My First M2! I'm stoked!! Some pics...

raydm6

raydm6

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I recently bought a minty '58 M2 button rewind w/self-timer along with a 35 f/2.8 Summaron-M just off a CLA from Kindermann.

I've had my M6 since the mid-80's and over the past few years been getting an itch to try an M2 to see what all the buzz was about. Now I know :) This camera rocks! Feels so different from My M6. Actually, Heft-wise, it feels closer to my IIIf :cool:.

Wanted to test the camera and lens out so took some shots this morning: (Kodak BW400CN using the Light Meter app on my iPhone 4 - developed/scanned at Walgreens and some quick post-processing when I got home)...

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Thanks for looking...

- Ray
 
Beautiful Shots...Tres Moody & Atmospheric

surprised at Walgreens developing & scanning...Looks GOOD !!!

Now You have me reaching for my M2 & 35 summaron...Cheers-H
 
raydm6 said:
developed/scanned at Walgreens and some quick post-processing when I got home)...
Click to expand...

Congratulations, Ray!

On second look: how exactly did you post-process? Did you change something specifically with the eyes in the first picture?

Greetings, Ljós
 
Thanks Helen! The Walgreens near me uses a Noritsu and scans 1545 x 1024 at 72dpi. The negs were a little blase and needed some pp for mood and atmosphere :D.

These were shot about 8:30am this morning and it was sunny out :).

- Ray
 
Hello Ljós, I use a free software package called PhotoScape and basically played wth the color/saturation/luminence curves till it looked good to my eye. Not very scientific. Just played around a bit with it. On the originally scan, the face was a little blown out so I play around to capture some texture in the features and played with the curves. Here is a small version of the original scan:

(before)
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(after)
5211706051_9434853033_b.jpg
 
Hello Ray,

thanks for the reply and the before/after pictures. I do not know much about the possibilities and practicalities of digital enhancement. It just looked like possibly a bit more than quick PP to me :)

Processing aside, your pictures are a good showcase for the tremendous capabilities of the Summaron in the near range.

Have fun with the M2 and Summaron, it is what I use, too :)

Greetings, Ljós
 
jbielikowski said:
something bad happened in pp, look at the trees in background.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback. I know, when I play with curves, some weird stuff happens and I was too focused on the foreground. Nothing wrong with "fuzzy trees" I suppose. :)
 
Ray. welcome to the M2 Universe. Great cameras and one major advantage - they are all the same, choice of Press Button and lever rewind and possibly a selftimer. This means that you dont have to chase variations on the same theme. OK, adding a second body is always good, keep a 50 or 90 on it - Oh, maybe a third body for a 21. Been there, done that and kept them all!!!!!
 
saw these images in the gallery before finding this thread. very nice. especially like that first one. enjoy your M2, shoot lots of film and keep posting.
 
'My first M2' sounds like introducing your great love as your current wife. Tom A, according to his post above and the notorious video, has lots of M2s, but many have none and most of us have one. I've had one only for 33 years and despite owning a few other Ms as well, I would never call mine my first M2.
 
maybe a 14th body because, um, well, um, you never know.... Gotta love it.:D

Tom A said:
Ray. welcome to the M2 Universe. Great cameras and one major advantage - they are all the same, choice of Press Button and lever rewind and possibly a selftimer. This means that you dont have to chase variations on the same theme. OK, adding a second body is always good, keep a 50 or 90 on it - Oh, maybe a third body for a 21. Been there, done that and kept them all!!!!!
Click to expand...
 
M2 sounds nice...enjoy! Next time you shoot any of the C-41 process B&W films & you get that slight sepia look that's noticable in the original (before) you posted just convert it to 16 bit grayscale like this, then you can play with the contrast & such. Hope you don't mind.
 

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Thanks for the warm welcome kind words Tom and all! I'm familiar with a lot of the work you folks produce and was inspired to step into the M2 club. I know it's just another M model but it's funny how a piece of gear can inspire and affect how you photograph. The glass is not too shabby either.

I forgot to mention that I shot the BW400CN at 320 based on others experience in past threads. Also, for shots two and three above, I used an additional feature in PhotoScape called "Bloom" which adds a bit of a glow effect to the lighter areas with hopes of not being too gimmicky: something to be used with restraint as it can be overdone. I hope I didn't step over that line.

My goal is to step out of my photographic shell and try and get close street portraits with this lens. I'm definitely not a street shooter but would like to try. I'm envisioning how this lens would render human features and would like to capture that.

I recently came across this technique (#4) Mike Johnston talked about on Luminous Landscape article - using the 35 Summicron as an example ([FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Best Lens for a Leica - The Luminous Landscape)[/FONT].

Do any of you use this technique or something similar and have any tips for going this route?

- Ray
 
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