Leica M3, 35 Summaron f/2.8, Kodak Portra400NC

and a few more …

So I’m a sucker for that backlit, windblown, Brigitte Bardot look – I’ll admit it.  But when you look like Ava, why not go with your best look?  It’s scary to think how beautiful she’s going to be.  All I have to do is look at Naomi to see what’s going to happen.

Some more here

Leica M3, Leitz Summaron 35 f/2.8, Kodak Portra 400 NC

f/4 @ 1/125 or so, opened up for light shade

and a few more, all with the M3 + 35 Summaron and Portra 400 NC

Leica M3, 35 Summaron f/2.8

top: f/2.8 @ 1/30

bottom: f8 @ 1/250 or so

Got to get out for a weekend overnight in the city, stayed at one of our favorite places: SF Zen Center

Inexpensive, comfortable, quiet and surrounded by interesting places to see and eat.  The top shot is of the inside dining room and the outside is the view up the hill from Laguna Street.  You can stop by for a sitting, browse the bookstore or stay overnight like we do.

Full set here

Leica M3, 35 Summaron f/2.8 w/goggles, Arista Premium 400

1/250 @ F8 or F11, stopped down quite a bit to handle the sun

And one more

Leica M3, 35 Summaron f/2.8 w/goggles, Arista Premium 400

1/50 or 1/100 @ f/2.8 – I wanted to see the lens wide open

As usual, the M3 is the ideal travel camera.  Rugged, completely mechanical and bulletproof, easily shot, stored and carried – remember I have two girls and they need a lot of gear : ) Paired with the 35 and the reliable, re-badged Tri-X 400 (Arista from Freestyle) it makes great images.  It renders both landscapes and people equally pleasing.  It’s a rare roll when every picture looks great but I think I scored one here.

I think I know what rig I’m taking with me to SF with this weekend …

M3, Leitz 35 Summaron f/2.8, LegacyPro 400

1/1000 @ f/5.6

I think I’ve found my muses.  Little Naomi loves to mother hen Ava and Ava loves the attention.  They’re both a little cautious and less wild than their older siblings so I think they have an unspoken, understood connection.  And I love that they’re very into each other and tend not to be distracted by me or the camera.

The old Summaron performs pretty well, coupled with the freshly laundered M3 they make for a potent combination.

#1 – Summaron in color – A raw/vegan restaurant and junk shoppe in Nevada City, CA

Leica M3, Leitz Summaron 35 f/2.8, Kodak Gold 400

f/2.8 @ 1/50

#2 – Sumamron in color – Covered bridge at Bridgeport, CA

Leica M3, KM 5cm Hexanon-M, Kodak Portra400NC

f/11 @ 1/500

#3 – Sonnar landscape – Lake Berryessa, CA

Leica M3, Canon 5cm Sonnar f/1.5, Tri-X 400

f/11 @ 1/500

These aren’t my usual fare, but I wasn’t in my usual element.  Kim took me on surprise trips to Nevada City and Lake Berryessa and I had the chance to be a strolling tourist taking pictures of whatever caught my eye.  I’m not much of a landscaper but I like the B&W shot particularly.  And since this is my blog, I can post what I want – so there : )

Hug a bug

Leica M3, Leica 3.5cm Summaron f/2.8, Kodak Tri-X 400

f/2.8, 1/25, wide open baby!

I feel sorry for all the other babies out there ’cause I got the two cutest ones.  Just going to say that out front so we’re all square.

The goggled Summaron is fast becoming a favorite lens and it’s doubly pleasing with Tri-X.  I’m also going to toot the horn of LR2/Mogrify

and let you all know you need to get it asap.  So very cool that it integrates with Lightroom and allows you to do the frames and lettering.  I got

the frames down awhile ago but the text option had me flummoxed for months now.  A few nights ago while trying yet again to get it to

work I stumbled on the magic incantation.  The night skies parted, the god beams shone down and eureka!  I had done what had to be done!

So anyway, if you’re banging your head over it, drop me a line and I’ll set you straight.

Full series here

Naomi Skywalker and Ezekiel Solo prepare to battle it out with the forces of evil on the deck of the starship Bertha while Princess NaNa 3 watches intently from below.

I’m finding that I really like shooting with the 35 Summaron, goggles and all.  I like it so much I’ve almost got myself convinced that I need a second M body just for 35.  A black M4-P keeps calling out to me …

My tendency is to always want to get in tight but the wide angle and fixed focal length really force you to change your perspective.  In looking at a lot of older family pictures, I’ve realized that a part of what gives them their unique look is the environmental aspect – the inclusion of the wider surroundings as well as the subject.  When you see an old picture, you notice so much more than just who it is (in fact, the names of those people are more often than not lost, all that’s known or knowable is the where); you see the buildings, cars, home furnishings and the like that the shooter took for granted at the time.  It’s only with the passage of years that those environmental aspects become noteworthy.  I hope that I can be varied enough in the types of shots I frame that my girls will enjoy them as much 50 years from now to them as I do now.

M3, Kodak Portra400NC, 35 Summaron @ F/4, 1/500

Isaac taking in the playground scene with the serene gaze of the beatifically bemused.

M3, Kodak Portra400NC, 35 Summaron at F4, 1/125

(BW conversion in Lightroom, finished in Silver Efex Pro)