Tag: monochrome

Fearless

Man looking fearless at a grinch mural
Fearless | Genoa | 2025

We are living in a crazy world. There are plenty of things around us that cause anxiety. But at least we all should do the things we can do to make things better, safeguard democracy and keep the planet afloat for our children and future generations. Like casting our votes in general elections. It won’t help to stick our heads into the sand. Germany is voting today. Let’s keep the faith that everyone has realized what’s on the plate.

This is the first street photo I have taken with my new Nikon ZF and the Nikkor Z 40mm 1:2 SE on a walk through Genoa’s historic center yesterday. It is a jpg straight out of camera, only some cropping in Lightroom Classic. Images specs 1/1250 sec @ f/4 and ISO 6400, 40mm focal length. I love my new camera more every day!

If you feel like picking up your camera (or smartphone) for a Sunday walk and are looking for tips and inspirations around street photography, check out my free Learning Center. 

Let’s all be fearless!

Have a great Sunday

Marcus 

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Street Photography Quick Tip 1 – A way to shoot inconspicuously

Street Photography Quick Tip 15 – Get close for more intense street portraits

Instant Inspiration (4) – Juxtaposition

Instant Inspiration (30) – Look for that different face

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Nikon Zf – A Retro Beauty with Modern Power

Nikon Zf – A Retro Beauty with Modern Power
My New Baby | Nuremberg | 2025

After my tumultuous journey with the Leica SL2-S, marked by repeated hardware failures and frustrating customer service experiences, I had decided to move on. Prerequisite was to get another full frame camera, as the larger sensors ensure better low light capabilities, greater dynamic range and more depth-of-field-separation (bokeh) when shooting wide open. And I was looking for a camera that is (like the Leica from its design and haptics doubtless also was) a joy to pick up and makes me want to go out and shoot. Only reliable.

Going through all the current full frame models on the market, I quickly set my eyes on a particular model. The brand I knew well from my early DSLR shooting days. These cameras never failed me and were reliable work horses. I knew I needed to look no further. There was a camera I instantly fell in love with. Enter the Nikon Zf – a retro beauty with modern power….and my new baby since a couple of weeks now….

Continue reading “Nikon Zf – A Retro Beauty with Modern Power” →
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Instant Inspiration (33) – Ichigo Ichie

Morrocan School Girl

I haven’t done an Instant Inspiration post in quite a while. I have written already about Wabi-Sabi, which celebrates the beauty of perfect imperfection. There’s another Japanese concept, that’s been on my mind lately—Ichigo Ichie (一期一会). It loosely translates to one time, one meeting or once in a lifetime. The idea? Every moment is fleeting, never to be repeated in quite the same way. And because of that, we should embrace it fully, be present, and take it in before it slips away. For a photographer, this philosophy is everything. Continue below for Episode 33 of my Instant Inspirations, my series for you if you look for something to overcome “Photographer’s Block” or simply want to shoot something that you have never tried, or at least not recently.

Continue reading “Instant Inspiration (33) – Ichigo Ichie” →
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The end of my journey with Leica

Man walking out of a tunnel into the light. And this is the end of my journey with Leica.
Bye bye Leica | Nuremberg | 2025

With the Leica finally back in my hands after this long and frustrating ordeal, there was only one decision left to make. And it was an easy one.

I will sell the SL2-S.

Not because I need the money. Not because I lack appreciation for the legacy of the Leica brand. But because I simply cannot trust this camera—or this company—ever again. The repeated failure of the SL2-S, the arrogant and dismissive handling of my case by Leica’s customer service, and the condescending physics lecture that came with my repair invoice have sealed my decision. I refuse to own a camera that I feel the need to constantly second-guess. A camera that, despite its premium price and supposed professional-grade engineering, has failed me twice in critical moments. A camera that has left me with more frustration than joy.

And with that, I will leave Leica behind. For good.

I have been a passionate photographer for years, and in that time, I have used cameras from various brands—Nikon, Fujifilm, Olympus—without ever experiencing this level of unreliability and poor service. Those cameras have been true workhorses, tools I could count on no matter the conditions. I never had to worry about them suddenly failing in the middle of a vacation, a client shoot, or an important moment. I never had to brace myself for a repair saga that dragged on for months, only to be met with corporate gaslighting.

Leica likes to present itself as a brand of excellence, a brand built on heritage, craftsmanship, and a close relationship with its customers. My experience has been the exact opposite. What I’ve encountered is a company that refuses to take responsibility for repeated hardware failures, treats its customers with skepticism rather than support, and hides behind technical jargon instead of standing behind the reliability of its products.

The SL2-S is now repaired, but I will never put my trust in it again. And I will certainly never buy another Leica camera. Some brands earn their reputation. Others merely trade on nostalgia while failing to live up to it.

Leica, for me, belongs firmly in the latter category. And this is the end of my journey with Leica.

Have a great Sunday

Marcus

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My Leica failed me

The Leica failed me – AGAIN

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Visual Push-Ups for January 18, 2025

Forest weeds
1/80 sec | f/8 | ISO 3200 | 200mm

Finally weekend! Fighting a little cold, I took it easy all day. But late afternoon, I felt an itch to go outside. And do some photography. So I grabbed my camera and went for a little walk into the woods around our house. And do my visual push-ups for January 18, 2025 . Click below to join me on my little photographic exercise…..

