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The ‘Match Technical’ Advantage
Last year, the Leica rangefinder replaced the SLR as my ‘go to’ camera for reportage, street, documentary, candid, travel, and just plain ‘fun’ photography. It changed the way I approach these subjects, and made me a better photographer for it. I took to the Leica instantly — coming to grips with its myriad quirks, methodologies,…
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What Color is Happy?
“We humans are quick to embrace new technologies, aesthetics, techniques and trends. We are equally adept at discarding the old ones. And, while few of us would choose to live in the past, its wanton abandonment comes with a heavy price — ignorance.” This article discusses why Black & White photography is still relevant.
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The Mythical Invisible Shield
Cameras have an odd psychological effect on me. They have a way of heightening one form of reality, while diminishing others. With my camera in hand, I’m singularly focused on creating the perfect image — one with the potential to entertain, enlighten, inform, or influence those who view it. When I’m on assignment, everything in…
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Alaskan Cruise Photo Gear Guide
Have you ever hunted through a photography forum for answers to such questions as, “What lens should I take on my Alaskan cruise?” or, “Should I bring a tripod on my Alaskan cruise?” If those forums left you with more questions than answers, I suggest you grab a cup of coffee, click on this link,…
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Listen to Your Leica
A simple little story about heat stroke, and the way it makes you do crazy things. Like, say, photograph fireworks in black and white on a dark beach in the middle of the night — hand-holding a Leica M8 while using ridiculously long exposures without benefit of a tripod.
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Geeking Out with a 50 ‘Cron
There are geeks and then there are photo geeks. In the old days, geeks worked in carnivals and were oddly entertaining folks who swallowed swords, hammered spikes into their nostrils, and decapitated chickens and snakes without benefit of a cleaver. The photo geek, by contrast, is not nearly so riveting. In fact, photo geeks are…
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Torment of the Innocuous Query
“What do you photograph?” Inevitably, when someone discovers that I’m a photographer, this is their Pavlovian response. It’s a question framed in an expression of utmost earnestness — as if they were asking a medical doctor to state his specialty, or an actor to enumerate the roles they had played. It’s an Innocuous query, but…
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Communicating Discourse
What would you do if an event coordinator asked for “action” shots at an event, and that event is about “people sitting around exchanging ideas?” It’s just another “Day in the Life” story for the fearless ULTRAsomething photographer.
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The M8ing Ritual (Part 3)
In this third and final entry into my “working” review of the Leica M8, I discuss image fidelity. Specifically, I discuss the obvious visual benefits of shooting a camera without an anti-aliasing filter. I take Leica to task for recording 12-bits of data, but downsampling the RAW files to 8-bit. I conclude with a discussion…
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The M8ing Ritual (Part 2)
In Part Two of my report on the Leica M8, I discuss such things as the camera’s ergonomics, its shutter noise, and whether or not it succeeds in making me “invisible” on the streets. Granted, they’re not the normal topics one discusses when reviewing a camera. But there’s nothing “normal” about the unique requirements of…
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The M8ing Ritual (Part 1)
With my street photography proclivities showing no sign of waning, this article finds me continuing my quest for the “perfect” camera. Earlier this year, I opted for a hybrid approach — mounting rangefinder lenses on a Panasonic DMC-G1 MFT body. The experience was reasonably successful. In fact, it was so much better than my previous…
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Of Glass Cacophonies
Every now and then, we all need a little extra inspiration. Many photographers fall into the habit of looking for photos in all the usual places. But by actively looking for photographs in non-standard places, photographers can find photo opportunities that might otherwise bypass them. This article discusses that “art” of looking for interesting reflections…
