New user, Leica M6 musings & first negative scans.

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anitasanger

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New Leica owner musings

Background: I've been an avid photographer since I was about 20, I'm now 31. When I first got into photography, I lucked into a darkroom full of equipment when my x-girlfriend's dad decided he was going to throw out all of his 70's photog gear. I bought a few books, learned how to develop and print, foiled over my dorm room window and practiced. Over the period of a few months, I fell in love with black and white celluloid.

At first I bought a fully automatic Pentax SLR with a moderate zoom lens. While the camera was acceptable, I felt like I was lacking an organic quality to the photographic experience. Before long, I set aside the automatic and dusted off my dad's old Pentax Ashai K1000 with matching a 50mm 1.4 prime lens. I fell in love with this metal camera and shot with it non stop for the next 10 years. One lens, 1 camera and for the most part one film, Tri-x 400.

I developed my own film with perfectly acceptable results and printed silver photos on my old Bessler Printmaker. After a few years of learning about photography, I happened upon a thread on a webforum about the mysterious Leica. I'd never heard of Leica, but wad captivated about these precision instruments. I had to have one, but I was poor. So, I kept shooting rolls with the old K1000.

Over the past 3 years or so, I bit the bullet and bought a DSLR. (Nikon D90 and later D7000) It's great to take hundreds of photos of the kid and the wife, but I find myself missing the organic nature of film. The old K1000 is getting gummed up and in desperate need of a CLA. My wife is in med school and I do freelance writing so we're pretty strapped for cash - so I don't have a lot of money to buy film. Nonetheless, I'd been saving money. I'd been saving for a Leica.

Last year I purchased a like new 1986 Leica M6 classic. The build quality, feel and handling were everything I had read about. It sat in it's box for the better part of a year until I finally could afford a like new 4th model non-asph 50mm Summicron. I had finally achieved 35mm black and white Nirvana. I was now unstoppable, a celluloid master. Or so I thought.

The rangefinder's focusing technique was a major learning curve and I found myself repeatedly picking up my old K1000 and relishing in how easy focusing used to be. I shot a couple test rolls and had a local lab process the film. I picked them up expecting pure magic, awe-inspiring mystical Leica photographic perfection. I scanned the negs and found that they were just average photos. No magic, not even super sharp. Just regular negatives.

This realization brought me back down to earth and helped me realize that I was holding nothing more than a tool with a red dot on it. It would not make magical photographs without magical lighting, magical composition and a magical eye. I likened it to a paint brush. The best paint brush perhaps, but a paintbrush nonetheless.

I then found myself shooting with my D90 frequently and shying away from the Leica. I still hadn't mastered the rangefinder technique and hadn't forced myself to learn it. Last month my wife and I got to leave Oklahoma and visit NYC and Philadelphia while she took her last round of medical boards. I thought about all the great photographs I could take. The 20 second night time exposures of the New York skyline, the hd video, the thousands of exposures I could cram into a 16g SD card. The options were limitless. And then I remembered the Leica.

I flew to the East coast with nothing more than a Summicroned Leica m6 adorned with a Leicatime Luigi strap and 10 rolls of Tri-X in my leather bag. I was going to learn the way of the rangefinder. I was going to attempt to become one with the camera. And I did.

Over a 5 day period, my Leica went everywhere I did. I chose my shots carefully. I imagined what depth of field I was seeing. I dabbled in hyperfocal techniques and read the numbers on my lens. I got faster and faster and focusing my rangefinder. I got used to the exposure arrows and learned how to read them quickly. I began to love the way the m6 felt in my hands. The silky smoothness of the frame advancement was superb - the crisp snap of the shutter became addictive. I even loved removing the brass bottom and loading film in such a peculiar way. I became very fast at it. After an entire day of shooting with my Leica, I was in love. It felt like an extension of my eye.

