The other day I decided that I needed to get used to shooting with my 50mm Summilux ASPH. You see I'm really not a 50mm guy I have always drifted towards the wide side and the tight (long) side. When I was a full-time news shooter back in the 80's and 90's I shot with a 24mm on one camera and a 70-200 on the other. This covered everything. If the 24mm was to wide than I just cropped it a bit in the enlarger and I was all set. When I am out shooting editorial work now I shoot with two zooms the 24-70 on the Canon 5D Mk3 and the 70-200 on a Canon 7D as I like the cropped sensor to give me more reach. This really covers everything. I have to tell you that even with the 24-70 I'm either at 24mm or 70mm never at 50. So I decided I needed to train myself (again) to see in another way. At the beginning of my career I used the Leica 50mm Summilux and the 35 Summicron on a daily basis and I was used to it. I have found that I am tending to shoot a little loose so if you are coming back to the 50mm keep this in mind - and move in. Yesterday I was having dinner with my wife and some friends on the porch at the Sandy Bay Yacht Club. The light is just beautiful as it goes down on Cape Ann and yesterday there was no wind so it was absolutely gorgeous. I ventured around taking shots here and there looking for some interesting situations off and on. 

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.