with the focus making sure the red fringing was the heaviest on the area I wanted in focus. Below is one of these shots.

Leica Tele-Elmar 135 f4.0 Sony Nex-7 with Leica Tele-Elmar 135mm f4.0, 35mm equiv. 202.5mm

Here is one thing I discovered along the way which has been helpful. Plenty of folks have complained about the video button saying that it accidentally can be activated. This is true but it will only start video recording if the button is turned on in the menu. When it is turned off it displays a warning saying shooting video is not allowed. Then you just press the shutter button and it goes away.

The setup I used, mentioned above really helped. I was able to concentrate on shooting and not worrying what the ISO was. For street shooting this would be a great tool. I hope to do some of that for this review in the future. Right now I'm just getting used to the camera and focusing. I must say it is real fast after you get it down.

Here is another shot of a lobsterman's coils of rope in storage.

Sony Nex-7 and Leica Summilux 50mm f1.4 Sony Nex-7 with Leica Summilux 50mm f1.4, 35mm equiv. 75mm

Sony Nex-7 Metabones Leica M - E mount adapter and Leica Summicron 35mm F2Leitz Summicron 35 mm F2.0 mounted on the Sony Nex-7 with the Metabones Leica M - E mount adapter. The adapter has proved to be very tight with this lens.

Leica Summilux 50mm f 1.4 Vers.1 = 75mm f1.4 with the 1.5 sensor crop

Leica Tele-Elmarit 90mm F2.8 = 135mm f2.8 with the 1.5 sensor crop

Leica Tele-Elmarit 90mm F2.8 = 135 f2.8 with the 1.5 sensor crop

Leica Summicron 35mm f2.0 Vers. 1 = 52.5mm f2.0 with the 1.5 sensor crop

Leica Summicron 35mm f2.0 Vers. 1 = 52.5mm f2.0 with the 1.5 sensor crop

Rolling Review -

This is the first post in what I hope will be a long series of blog posts about my experiences with the Sony Nex-7 and legacy Leica M lenses which were part of my fathers collection in the early 70's. I am using the Metabones Leica M mount to Sony E mount adapter. UPDATE: I have since purchased a used Novoflex which is 100% better in both construction and use. I will not be trying to rehash what folks have been writing about for the last two years but to give you my honest opinion of my experiences with the equipment. The images above are some basic shots of Rockport Harbor and the surrounding area and are just test shots and not meant to be "art". They are all jpegs that have gone through Photoshop, toned or converted to B&W, resized, and sharpened a bit. You will not see any pixel peeping shots of 100% blow ups - it's not my style. I'll let the pixel peepers do that.

First off, I have to tell you that the Nex-7 is a joy to work with. As much as I love my rangefinders I don't shoot film any more and this camera gives me the look and feel of those wonderful Leica bodies. It's small, hangs around my neck like my M3 and feels good in my hands. Right off the bat I was shooting tons of frames using the camera in full manual and using the OLED to focus with using the wonderful fringing feature. A couple of times I employed the magnification feature to focus on a specific area which was a bit tricky. If you are using a medium telephoto like the 90 it gets a bit jumpy.

The first problem that I ran into was with the Metabones adapter. My 35mm went on the adapter very tightly. It seems to be getting better but is still really tight. I try not to force things so it was hard getting it onto the adapter. The 50 mm was much easier and the 90 mm was somewhat in between. Initially this really bothered me as I really don't want to do any damage to my lenses. I am on the alert for the much more expensive Novoflex M mount to E adapter. Update: I now own a Novoflex which is much better. I can not recommend the Metabones as it is too much of a tight fit.

Now for the big disappointment! I was dying to use my Leica 21mm f3.4 Super Angulon, my favorite lens of all time. The combination of the Metabones adapter and this lens did not work on the Nex-7. The lens recedes to far into the camera body and it touches the plastic housing around the sensor. What a problem - I'm still looking for a solution. If it prevails I might have to opt for the Sony 16 f2.8 which is a 24mm in 35mm terms. UPDATE: I have since purchased the 20mm 2.8 which is a pretty nice little pancake lens. I have not used it much and am in the process of doing more real world testing with it. Here are two blog posts about the Sony 20mm f2,8 pancake lens here and here.

One of the things I enjoyed was to have two other lenses in my coat pockets. With my really large Canon L glass this is not possible. I felt transported back to my formative days shooting with the Leica M3 and M5. Since I have no zoom, moving myself to re-frame the shot, focusing the lens and adjusting the exposure was pure heaven. It brought me back to my roots and what I really love about photography. With the new cameras any idiot can point the thing on auto and come up with something decent. In the old days it was all you not the camera.

Update: All of the images I shot today were also shot in Sony raw. I have run them all through Lightroom 4 and have noticed that some are not quite as sharp as I would like. I know it must have something to do with how I am focusing the camera. There seems to be no reason for some of them to be out as there was no movement on my part and the shutter speed was high. So tomorrow I am going to be really careful when focusing. I like the fringing of what is sharp but when you use a rangefinder you know when it's in focus when the two images combine. When using this camera on manual you can adjust everything so you can focus at f16 and still see what's going on but the fringing hits most everything. So it's a bit difficult to figure out. I will try to be more organized with my thoughts as well not just ramble on about my experiences. I am going to shoot with the 135 f4.0 tomorrow as well. I can't wait to see what happens.