After arriving home, I picked up the old K1000 for comparison. It felt foreign and awkward. I threw it up to my eye and drew focus on several items. The focusing seemed very slow and imprecise. It was the exact opposite as I'd always felt about it. The viewfinder seemed dark and focusing never felt exact. I cocked the shutter and it felt SO rough. It was if I could feel the dry, steel gears grinding against each other. I released the shutter. KERPLUNK! I felt an exaggerated mirror slap that seemed to echo and resonate throughout the hollow body. I felt bad, as if I'd betrayed an old friend. After 10 years, she'd been replaced.

I took a look at the bottom and sides of the camera to find golden brass shining through the chrome body! I was astounded, I'd brassed a K1000! I got on the Internet and confirmed that the Ashai Pentax cameras were indeed brass bodies. After a CLA it will be a nice starter camera for my son once he's older. If they still make film that is.

I broke out all of my old darkroom gear, mixed up some D76, Kodak rapid fixer, stop bath and photoflo. Thus far I've developed 5 rolls @ 68 degrees 1:1 for 9 3/4 with somewhat unimpressive results.

Maybe it was the well water, maybe I'm out of practice, but the negatives were lacking contrast, kind of pale and unimpressive. In the meantime, I'm going to gather data, do some reading and quality control before I proceed with another 15 or so rolls.

Below I will include a few images shot with my Leica. I find them to be quite lackluster. I know that a Leica with Leica glass won't automatically create a stunning image of jaw-dropping quality...however I have created some images with my K1000 that I was pretty impressed. I know I have the capability to create quasi-stunning images, as does any competent photographer, I just haven't got any with my Leica yet. I haven't noticed any increase in sharpness or optical quality at all for that matter with my Leica. But I love my Leica now. I've been spoiled by it's build quality, aesthetics and intuitive controls. I can't see myself going back to an SLR.

Does anyone have any advice? Has anyone else ever moved up to a Leica only to find that past images on an inferior camera were superior? I know that Ansel Adams could have outshot me on a Holga. Gear is simply a piece of the puzzle. I guess I just imagined my images with a Leica to posses a certain quality that my Pentax lacked. And I'm not even referring to Leica fairy dust, glowing lens or any of that - but basic optical quality. Oh well, maybe I was expecting too much. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and for the record, all I can think about is buying a pre-asph 35mm lux. Such is life I suppose.

(My Leica has supposedly had a CLA and I did test the light meter against my D7000's and they seem to be the same. I also long to make silver prints of my Leica's photos, but currently don't have the money for all of the chemicals. For now, the scanner will have to do.)

Here are a few of the better negative scans. No color adjustment or levels have been manipulated, pure scans. Some of the negs were simply too dark or too grainy. If you want examples of those, I can submit them as well. Anyway, enjoy.


img384 by saveamerika, on Flickr


img233 by saveamerika, on Flickr


img235 by saveamerika, on Flickr


img233 by saveamerika, on Flickr


img237 by saveamerika, on Flickr


img245 by saveamerika, on Flickr


img246 by saveamerika, on Flickr


img262 by saveamerika, on Flickr


img264 by saveamerika, on Flickr


img287 by saveamerika, on Flickr


img292 by saveamerika, on Flickr


img304 by saveamerika, on Flickr


img307 by saveamerika, on Flickr


img324 by saveamerika, on Flickr


img326 by saveamerika, on Flickr
 
Thank you, I scanned them using a semi high end flat bed. I'm not too good at it. I would much rather be enlarging and making silver prints.
 
Perhaps you are being a little too hard on yourself and just need more practice. Images 245, 307 and 326 show promise and I'm sure that one day your son will cherish 345, but only after being intensely embarrassed by it as a teenager. 😉

I'm fairly new to rangefinders too, and find I improve more by carrying it around all of the time and using it often rather than just picking it up for travel.

If you're used to the 50 on your Pentax, then stick with it on your Leica too. A 35mm may be nice to have for many reasons, but aside from wider angle of view and slightly deeper DOF, it will not change your situation.

