Having had the opportunity to test a Leica SL2-S full frame mirrorless system over the weekend, I have asked Big Girl to pose for an impromptu indoor portrait session. I wanted to do another test of the high ISO capability of the camera and find out how usable the files are in terms of noise when shooting at higher ISO. And, I have to say, the Leica performed admirably. But see for yourself…
Haven’t posted a portrait of Big Girl in a while. She doesn’t look like having worked 4 consecutive night shifts as pediatric nurse on the oncology ward of Nuremberg’s Children’s Hospital.
Image taken with my Leica M (Type 240) and the Summicron 50mm F/2. Jpg out of camera.
I’m much too busy taking photographs and vacationing (as in being down at our private beach) than downloading and editing what I already captured on the SD cards during our stay in Greece. Or writing blog articles. But when I saw this one of The Significant Other I couldn’t hesitate throwing out a quick Sunday post after all. Classic Beauty is all that comes to my mind, as she stands in front of the ancient temple of Apollo in Corinth. Can anyone understand why this beautiful woman always gets a panic attack when I point a camera at her?
Taken with the Leica M and the Summicron 35mm F/2. I was really pushing the settings here, did already consider putting an ND filter on the camera to block out some of the light. But with a fast 1/4000 shutter speed and slightly stopping down to f/4 I still got the shot in the bright afternoon light with shallow enough depth of field to blur the background, but still have the 2500 year old temple clearly recognizable.
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The last post was about my first attempt doing a pregnancy session. Capturing the joy of expecting parents. As it turned out, it was not a week too soon, because the baby eventually decided to arrive a good three weeks ahead of schedule. Here are the images from the newborn session with a baby girl not even a week old…
Occasionally I blog about me venturing outside my usual street- and travel photography. I’m always eager to step out of my photographic comfort zone and try new things. Like taking on a gig for my first ever pregnancy session. As it turned out, not a week too soon, because the baby eventually decided to arrive a good three weeks ahead of schedule. Have I mentioned that yesterday I also did the newborn session? But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, here’s first the post with the images of the expectant couple, the gear I brought along and the approach I took…
I was very much looking forward to this, shooting with a 60 year old lens. My Dad gave me a vintage 90mm Leica Summicron F/2 for Christmas (thanks, Dad, for the awesome present). The beauty of the Leica M system is that you can attach any lens from the Leica (M)esssucher (=rangefinder) system introduced back in 1954 to modern Leica digital cameras with an M-Mount. And as I have acquired a (for digital camera standards also vintage) used Leica M (Type 240) about a year ago, the 90mm is a great addition to my small collection of Leica prime lenses.
October 3rd is our National Holiday here in Germany. A perfect opportunity to take The Significant Other and my newly acquired (used – of course) “Nifty Fifty” for a walk into the autumnal landscape outside Nuremberg.
I’m sure you have witnessed those situations, where people wanting to take a portrait of someone else place their subject to have the sun shining directly onto them. Because it looks nice. Objects look sharp, crisp and colorful when the sun shines on them. That’s definitely valid for landscapes, buildings and stationary things. It’s less favorable for human beings. Because they tend to squint when facing the sun, and you get unfavorable shadows in their eye sockets, especially when the sun is high.
Haven’t posted a street portrait in a while, which is a pity, because making portraits of strangers and interacting with them is the most fun part of Street Photography.
Twenty-five years ago to the day I had the incredible fortune to marry this beautiful woman, mother to my two wonderful children and the sunshine of my life. I am a blessed man!
“Another Portrait” is the last task to accomplish in Cassia Denner’s 10 Day Photography Challenge. It was a fun challenge, and made me shoot a lot outside my usual street photography arena. So this somewhat different portrait of my two kids is a nice ending to the 10 day photographic fun. Image taken with my Olympus OM-D E-M1 and the mZuiko 12-40 F/2.8 Pro Zoom, Image specs 1/25 sec @ f/2,8 and ISO 1600, focal length was 40mm.
Putting a camera in someone’s face takes some getting used to. It is obviously something where you need the consent of the person you are photographing. This image I took with my Olympus PEN-F and the mZuiko 25mm F/1.8, the “nifty fifty” of micro four thirds (due to the m43 crop factor of 2). Which by the way is also an awesome portrait lens, if you are close, like a good arms length away. Image specs are 1/160 sec @ f/3.2 and ISO 200.
This is for sure not the prettiest of street portraits but it shows a couple of things that are important for this kind of photography. This guy caught my eye, I walked up to him and asked if I could make his portrait. Turns out he is visiting from Montreal, Canada, and he was just looking for a place to eat some typical German food. A win-win for sure. I got to shoot his portraits, he got directions to a place where he could find some good beer and a “Schweinshaxe” (he asked me to type everything in his iPhone).
While we chatted I snapped away. I liked the shot of him best. I had asked him what he liked best about visiting Europe, he closed his eyes and thought hard. Asking people about something (e.g. what they like best about something….where they got their interesting outfit, glasses…what they are doing here, what is their profession…) puts their mind away from being photographed, puts them at ease and tends to draw some interesting poses, face expressions and gestures.
And this what is missing here. I wish he had made a hand gesture, putting his fingers to his face, adding interest to the shot. I didn’t want to ask him to do that, maybe I should have. But then again, I’m just starting this kind of street photography, and I will learn. And you can learn along here on the “Streets of Nuremberg”.