Let's See Whatya Doin' With That M8

[Jack_Flesher]

PS: As for print size, the M8 file is very clean and lends itself to uprezzing. I have printed M8 files to 32x40" and they look outstanding! Even with my reading glasses on and my nose in the print. And I'm picky.

,

 

[Jack_Flesher]

Here are a few more shots, just to keep the thread interesting. Again, no IR cut filter and lens recognition off:

35 Pre-Lux at about f5.6, converted to B&W in CS3, cropped slightly to straighten horizon before posting:

Here's a 100% crop from that image to show the detail:

Plus the camera does real color pretty well without coded lenses or IR filters:

This first shot is a mixture of incandescent, fluorescent and daylight, camera set to AWB, 35 Pre-Lux:

Finally, the DR is amazing -- this is through a store window, full on beach in sun in the reflection. 35 Pre-Lux again:

Cheers,

 

[JimCollum]

some more from the IR series.. These are from the Sutro Baths. The color effect changes, as the sun comes up over the horizon (even if in full fog or overcast)... they become more washed out, less intense.

 

[Asher Kelman]

some more from the IR series.. These are from the Sutro Baths. The color effect changes, as the sun comes up over the horizon (even if in full fog or overcast)... they become more washed out, less intense.

Jim,

I had no basis for expectations. I didn't even know what the baths were! I thought that maybe these were some Graeco-Roman baths on the West Coast of Turkey Nerar Ephasus. It reminded me of Pergamonon.

I was interested, even fascinated but not taken by the first 3 pictures. the last one woke me up and got me really interested!

This photograph is alive. One can almost imagine a coastal fortress. I like this pciture of yours a lot!

Asher

A quick search found me the Sutro Baths and

"On March 4, 1896 the Sutro Baths was opened to the public as the world's largest indoor swimming pool establishment. Built on the sleepy western side of San Francisco by wealthy entrepreneur and former mayor of San Francisco (1894-1896), Adolph Sutro, the breathtakingly vast glass, iron, wood, and reinforced concrete structure was mostly hidden in, and literally filled, a small beach inlet below the Cliff House which was also owned by Adolph Sutro at the time. Both the Cliff House and the former Baths site are now a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and operated by the United States National Park Service.
A visitor to the baths not only had a choice of 7 different swimming pools—one fresh water and six salt water baths ranging in temperatures—but could visit a museum displaying Sutro's large and varied personal collection of artifacts from his travels, a concert hall, seating for 8,000, and, at one time, an ice skating rink. During high tides, water would flow directly into the pools from the nearby ocean, recycling the 2 million US gallons (7,600 m³) of water in about an hour. During low tides, a powerful turbine water pump, built inside a cave at sea level, could be switched on from a control room and could fill the tanks at a rate of 6,000 US gallons a minute (380 L/s), recycling all the water in five hours." Source in Wikipedia

 

[JimCollum]

Asher, thanks for the kind words. My images tend to be an acquired taste... and seem to get mixed reviews. One of these day's i may end up back to the velvia colors, but for now, dreary seems to be the mood

Another in the Sutro series .. from this morning


I don't usually name my images (other than Untitled #37, or Abstract #62)... but this one is titled

Exiles

M8, 75Lux






from this morning as well

The Gate

M8, 28mm Zeiss Biogon

 

[Asher Kelman]

Hi Jim,

These are even more spectacular. The titles really are perfect. You held these back!

Are these still full RGB? The 28mm Biogen serves you well. I wonder whether it's that that gives the character and whether or not the new 28mm Summicron would still have that mood?

These all seem gallery ready so I expect these are the ones on sale in ? Newport Beach? What's the name of the gallery so people might look if they are nearby?

Asher

 

[JimCollum]

Hi Jim,

These are even more spectacular. The titles really are perfect. You held these back!

Are these still full RGB? The 28mm Biogen serves you well. I wonder whether it's that that gives the character and whether or not the new 28mm Summicron would still have that mood?

These all seem gallery ready so I expect these are the ones on sale in ? Newport Beach? What's the name of the gallery so people might look if they are nearby?