Also, if your D-76 is anything like the xtol I just started using, then you should ditch the well and/or tap water and use distilled water for your developer and dilution.

There are a lot of very experienced and talented photographers here on RFF who will provide further and better quality words of wisdom, so I leave it to them to comment further.

Cheers,
Rob
 
I don't have a Leica, but I do shoot with RF and SLR. (I have a number of fixed-lens RFs: Konica Auto S2, Canonet GIII, Yashica Electro 35, Kodak Retina, etc.) And I also have a K1000 with a 50mm f1.4. I've also shot with a friend's M4-P with a 50mm Summicron.

The 50/1.4 is a fantastic lens: sharp, contrasty, beautiful rendering. I can see why you'd be content for a decade or more of shooting with that combo only.

These shots you've posted are just great! I particularly like the shots of the woman (your wife?) sitting on the bench, and from behind on the escalator. You've really captured something there, an intimacy that (IMO) is a lot easier to capture with an RF.

RF is a different thing. It's not quite as much about framing. It's not quite as technical as shooting with an SLR, which means there's less between you and your subject. The smaller camera/lens, the quieter shutter, and the need to compose and shoot with, say, one and a half eyes open. It's less cyclopean, if that makes any sense.

You've done it right: stick with one camera/focal length/emulsion, and get to know it well. The only variable here is going from SLR to RF. You can't go wrong with a SMC 50/1.4, and you can't go wrong with a Summicron.

I think these look really great!
 
My initial experiences with Leica cameras was perhaps the reverse of your own. I began photographing with serious intent at age 17, I started out with digital, a Nikon D70s to be precise. Then, that same year, the first year of high school, I took a photography class, not knowing it would involve darkroom work. During the entire length of that photography course I dreaded the darkroom, I hated it, it was the worst thing I knew, even worse than math. But for some strange reason, during one of the last darkroom sessions of the course, I ended up taking a lighter to one of my lacklustre negatives... I put the abused piece of plastic into the printer, pressed a button, waited a few seconds and then chucked the variable contrast paper into the developer. What I saw there in that murky water mixed with chemicals excited me like little else, seeing those twisted shapes manifested on that paper felt better than seeing even my best digital photographs on a screen. I wasn't hooked quite yet, but almost. I didn't stop thinking about film after that, the possibilities it offered, that tingle I had felt in the darkroom kept me engaged in analogue thoughts even though I still shot purely digital.

Two years later, at the beginning of my fourth and repeat final year of high school I did something incredibly stupid, yet, something I think I will never regret. I bought a Leica M4-P and a Summicron 35/2 on a student loan... For that entire year I carried the camera with me everywhere. For some reason, everything felt so natural with the camera in hand, even when I had no possibility of developing film I photographed with it, stacked piles of TRI-X on my shelf, rolls that I still haven't developed to this day. It sounds pretentious, but that camera helped me to see things in different ways, helped me reconnect with a world that I felt estranged from, at least that is what I thought, or perhaps felt, then.

Now, I know better, my M4-P is just a camera, nothing more and nothing less. It doesn't produce photographs of a quality that stand out too terribly from what I could have taken with any other camera, perhaps my photography would have even developed to be far more technically accomplished had I stuck to DSLR's... But I cherish the time I spend, and have spent with my eye to the M4-P, the results to me do not matter half as much to me as having a good time reaching those results. I'd rather have a thousand mediocre photographs that I enjoyed taking than a single great, iconic one that I did not enjoy taking.

A rangefinder camera might not be the right camera for you, but take your time to find out if it is, carry it with you whenever you can, and perhaps sometimes when you feel you can't or shouldn't. You are off to a great start with these photographs, but the important part is enjoying photography... And there is nothing to say that everyone does that best with a rangefinder, much less a Leica.