Continue reading “Visual Push-Ups for January 18, 2025” →
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Divine Observation

Under divine bbservation are visitors to Palazzo Angelo Giovanni Spinola in Genoas Via Garibaldi
1/8 sec | f/5.3 | ISO 1600 | 70mm

Visitors of Palazzo Angelo Giovanni Spinola are under divine observation by this antique marble statue of a roman god. The palace of a Genovese noble man was completed in 1576 and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage, together with the other magnificent palaces in Genoa’s Via Garibaldi.

I took this street photograph with the Fuji X-T2 and the Fujinon XF18-135mm F3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR. RAW processing and conversion to high contrast monochrome in Lightroom Classic. 

If you are looking for tips and inspirations around street photography, check out my free Learning Center. 

Have a great Sunday

Marcus

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Street Photography Quick Tip 9 – Motion Blur

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Instant Inspiration (3) – Silhouettes

Instant Inspiration (4) – Juxtaposition

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With the Fuji in the Centro Storico

Christmas Decorations in Via San Lorenzo in Genoa's Centro Storico
1/50 sec | f/4.5 | ISO 3200 | 41mm

The Significant Other and I are spending the first days of the year in our “Southern Home” in Genoa. Yesterday afternoon we walked from our place into the historic center to see the exhibition of Genoa born photographer Lisetta Carmi in the Palazzo Ducale (will do a separate post about the exhibition). Her black & white street photography work is really inspiring, and as I was with the Fuji in the Centro Storico, I dialed in the ACROS film simulation for some monochrome shooting of my own. For the resulting images (all jpgs out of the camera) continue after the jump….

Continue reading “With the Fuji in the Centro Storico” →
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Smoked Up

Kiss the Hand
Kiss the Hand | Nuremberg | 2024

Nuremberg’s historical Christmas Market has been closed for the year on Christmas Eve. But there is still time to share some street photographs I took at the “Schaschlik-Bude”, were the staff was working hard and all smoked up to prepare little meat skewers that were one of the culinary attractions of the market.

Fore some more images of the steamy food stall continue after the jump…

Continue reading “Smoked Up” →
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Portraits at the market

Monochrome street portrait of an unknown girl
1/15 sec | f/5.6 | ISO 3200 | 135mm

Finally on Christmas break. And finally some time for photography. The Significant Other and I headed into Nuremberg’s Old Town this evening. Main event was the performance of the wife’s trombone choir on the stage of the Christkindlesmarket in the main square. But I brought my (almost) vintage Fuji X-T2 together with the much less vintage Fujinon XF18-135mm F3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR. I did recently acquire a used copy of this zoom lens, as I wanted to have a bit more focal length on my X-mount Fuji. And 135mm where there was only 55mm before makes a lot of difference.

And the buzzing market provided plenty opportunity for some 135mm (about 200mm full frame equivalent) street portraits shot through the passing crowd.

Fore the second image click below…

Continue reading “Portraits at the market” →
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The Beauty of Perfect Imperfection

A blurry Christmas tree reflects the beauty of perfect imperfection
Christmas Tree | Nuremberg | 2024

The Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi celebrates the beauty of perfect imperfection, impermanence, and the natural state of things—an ideal philosophy for photography. Instead of chasing perfection, Wabi-Sabi encourages finding beauty in flaws: the cracks of a weathered wall, the softness of blurred motion, or the fleeting golden hour light.

This mindset frees us photographers to embrace authenticity, valuing the raw and unpolished over the artificial. A blurred motion shot, for instance, may evoke more emotion than a sharply focused one. A grainy texture or an uneven shadow can add depth and character to an image.

By adopting Wabi-Sabi into our photography, we not only can expand our creative vision, but also connect more deeply with the subjects we capture. It’s a reminder that life, with all its imperfections, is inherently beautiful—just waiting to be captured through the lens.

If you feel inspired, pick up your camera (or smart phone), head into the streets and find your own way of capturing the beauty of perfect imperfection.

Have a great Saturday

Marcus

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Soggy outside? Shoot in an exhibition!

Art n’ Motion

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Halloween Hunting

Halloween Hunting
Halloween Hunting | Genoa | 2022

Tonight is “All Hallow’s Eve”, the eve before the religious feast All Saints (aka All Hallow’s Day), remembering the dead, saints and martyrs of christianity. Obviously that calls for an appropriate street photograph, albeit one from the archives (but previously unpublished on this blog). I captured this shot I dubbed Halloween Hunting two years ago during a Halloween event in Genoas medieval city center.

Also this year, there is another Halloween Ghost Tour on the Streets of Genoa. The Significant Other and I still need to decide whether to go. Having spent last night on the road traveling down to our Home (South), and after putting in a full day for the work that pays the bills, there might not be enough energy left to go Halloween Hunting tonight 😉

Taken with my Leica SL2-S and the TTArtisan 50mm .95 prime M-Mount lens. Image specs are 1/250 sec | f/2.8 | ISO 6400 | 50mm.

Raw processing and monochrome conversion in Lightroom Classic. 

If you like to go Halloween hunting tonight and are still looking for some tips and inspirations around street photography, check out my free Learning Center. 

Have a great Halloween

Marcus

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Aida under the Stars

Drinks before the show

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Hello Again

A grandfather welcoming his two grandchildren, saying Hello Again
Hello Again | Le Mont St. Michel | 2024

There was clear joy for those two girls, when they saw their grand dad coming around the corner. A candid street snapshot taken at the iconic Mont Saint Michele in Brittany, France. Hello again, maybe that’s what the delighted man said when he had the girls jumping at him. Hello again is for me to say after our vacation trip to Brittany. Stay tuned for some posts about this magnificent region in Northwestern France.

Have a great Monday

Marcus

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