Asher

again, thanks for the feedback. yes, the images are full rgb. but i've only taken them withing the last couple weeks (the two just posted were from yesterday morning). so these aren't in the gallery yet. (the gallery being Susan Spiritus in Newport Beach http://www.susanspiritusgallery.com )

The Biogon is a higher contrast lens than the Summicron. I'd imagine that it would do well with these scenes as well. I also shoot with the 21 elmarit pre-asph, which is lower contrast, and love what it outputs

is and image from the 21mm

 

[Asher Kelman]

Thanks Jim for the 21mm view. The interesting thing is that while it makes the foreground so expansive and important, the seemingly reserved isolation of the two rock islands give the image a focus to escape to or to hide form.

There is symbolic reference to. The giant open limbs have a female sensual invitation and the rocks in the distance serve as breasts. The myriad of floating leaves represent new life.

Great image! Sorry to have blown your secret, forgive me!

Asher

BTW, thanks for the Susan Spiritus Gallery reference. I will try to visit!

 

[Jeff Donovan]

Ken, fear not about the 15 minutes. It's going to take me at least a year to save up the money to get an M8, and I'm sure once I do I'll be posting here as enthusiastically about the M8 as Asher does!

 

[JimCollum]

Went to the Concours d'elegance in Pebble Beach this last weekend. Very contrasty light.. no good for color.. but was able to find some b/w images

M8 with the 75Lux (a fantastic lens). i'll add some more to the series as i process them

 

[James Roberts]

Jim--fantastic stuff for sure!

I have a little rolling exhibition of M8 black and white shots on my blog. The first person I asked to pick 10 shots / BW / M8 was Johannes Borger--who has a true photographic talent in my view and does marvellous work with his rangefinders (he also uses an RD1).

You can see this work here:

http://jamesroberts.bigfolioblog.com/

I'm going to be asking folks for 10 shots and putting them on the blog from time to time.

But if you like photography, stop by and have a quick look. If you have any doubts as to why someone like Han likes the M8, here's what he writes about using the camera:

" I work with a complete B&W wokfkow, shoot raw + jpeg and set the saturation to B&W so I can review in B&W.

"I convert with C1 and the JFI labs profiles or go with the raws immediately into CS3 and use Alien Skin Exposure for B&W conversion. I work the tonality with curves ... sometimes dodge & burn.

"For B&W I use the M8 permanently at Iso 640 ..... it ads a bit of structure to the files, making them look less clinical/ sterile.

"The lenses I use most are 35 & 50mm with the 15 CV recently added .. there are quite a few pictures with them in the batch.

"I use a combination of vintage and modern lenses:

- 35m summaron/ 3,5 LTM (1950)
- Canon 35mm/ 2,8 (1950)
- 35 Summicron pre-asph (type IV)
- 35 Summicron asph

- 50mm summilux asph
- 50mm rigid summicron (1957)

"For the occasional posed portrait or concert picture i sometimes use a 75mm summilux or 90mm Macro Elmar.

"The pictures in the batch I sent you were taken with the following lenses...

JA = 35 summicron asph
JB = Canon 35/ 2,8 serenar
JC, JE, JG, JH, JK = CV 15mm Heliar
JD, JL = 50mm Rigid summicron
JF = 35mm summicon pre-asph (type IV)"

I hope you like Han's work; I think it's exceptional!

 

[JimCollum]

Working on a series of more 'traditional' landscapes. These are from a nearby state park.. Fall Creek. I walk there a few times a week, taking the M8 with me as I go. These have all been shot with the M8 and the CV 15mm Heliar.

 

[Jack_Flesher]

Love the brown toning treatment on this last series Jim!

 

[Asher Kelman]

What this thread means!

For those visiting this thread, let me focus on important ideas that underly the special potential of M8 photography.

