Took My First Leica For Its First Walkabout

[wgerrard]

My new M3 -- my first Leica -- went out on its first walkabout this morning, under heavy grey skies and dodging raindrops, accompanied by Tri-X and a VC Meter II.

These things are conversation starters. You can walk around with a ten-pound Canon and a 300mm zoom hanging from your neck and no one says boo. A Leica provokes "Oh, that's a prettty camera" and "Hey, is that an Exacta?". Interesting.

Using a standalone meter was also a new experience for me. Here's what I learned: The meter is useless if you don't remember to transfer the readings to the actual camera.🙂

But, after putting up with rain and afternoon storms for a week, at least I've got a roll of film for kitchen counter processing, also a new experience. Wonder if I'll recognize the botched exposures.

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

Welcome to the world of masochism!!😀

 

[Sjixxxy]

These things are conversation starters. You can walk around with a ten-pound Canon and a 300mm zoom hanging from your neck and no one says boo. A Leica provokes "Oh, that's a prettty camera" and "Hey, is that an Exacta?". Interesting.

Or in my case, "Is that a Luger?"

 

[Trius]

Using a standalone meter was also a new experience for me. Here's what I learned: The meter is useless if you don't remember to transfer the readings to the actual camera.🙂

Well damn, that explains a lot! 😀

 

[matt335]

These things are conversation starters. You can walk around with a ten-pound Canon and a 300mm zoom hanging from your neck and no one says boo. A Leica provokes "Oh, that's a prettty camera" and "Hey, is that an Exacta?". Interesting.

Using a standalone meter was also a new experience for me. Here's what I learned: The meter is useless if you don't remember to transfer the readings to the actual camera.🙂

this is great, it makes me laugh at my own experiences over the last 12 months. especially when people want to look at the back of my camera after their photo has been taken. kids especially.

 

[wgerrard]

...people want to look at the back of my camera after their photo has been taken.

I trust you are polite and show it to them. 😉

 

[Chris101]

... These things are conversation starters. You can walk around with a ten-pound Canon and a 300mm zoom hanging from your neck and no one says boo. A Leica provokes "Oh, that's a prettty camera" and "Hey, is that an Exacta?". Interesting. ...

Heh. Yeah. Actually I notice that DSLRs with a large zoom lens get attention from well dressed women looking to get some attention, but my taped up Leica gets glances and questions from old farts who usually know what they are talking about. And I prefer shooting with the Leica. So I carry a D100 and 24-120 lens (fully extended with hood!) for show, but keep the Leica hidden under my coat, ready for action.

... Wonder if I'll recognize the botched exposures.

Those would be the clear ones and the completely black ones. A good scanner, or real enlarger should be able to get a picture out of any negative you can see image at all in.

 

[efkbl]

I trust you are polite and show it to them. 😉

Always carry a few ml of Xtol, vinegar and fixer in your pocket. You can pour it through the shutter curtain, and after a few minutes you can show the pictures! Who needs a M8?

 

[wgerrard]

Those were in the first several frames, shot before i woke up and whacked myself on the side of the head.

My debut at processing seemed to work just fine. Actual images appeared. I can't swear that the temperatures were correct, and I know the development time ran a bit long (I bought a do-it-all digital timer whose operation, being a klutz, I managed to screw up.)

I used a new M3 and a new Summicron 50/2 collapsible and the good news is the scans don't point to any issues with either.

 

[HMFriedman]

Heh. Yeah. Actually I notice that DSLRs with a large zoom lens get attention from well dressed women looking to get some attention, but my taped up Leica gets glances and questions from old farts who usually know what they are talking about. And I prefer shooting with the Leica. So I carry a D100 and 24-120 lens (fully extended with hood!) for show, but keep the Leica hidden under my coat, ready for action.

My sh*tty Holga seems to draw the attenion of lovely young women. So, you can keep the D100 and the Leica.

 

[jarski]

My new M3 -- my first Leica -- went out on its first walkabout this morning, under heavy grey skies and dodging raindrops, accompanied by Tri-X and a VC Meter II.

rainy and misty weather, for me is an invitation to load camera with black and white film 🙂

 

[dfoo]

Now that is what I call grain!

 

[Chris101]

Heh. Yeah. Actually I notice that DSLRs with a large zoom lens get attention from well dressed women looking to get some attention, but my taped up Leica gets glances and questions from old farts who usually know what they are talking about. And I prefer shooting with the Leica. So I carry a D100 and 24-120 lens (fully extended with hood!) for show, but keep the Leica hidden under my coat, ready for action.

