WARREN CONNECTICUT – I did some work today with my Leica Monochrom and my 1945 vintage Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm. f1.5 Sonnar lens. The results on this sunny snow-covered day were pleasing enough to me to warrant an mini-gallery so here you go:
On this day one year ago: Sundial.
WARREN CONNECTICUT – A cold, dreary day. Taken with m Leica Monochrom and an 18mm Super Elmar.
On this day last year: Francesca’s portrait by Jemima Kirke who is a painter when she isn’t an actress.
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Finally, some cold weather. Actually really bad weather. We had planned on going out to dinner but the roads were terrible so I pulled together dinner out of what was available. This is what it looked like outside, taken with my Leica Monochrom and a Leica 18mm Super Elmar lens. A 16 second exposure on a tripod. Sixteen seconds was too long to be outside – the wind was howling.
On this day one year ago: Sundial.
WARREN CONNECTICUT – I took a walk today, Christmas day, with our friend Gianni Ferrari from Milan. We passed by a spot on a neighbor’s property where he keeps old disused farm equipment. Taken with my Leica Monochrom and 50mm f.95 Noctilux lens.
On this day one year ago: Winter landscape.
WARREN CONNECTICUT – So I spent the day close to home in Warren, shooting with my Leica Monochrom and f.95 Noctilux lens. This lens is an outstanding performer in all conditions and has a lovely look, but is a major pain in the butt to carry because of its size and weight. It also blocks about a third of the rangefinder frame with it sheer bulk. But really nice results. Here it is:
On this day one year ago: the Washington CT Congregational Church. I seem to be in the habit of shooting churches in this Holiday season.
WARREN CONNECTICUT – I’ve become obsessed with a lens that I bought for a song on eBay, the lens that I wrote about in my December 19 and December 20 posts. Further research indicates that work started on the optical cell (the optical workings of the lens) at the Karl Zeiss works in Jena in December 1945. So it actually is a Zeiss Jena 5cm f1.5 Sonnar. The lens cell was subsequently fitted to a Leica screw mount body by an unknown third party, probably in Germany, the UK or US, for sale in the UK or US. The distance scale is denominated in feet and Zeiss itself didn’t make any lenses in Leica mounts as Leica was a competitor (Zeiss and Leica were the equivalent of Nikon and Canon today). I can see why it would have been worth the trouble to convert this lens to a Leica mount: it is actually the equivalent of an modern lens in most respects at f4 and beyond – its performance is simply breathtaking and it has a lovely signature. I’ll be continuing to shoot with it over the next few weeks. Here are two images from today taken with the Sonnar on my Leica Monochrom.
This is what the lens looks like.
On this day last year: more fun with my iPhone.
NEW YORK NEW YORK – I’ve taken a break from shooting with my new old lens. Here we are at a small Holiday dinner with some old friends, shot with my Leica Monchrom and 50 Summilux Asph. lens.
On this day last year: Messing around with my iPhone.