John Dominis was a staff photographer at Life Magazine for 25 years and was one of their most versatile image makers. Click here or on the image above to go to theTime/Life web page to see some of his most iconic images.

As a young photographer growing up the images Dominis made for Life helped me forge my photographic sense of place. His images of scenics, celebrities, wildlife, sports, and war were some of the best images of the 60's, 70's and 80's. Now, as a 30 year veteran photojournalist I can see a little of his vision in my images from time to time. Thanks John for inspiring me to a great career. 

Check out John Dominis's incredible photo essay War on Poverty: Portraits From Appalachian Battleground 1964. Click here to view

I have been thinking of shooting this scene for a long time. So after thinking about it for a couple of years I finally did it. I made this shot on a tripod with the 5D Mk3 and the 70-200. I love the sweep of the fence and the shoots of bamboo with the leaves of growth at the top of the frame. The colors are muted except for the white fence which will make a great B&W. I'm not much of a high color guy since I worked in the newspaper industry for so long making B&W prints. I have several different views of this scene which have a different feel. The leaves at the top make this photo for me.

This past spring I did some experimenting freezing water with shutter speed. The new ISO ranges of modern cameras gives us the opportunity to shoot at really high ISO's with no loss in quality. So I decided to make some shots at ISO 2000 in bright sunlight at 1/2000 of sec at f11. This was a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the water and for the most part give me enough depth of field for a really cool looking image. My only problem was trying to figure out which one I liked best so I included four in this post. I like all of them for different reasons they remind me of glass. A really cool experiment done with the Canon 5D Mk3 and the Canon 70-200 lens. I'm not sure what other folks reaction will be so let me know what you think.

Halibut Point State Park in Rockport, MA is a magical place at any time of year. But it takes on an almost ethereal quality when it snows. Last year, after a nice sticky 3" snowfall I ventured out to see what I could find. I was not disappointed. Everything was covered including the twines above. I made different shots as the light played across them. I love the light in this particular image. This shot reminds me of white chocolate covered pretzels. Another shot, of branches reaching out toward a quarry was this years holiday card. I called it snow coral because it reminded me of sea coral. I was able to make several pleasing shots including a nice pano of the main quarry. I have a print of it which is 14" x 50" above my kitchen sliding door. I made this shot with the Canon 5D MK 3 and the 24-70 f2.8 L lens at 24mm. The exposure was 1/640 sec at ISO 400 at f 10.

Feel free to like this post on Facebook! Just press the tag in the upper right corner above the photo.

HAPPY HOLIDAY'S

The other day I had a conversation with one of my sons who lives in Oregon. He really wanted a large image for the wall of his apartment. The problem is my printer is only a 24" printer. My wife suggested that I try a triptych to get the size up to about 60". Great idea! Now how do I do it. I am able to print images on canvas that are 20" x 30" so it seemed a pretty easy task to find a photo they liked and blow it up to 30" x 60". I found this great shot of the Tool Co. taken in 2010 with my G11. It's nice and sharp but with some slight barrel distortion. The color version has no real color in it to speak of and when I made the shot I was thinking B&W all the way. 

I have the image in my Lightroom library so I pulled it up and started working on it in LR. The B&W version I was getting did not give me what I saw so I used Silver Efex Pro 2 to get the effect above. I did a slight selenium tone which I think is kind of nice. I then used Perfect Resize to enlarge the image to 30"x60". The next trick was to make three even panels of this image. So I moved the image over to Photoshop and pulled up the ruler so I could figure where 20" and 40" was. I then used the crop tool and set it to 20"x30" and cropped the panels out and saving them separately. After doing this I pulled them back into LR to use Perfect Resize again to make the reflect wraps on the edges on the panels. Done. All I need to do now is print them and wrap them onto the stretcher bars.

Since all of this will be done on canvas I needed to run a test to see what B&W will look like printed on glossy canvas. The image above is the test print I used. This was done by copying and pasting the panels into a new Photoshop document. Then, since the panels are huge, sizing them down so they fit into the document well. The print came out beautifully. The only thing I will miss is the selenium tone as I will be printing in Advanced B&W mode in my printer. 

This shot was made with the Otterbox case on over in Marblehead last week.

Fall colors with the iPhone 4sShooting with the iPhone can be a challenge sometimes. When the light is low the camera still tries to shoot at a low ISO. In this case it was ISO 80. My exposure was therefore still kind of sketchy at 1/25th sec at 2.4

This shot of my backyard was made with the iPhone 4s. It was then put into Lightroom 4 for post processing. This rendering is very close to what I saw and remember. It did not take a lot of tweeking to get it to this point. I did crop out some unwanted items on the right and from the bottom but this is pretty much as I saw it. Most people don't realize that to get really good images out of your phone you will need to take it out of the case that you have it in. I took mine out of the Otterbox case so that the clean lens would have a chance of making a good image. Most folks have their phone in their pocket or purse and the outside can get really dirty and creating unwanted fuzziness in the image. Most iPhone apps do a pretty good job of making the images look better but they tend to overdo it a bit. I use Camera+ which has some neat features to it when it comes to shooting and editing in the camera app.