What impresses me is the quality of the work! Photographs here have inheritence from the fathers* of photography who shared two principal almost dogmatic guides, These seem simple and obvious but are so easily ignored with automatic everything today and if you allow me I'll restate these two themes:

1. Principle effort devoted to the starting process pays off in the print.

It means training oneself to see the whole scene and select from that, simplicity with one lens and imagination of the tonalities, textures and tension possible, so that a rich well exposed sampling of the light was made. Depending on this inititial effort, new substantial work with devotion to richness, impact and meaning was worthwhile.
​

2. Work is then needed to select the manner in which recorded light will appear in the presented photograph.

This took place in the intimate closeness of the darkroom, almost a temple of creativity, where the potential was transformed to a real print. This last part was always complex requiring technical skill, judgement and inspiration and the blessings of chance discovery.
​

I see this all here in different but related paths and it is such a wonderful thing. We're so proud to have you guys here and my only wish is more!

Let's thank the contributors for all this beauty!

Asher

* a word like "human", not meant to be sexist!

 

[Asher Kelman]

Jim,

Those shots in the wood look like thet we taken with film and a 4x5! I'm so impressed! How much do those Voigtlander lens go for. Theres' a wonderful diensionality to your pictures and the composition each invites the view to enter and explore as if we are being induced to enter a blai witch landscape, but with just mystery from some good witch not a bad one!

In each case I wanted to see more foreground and I could see myself wanting to stitch. I'm not sure how bad the aberations might be, but I'd love to see you try!

These Voigtlander lenses are so impressive. Can they be used for color with the wide angle and all the M8 problem in dealing with huge angles of light skimming the glass over the sensor? Do you code your lenses or like Jack, stick your finger to the wind and just make pictures!

Asher

 

[Asher Kelman]

Jim,

Those shots in the wood look like thet we taken with film and a 4x5! I'm so impressed! How much do those Voigtlander lens go for. Theres' a wonderful diensionality to your pictures and the composition each invites the view to enter and explore as if we are being induced to enter a blai witch landscape, but with just mystery from some good witch not a bad one!

In each case I wanted to see more foreground and I could see myself wanting to stitch. I'm not sure how bad the aberations might be, but I'd love to see you try!

These Voigtlander lenses are so impressive. Can they be used for color with the wide angle and all the M8 problem in dealing with huge angles of light skimming the glass over the sensor? Do you code your lenses or like Jack, stick your finger to the wind and just make pictures!

Asher

 

[JimCollum]

Thanks Asher,

The 15mm with adapter go for about $400... which is probably best bang-for-the-buck you'll ever find for the Leica. They were taken at f8 or f11 (those were the only fstops i used on that trip, but don't know which was which for each image). They are part of a larger series i'm working on.. sort of a path less traveled. in most of the images, the path entering at the bottom of the image is necessary for the series.

They are just as good for color images... you do get falloff in the corners.. but that's easily dealt with (or kept depending on the image). If you use an IR cutoff filter, then you'll need to use something like cornerfix (software) to remove it. (excellent piece of software, btw).

i've had some complaints here and there about the darkness.. but i feel that's part of the image.. provides a sort of claustrophobic feeling in some of the images. I've printed them on the new Harman paper, and it holds up subtle shadow detail excellently. The images from this lens hold up detail up to 16x20 (i'm a stickler for non-digital-artifact looking detail)

again, thanks for the feedback!

jim

Jim,

Those shots in the wood look like thet we taken with film and a 4x5! I'm so impressed! How much do those Voigtlander lens go for. Theres' a wonderful diensionality to your pictures and the composition each invites the view to enter and explore as if we are being induced to enter a blai witch landscape, but with just mystery from some good witch not a bad one!

In each case I wanted to see more foreground and I could see myself wanting to stitch. I'm not sure how bad the aberations might be, but I'd love to see you try!

These Voigtlander lenses are so impressive. Can they be used for color with the wide angle and all the M8 problem in dealing with huge angles of light skimming the glass over the sensor? Do you code your lenses or like Jack, stick your finger to the wind and just make pictures!

Asher

 

[scott kirkpatrick]

Portraits in the fine art world.

Here's something I saw recently:

The Ace gallery, in Beverly Hills, is currently showing enormous portraits by Martin Schoeller, identically lit and framed to give faces 5' high, at the same time as light environments created by Erwin Redl. That's Bill Clinton from the Schoeller portraits on the right, and our website founder at left.

scott

 

[scott kirkpatrick]

and another

Ringling Bros circus came to our town...

