When I was 17 years old I was shooting with an Leica M3 and a Leica 50mm f2 and thought that a 35mm wide angle was the holy grail of photography. My dad took pity on me and I received a very old 35mm screw mount Leica Summaron for my birthday that required a view finder for the top of the camera since the M3 frame lines only went to 50mm. I thought I was in heaven as it opened a whole new world of photography for me. I had photographed everything in sight with the 50 and was now ready for a whole new way of seeing. As my photography career unfolded the tiny Summaron was put back in it's leather case and was only taken out to admire like a piece of jewelry. To this day I love how it looks on the camera. It can only look better on my M3 as I remember it. A few months ago I decided to take it out and try it on the M9 only to find out it was now a bit foggy with mildew. A friend mentioned Sherry Krauter in upstate New York as someone who could make it like new again. So off it went to Sherry and what I got back was like a brand new lens from 1954. All I can say is wow! So from time to time I like to take it out for a spin and love what I get every time. This morning it was very still out. Not a breath of air stirring so I headed down to Rockport harbor to see if there was anything interesting. What I found was plenty of reflections with the still water. 

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.