And erh, more to the point than my personal rant above... http://www.flickr.com/photos/14665469@N02/5304075233/ is great, to me, a rather stunning moment, typical of what I myself strive for when photographing. http://www.flickr.com/photos/14665469@N02/5304170727/ is also great, make sure to print it, print it large.
 
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Thank you very much for the responses guys, I really do appreciate them. I think part of my problem is spending $3k on used gear and expecting magic in return. This is not only not fair, but quite ignorant. I paid for quality and got quality. And as Smasher pointed out, I moved from a great lens (SMC 1.4) to another great lens (Summicron). So a great increase in sharpness and quality was probably naive.

In any case, I've grown quite fond of the rangefinder and it's photographic techniques. In the meantime, I'll develop the rest of my rolls with a little more care and continue shooting. I suppose I'll be in the honeymoon phase of getting to know the M6 and the Summicron for a while. I'm eager to learn it's strengths and weaknesses.
 
Dude, you're doing fine. You got some good ones in there, keep up the good work and stay enthusiastic. I did the med school thing too about 15 years ago and can relate to the years of relative poverty you're experiencing. I'm finally starting to get myself some toys I've wanted for a long time and it feels GOOD.
 
You've got some nice shots in there for sure. You will get the hang of that camera soon enough. I also recommend doing some post-processing. Negative film is meant to be post processed (darkroom or scan/photoshop) before display.
 
Thanks guys, I appreciate it. Yes, I've been told I look like that Zach fellow while
I have my beard. We both loom semi-descheveled. I'm an old punk rocker from my childhood and can't being myself to look proper I guess. Ha.

Yes medical school (my wife) is a wild ride. Now that we have a child, I
Stay home with him full time. He was born 3 months premature at 2lbs. Luckily, she'll be in residency in a few months and we'll be making some decent (not great) cash.

Yes, I'm well aware of negative post production. As stated, I love darkroom work, but will
Scan negatives when Im broke. I just submitted these negs here to display photos representative of my dilemma. I know there are dust particles and lint that need to be photoshopped, but I'm not looking to win any awards. I was primarily
wondering if the images look less sharp than typical summicron images. I loathe photoshop.
 
You have to commit to the Leica, meaning don't use anything else until you have mastered the Leica. My first 10 years of shooting was with a Nikon F3. When I made the switch to a Leica M, it was difficult. I practised focusing whenever I was watching tv in my living room. Leica focuses the oppoiste direction of a Nikon. I didn't touch another camera for 2 years and when i did it was for studio work. Keep prcatising focusing with the Leica and start guessing Light exposures before taking a reading. LOL
 
I loathe photoshop too, or more specifically I hate it when my hobbies require time in front of a computer, that's what work is for. That said, photoshop elements only costs 100 bucks, which is well worth it for the healing tool to remove dust and the level tools to adjust shadows and highlights. It takes only a few minutes per photo and I make these adjustments while my scanner is running (flatbed 12 photos per batch). I highly recommend it over photoshop for hobbyists and to put the money you save into more film 🙂
 
You just have to continue. The film development isue, as explained in the other forum, is most likely due to insufficient amount of developer per roll, anyway, this should be easily fixed after you experiment a bit. If you shoot Tri X (as I do), do not expect miraculous sharpness, because the film is the main limiting factor here, anyway, as HCB used to say, sharpness is a bougeois concept... The Leica should help you in quick framing and make your shooting style more imediate, but you still have to learn what you put inside the frame, what is the best distance for street shots, portraits, etc... Just keep on going, and if you want to save money on film, order Arista Premium 400 from freestyle - it is a rebranded Tri X, only much cheaper.
 
You have some good shots there! Don't be too depressed. img307 is really great.

I would suggest doing some experiments with your film. Take a roll of 36 and shoot it in bunches of 3 at a well known scene with more or less the same light. Chop the film up into 3 sections and develop one at 9 minutes, 10 minutes and 11 minutes (or 8/10/12). Look at the results and the one you like best you know is the right time (with that film & dev) for that type of environment.
 
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