I didn’t just take pics of the “The Bean” with my Olympus OM-D, I also shot with my Leica M9-P and 21mm super elmar.
This shot is not a HDR and was shot handheld. The shot is slightly cropped so that I could remove my self from the picture. I was attempting to get the original sky and the reflected sky to blend.
ISO160 1/60s f3.4 21mm super elmar
Over the next few weeks you will see a lot of pictures I took in Chicago. We always enjoy spending time there and is probably my favorite city to visit.
One morning, I drove to Alder’s Planetarium. The planetarium is a great place to capture pictures of the city. I shot a variety of pictures with my Olympus OM-D and Leica M9. I think I got every lens I had out of the bag. This one was taken with my Leica 50mm noctilux. Actually, this is 4-5 pictures stitched together to create a panoramic shot. I used Photoshop, Nik Software HDR Efex 2 (this is not a HDR), and Silver Efex 2.
ISO 160 1/1500’s 50mm noctilux
Note: click to see larger size (trust me it’s worth it)
I don’t shoot HDR (high dynamic range) photography very often anymore. I know some photographers don’t like it because they think they are too “Photoshop” or look fake. I would say that its personal preference. For years people have been manipulating pictures (i.e. Ansel Adams) and to be honest there are probably not too many pictures posted on the internet that haven’t had some editing. I know some will argue but I don’t really see the difference in HDR photography from someone who uses neutral density or graduated filters (i.e. Lee filters).
Even though I don’t shoot many any more, I still find Trey Ratcliff’s shots interesting and inspiring. He also has great comments to go along with his shots. Another photographer, Mark Neal shoots a lot of HDR and is great at discussing his workflow. If you haven’t visited their sites, I would highly recommend you do.
This shot was taken in San Diego. It was September and only weeks before I traded in my Canon 5D Mark II for my Leica M9. My Leica can shoot HDR (can bracket up to 7 shots) and I do from time to time but I’m more interested in shooting people in their daily lives and love the challenge of catching the decisive moment.
Leica M9 f1.4 50mm summilux
Re-post December 2011
The one thing I really enjoy about my Leica M9 is the ability to shoot without a flash in low light. This is only possible because I can shoot at very low apertures (i.e. f/1.4 or f/2.0). The only down side with the Leica M9 is its poor high ISO if shooting in color.
This picture of my nephew was taken only with light from a few lanterns and street lights.
For a short time, I had this idea I would start shooting macro. About 2-3 weeks into having Canon’s 100mm macro lens, I decided to sell all my Canon gear to buy a Leica M9 and lens.
I obviously didn’t have the opportunity to take many macro shots. It was difficult to focus and I felt you really needed a flash dedicated for macro shots. Here is a picture of a red pepper my wife was growing at the time.
Re-post November 2011
One of the great things owning a Leica M9 and 50mm summilux is the ability to shoot in the dark. For most, this is only possible with the use of a flash. Personally, I try to shoot without one as much as possible because I like natural lighting. Shooting at low apertures such as 1.4 allows for shooting in almost complete darkness (the leica noctilux is probably the only one that truly will allow you to do this). It is much more difficult to focus, prevent blur, and you have to shoot at high ISO’s. Fortunately, the M9 can perform this at 1000, 1500, and even 2500 ISO. Unfortunately, I typically don’t like color pics at this high of ISO therefore I always change them to black and white. The noise at these high ISO’s add to the quality of black and white.
A friend of mine, Hiro Shibuya (he was my chief resident when I was a first year) and I were recently in Washington D.C. for a conference and decided to spend some time sight seeing and taking pictures. We were at the Lincoln Memorial and he was trying to get that perfect picture and I caught him in the act. In this instance, him being out of focus works because of the sense of movement the viewer gets. This was probably one of my favorite pics.
You can view Hiro’s pictures here.
Most who know me, know my favorite camera to shoot with is my Leica M9-P. Yesterday, Leica announce a new M series camera called the Leica M Monochrome. At first, buying a camera that only shoots in black and white may sound a little crazy (especially for the price) but if you are someone who shoots a lot in black and white it makes some sense. The pictures I’ve seen have been astounding and the ability to shoot at ISO 10000 and still be useable makes it even more interesting (the Leica M9 does not shoot great beyond ISO 800). I noticed one of Steve Huff’s shots was ISO 2000 and 1/1500 of a second (WOW). Look forward to reading more about it.
I took this shot lost fall at the Lincoln Memorial. It was dark and I noticed her sitting patiently waiting for someone.
ISO 2500 1/45s f1.4 50mm summilux
Re-post June 2011
I drove into Des Moines tonight for a meeting and thought I would capture some pictures. Des Moines is one of my favorite cities. Since graduating in 2005 from Des Moines University there has been a significant amount of renovation to the downtown area. I love the architecture and it’s always a great place to take pictures.
Iowa’s State Capitol sits on the east side of downtown (immediately behind me in this picture). There is a lot of sidewalks and landscape to its west. It also sits up high in comparison to the remaining downtown which allows for some great cityscapes. Also, I love how Locust street ends in front of the capitol thus allowing for a unique perspective.
This shot was taken at dusk using my Leica M9 and 90mm summarit-m. As Leica owners know, summarit is considered their “affordable” lens (most would disagree). Anyway, I’ve been very happy with its sharpness and have taken many great pictures with it.