My sh*tty Holga seems to draw the attenion of lovely young women. So, you can keep the D100 and the Leica.

I know what you mean. But check the Oscar Levant post in another thread about the power of the right camera in a pick-up scene. So I put black tape over the place where it says Holga and wrote "Mamiya Six". Now I get respect, and the ladies!

 

[wgerrard]

OK, here are three results of my debut with a Leica M3, with Tri-x 400, with a Summicron 50/2 Collapsible, with a VC Meter II, and with doing my own processing. (Xtol 1:1 at 68 degrees for... well, I botched the timer, so I'll say 10 minutes.)

The pictures are of little merit, but I'm just glad everything worked. Scanned on a Coolscan V ED with Vuescan and NikonScan and tweaked in PSE. These are from NikonScan. (I gotta get a clue about scanning and postprocessing. It feels like I've been invited into the kitchen of a 5-star restaurant, handed a knife and apron, and told the doors open at 7.)

 

[JustPlainBill]

Hi,
Welcome to photography with an M Leica! I particularly like the first picture you posted. If you ever have to opportunity to read the writings of the late Fred Picker, I think you will find them helpful. Picker wrote The Zone VI Workshop, an article about the "Perfect Proof" in Camera 35, and a series of articles in Petersen's Photography. Picker encouraged his students to photograph with Tri X film for Black and White in both 35 mm and sheeet film formats and to develop all your B&W film in Kodak HC 110. Also that being consistent in your film development is very important. My experience with "proper proofs", that is proofs made with the minimum exposure for maximum (photographic) black are very informative and that I never needed any other tests. Not knowing where you live, I would say using Xtol film developer is OK if you are consistent with it. You're at the stage where you need to practice! Good success.
JustPlainBill

 

[Ron Smith]

this is great, it makes me laugh at my own experiences over the last 12 months. especially when people want to look at the back of my camera after their photo has been taken. kids especially.

Similarly, I took out my M6 last week after a 5-year long digital hiatus and took some pictures of my wife of 22 years.

When I finished the roll of film and told her I was done, she said "Let me see."

I only spent the first 17 years of our marriage with a Leica attached to my face.

 

[Tom A]

The beauty of the TriX is that it is very forgiving! The meter is handy - but once you figured out the basic exposures - you just shoot and guess and somehow you can squeeze an image out of it.
What I find amazing is how much you can get with a scanner. Some of the stuff I have been scanning and gotten "visible" images from - would have me screaming in frustration in the darkroom!!!!
Keep on shooting and soon you will relegate the meter to a pocket or just leave it at home.
Good first roll - beware of Leica addiction though - otherwise you will soon start muttering "M2 and 35, a 90 and the Summicron is a bit slow @ f2" - it is a slippery slope and no known cure.

 

[semrich]

Welcome, enjoy your Leica and M3, I do and will pick up my collapsible Summicron soon. As has been said it is a slippery path.

I continue to enjoy threads of the nature, digital to film, doing your own B&W processing. It is interesting to notice how often these occur lately, I especially notice these have recently made the similar journey, and loving each step of it. I derive much more meaning from the process with film.

I've also made the mistake more than once of now transferring the meter reading to the camera, it made me laugh when you mentioned it.

 

[wgerrard]

Thanks, all, for the encouragement. Our little summer monsoon seems to have ended here, so opportunities for practice should ensue. (Near Raleigh, NC. I should put that in my profile. This time of year, we get regular late afternoon/evening storms triggered by the sun's heating of humid air during the day. It's too freakin' uncomfortable to spend much time outdoors until after sunset.)

JustPlainBill: Thanks, I'll check into those Picker articles. Re: Xtol -- I saw many suggestions that newbies should use Diafine. I picked Xtol because I wanted exposure to the developer-stop-fixer-wash-dry cycle. Another developer would have served that purpose just as well.

Tom: There's a 90/f4 Summicron [EDIT: make that "Elmar"] collapsible on its way here.🙂

 

[ChrisLivsey]

I've also made the mistake more than once of now transferring the meter reading to the camera, it made me laugh when you mentioned it.

You move to the stage of not transferring the reading because you disagree with the answer and when the neg proves you right it's time to leave it at home. Where did I read that the meter gives an average reading and an average neg - and who wants average ?
BTW nice shots, you have a good eye.