Leica M Monochrom: best pics

[john neal]

Vince,

I had a look on the Mac earlier, and the donkey shot definitely looks better - the street lamp is much more clearly defined and the overall contrast is good - a much better "feel" if you get my drift.

And - wow! those portraits are superb. Your work really makes me want to give up working and start a long road trip, but it probably won't happen this side of 65, sadly.

 

[airfrogusmc]

Thanks Allen -- I'm finding the best way to get good people photos is to spend time in one spot, rather than wandering around hoping to grab a quick snap (at least for me). Establishing a rapport, building some degree of trust, and being able to give them a print on the spot are helping me in that department. I don't think I'd make a good 'street photographer'.

I'm in Mountainair right now -- not sure where I'm going tomorrow or Friday. I head home Saturday afternoon.

And yes, Dave, nice to see your work appearing again.

I agree about spending time and building rapport. I tend to get better portraits when I do that. Folks tend to let down their guard a bit over time. Anyway the work is really strong Vince and thanks for sharing ot with us. My day is starting much better for it.

 

[Vince Lupo]

Traveled part of Rt. 66 today out to Grants, NM, which is about 75 miles west of Albuquerque. Came upon this intrepid fellow, pushing his bicycle along the side of the road. I turned around, pulled off to the shoulder, and we proceeded to have a one-hour talk about traveling and life.

Mark and his bicycle, heading who knows where:


Mark by Vince.Lupo, on Flickr


Mark by Vince.Lupo, on Flickr

 

[Quan]

Weekend crowded seaport

L1002594-Edit by john_kuan, on Flickr

MM+Rigid50

 

[Vince Lupo]

A few more from today...

I've always liked this sign in Grants - I've probably driven through Grants on five different occasions, and have photographed it once before, but wasn't happy with the way I shot it. This is the latest attempt:


Grants2015 by Vince.Lupo, on Flickr

A wall in Carrizozo:


Carrizozo2 by Vince.Lupo, on Flickr

An interesting sign that I passed on one of the backroads I took today:


Bar by Vince.Lupo, on Flickr

Tomorrow is my last full day in New Mexico, then home to Maryland on Saturday.

 

[uhoh7]

Fantastic stuff Vince 🙂

You give them a print on the spot? Wow, how does that work? What printer are you using (oh now I see)? Do you edit them at all? (MM not 🙂)

I need to learn to do that 🙂

TY so much
Charlie

 

[Vince Lupo]

I have a Canon Selphy CP910 with the battery adapter kit. Prints a pretty nice 4"x6". I did have one of those Fuji Instax SP-1 printers, but I was so embarrassed by the size and the quality of the print, that after a month of ownership I sent it back to B&H for a full refund. Plus, that printer costs almost twice as much as the Canon. Now, the Canon is definitely larger than the Fuji, but I'll gladly carry a slightly larger printer for a much better print.

Also forgot to mention that the Canon printer has an SD slot and mini-USB outlet, so you can hook it up to your laptop, and it has WiFi. The Fuji (I think) only works with the Fuji cameras and smartphones via WiFi (like the X100T), so at least with the Canon I can make prints from my laptop, from the SD card from my Monochrom (just have to remember to have the camera set to RAW + JPEG), or from my X100T.

 

[john neal]

Vince - super work. I love 2nd one of Mark and his bike + the BAR shot.

 

[ChrisN]

Nice work Vince. These are all showing up just nicely on my screen. I like a man who puts a bit of black in his black and white! 🙂

 

[menos]

I had a very long absence of sorts from photography - didn't even make any photographs for some weeks - call it a bad loss of juice …
I worked hard both in freeing time and forcing myself out and shooting for the last few weeks. It is not by accident I think, that the Mono seems to be the most potent of medicines curing such a bad condition.

This is as clear a description as it gets of the condition I have been in for some months not having been able to produce a single useful frame - photographs are an important mirror of our own conditions, looking into ourselves, healing ourselves, reflecting on our acts:

a condition very much like this one:

life in 4 pairs …

 

[shiro_kuro]

Good stuff Menos ... love the way your first image of the set looks like a question mark and ending with an image of birds flying freely ... glad you got out made some images and got those juices flowing again ....

 

[leicapixie]

Tr


Mark by Vince.Lupo, on Flickr


Mark by Vince.Lupo, on Flickr

Stunning portraits in a Landscape.
Love the limited depth of field without those out of focus "light bulbs".
A fellow photographer back in South Africa, many years ago, decades,
made these amazing landscapes, in a similar way with a really battered Leica M3 and Collapsible Summicron,
FILM of course.
Your work great, the Selphy a great way!

 

[john neal]

Hey Dirk,

You're back, and with some great shots too - the birds remind me of something that won't quite come to mind, very interesting.

This can only mean that I have to get out and shoot too..............

 

[airfrogusmc]

Great series Dirk...

 

[airfrogusmc]

An interesting sign that I passed on one of the backroads I took today:


Bar by Vince.Lupo, on Flickr

This is absolutely terrific Vince. Love the portraits to....

Sorry to hear it is your last day. Have a safe journey home.

 

[Vince Lupo]

Many thanks guys -- I'll see if I can find any more photos between Grants and Albuquerque today.

Dirk, I like the shot of the bicycle repair man, with his tools scattered about and his pumps lined up, ready for the next customer. The bus shot is neat - wonder how many times a day a bus goes by that spot? Would be interesting to do a series from that spot on all the buses that pass by that very spot in a given day, and see all the different expressions on the people and what each is doing.

Out of curiosity, I'd be interested to see a version of the 'window' shot with the potted plants cropped to the window frame (so eliminate the surrounding white wall). Just curious to see how it would look.

 

[xdayv]

That's why something's missing... now I got it. Welcome back Dirk (Menos)!

 

[airfrogusmc]

Ok guys and gals. Next Friday and you are all invited
http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=4e329e7d42e0074b9f0340081&id=89500e46c6&e=3adc9261b8

 

[NY_Dan]

Yeah, I like the Bar and Car shots too.

 

[Vince Lupo]

Didn't do much of any shooting today -- I had hoped to do some, but the inclement weather and getting stuck in a 3-hour traffic delay between Grants and Albuquerque shot down those plans. So nothing much of value today.

This is one that I took in Las Vegas a few days ago -- I probably have a few more in the mix, but I mostly have them done for now:


Estella's Cafe by Vince.Lupo, on Flickr

One more of those 'roads less traveled' while I was on the way to Chaco:


Roads Less Traveled #3 by Vince.Lupo, on Flickr

Thanks for everyone's feedback and encouragement. Hopefully I'll be back out next year!