Using 75/2.0 (probably wide open).

scott

 

[JimCollum]

self portrait... Evening in Alcatraz Prison Hospital

M8, CV 15mm

 

[Asher Kelman]

Hi Scott,

This picture is almost Peter Bruegel The Elder-like in its complexity of people in the action of this moment, albeit without the very considered and controlled composition, as here everyone is involved in one movement.

Jim,

Your picture, by contrast has just one person, blurred like a ghost, perhaaps a transition freed prisoner to civilian. This picture refers to and is buttressed by the infamous history of Alcatrez and its consideration. The blue walls, some poor rendition of water and sky, but in a small concrete cell, close in as if to crush the visitor.

I find this photography to be powerful in its stark simplicty and ability to invoke thoughts about the deprivations of Alcatrez and loss of freedom.

Thanks to you both for posting your pictures! I love the rich colors of the M8.

Asher

 

[JimCollum]

Jim,

Your picture, by contrast has just one person, blurred like a ghost, perhaaps a transition freed prisoner to civilian. This picture refers to and is buttressed by the infamous history of Alcatrez and its consideration. The blue walls, some poor rendition of water and sky, but in a small concrete cell, close in as if to crush the visitor.

I find this photography to be powerful in its stark simplicty and ability to invoke thoughts about the deprivations of Alcatrez and loss of freedom.

Asher

Thanks for the words (and i thought i had just forgotten i hit the self timer .. )

Alcatraz is always a powerful place to visit. A couple times a year, the local photo store (Keeble and Schuchat) provide an evening dedicated to about 40 photographers (from 3pm - 9pm).. we're the only ones on the island (besides the guides with us). On these events, we get into places that aren't accessible during the normal day hours.

Here's a series from the Hospital there


Patient's Cell

Operating Room

Hospital Bath

XRay Darkroom

 

[James Roberts]

Jim these are awesome shots! Thanks for posting!! I love the ghostly self-portrait too...

 

[Jack_Flesher]

Great set Jim! You must be really happy to have been there uninterrupted

 

[Ken Tanaka]

Actually, these look like shots of the apartment I rented when I was a college student 30+ years ago. <g>

Seriously, it looks like you made the best of a rather unique opportunity. Alcatraz seems like a perfect venue to Leica's f/1.4 fleet.

Thanks for posting these, Jim.

 

[Ken Tanaka]

Ringling Bros circus came to our town...

http://www.pbase.com/skirkp/image/87275075.jpg

Using 75/2.0 (probably wide open).

scott

This shot is really nicely composed, timed perfectly, and very clear for what must have been a relatively high-ISO shot. Were you up around 640, Scott?

 

[scott kirkpatrick]

Yes, I set the ISO for 640 and backed off one or two thirds of a stop, using aperture priority. I was just sitting with the family about 10 rows up in a center Loge at the Boston Garden. The lights that the circus uses are pretty strong, and the shadows around them are deep indeed. This is a good example of rangefinder focus getting it right if you work at it, while with autofocus you'd never know...

scott

 

[Jack_Flesher]

Here are a few from our recent workshop in Moab, Ut:

A sunrise:

Mid-morning:

A sunset:

Cheers,

 

[Jack_Flesher]

And last, but not least, an IR shot (to which the M8 is particularly well-suited):

First in IR/Color:

Then converted to grayscale:

Cheers,

 

[Asher Kelman]

Hi Jack,

I really like the last grey scale image. There's a lot of unique dimensionality to the picture. A special "clean look" to the rocks. The trees and foreground low lying shrubs, however, seem to not have the same reality as if the IR wrote them as an afterthought. Also the sky had not the power that the rocks show. The appearance of the rocks is so special that only because of this does one look differently as the vegetation. I'm wondering whether this view of mine is way off from your own feelings, Jack. Would you perhaps consider reprocessing separate layers for the sky and vegetation and then blending? I have not seen this gap between stone and vegetation before. Perhaps it's a combination of the IR on the rocks and added to that reflections from the snow which accentuates the rocks beyond anything we generally see.

This exercise with the M8 is very enjoyable and shows the interesting choices for expression this great camera offers.

BTW, Jack, are you going to take advantage of the shutter upgrade, Crystal LCD protection and 2 year updated warranty?

Asher