KENT AND WARREN CONNECTICUT – We’re showing our age: Maria and I went to a birding class in Kent this morning. We took a walk with the group behind the Kent town hall. Interestingly there were fewer birds that normal (our guide reported) because they had gone to ground feeling the low pressure as Sandy approached. Later in the day I experimented at bit with high ISO landscapes – shooting at ISO 5000 and f16 to maximize depth of field. Both images taken with my Leica Monochrom and 28mm Summicron lens.
BirdingRocks
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Out with my Leica Monochrom today. I captured a backlit tree line – actually three frames stitched. And a store in New Preston run by a close friend. Also a stitch.
Tree lineNew Preston Kitchen Work
WARREN CONNECTICUT – We took a hike in Steep Rock Preserve today, admiring the fall foliage and scouting cross country ski trails. More black and white color for my daily photo blog, taken with my Leica Monochrom and 35mm Summilux FLE lens.
Walk in the woodsFall color
WARREN CONNECTICUT – So here’s an experiment. I’ve been shooting almost solely for the last six weeks with my Leica Monochrom, a digital camera that shoots only in black and white but offers enhanced resolution and a distinctive film-like look (after some processing). It’s fall here and I’ve been working against the grain, generally a good idea, and shooting the New England foliage in black and white. I thought that I’d show you what the foliage looks like both ways today. First a black and white image taken with my Monochrom and a Leica 28mm Elmarit lens, and then an images taken in color with my M9 and the same lens. First the black and white:
Fall color
After spending a bit of time with this I’ve decided I like it – it has the grittiness of a 1940s image shot on orthochromatic film.
Here’s the color images, taken a half mile from the first image and in color.
Fall color
Not bad. Captures the moment but a bit pedestrian. For now I’m sticking with the Monochrom.
BREWSTER NEW YORK AND WARREN CONNECTICUT – Another day of shooting fall foliage with my Monochrom. This time with a 35mm Simmulux FLE lens. I focused on relative close ups to find some textures that the black and white camera could get some traction on. On the way back to New York this afternoon we stopped at the Red Rooster Drive-In in Brewster. Not many of these left. There’s a nice outdoor eating area; we overheard the conversion of some seniors at the next table: “Now isn’t this better than Macdonalds?” Yup.
Red Rooster Drive InAutumn
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Back to a perfect display of fall foliage. Wildly colorful. And here I am shooting with my Leica Monochrom. In black and white. I’ve got a new lens, a Leica 28mm f2.8 Elmarit Asph. This lens is extremely compact making the Monochrom almost pocketable. It reputation on the Leica street is that it almost offensively sharp and high contrast, making it difficult to control in high contrast situations. I thought it might work well with the Monochrom’s flatish looking files, and it does. Here are some samples. Note that I’m using a yellow-orange filter here to darken the sky.
Fall foliageTree lineTall grass
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Still photographing fall color without color. There was a moment of sensational light at sunrise. Captured with my Leica Monochrom and 50-year old Dual Range Suumicron (18mm Super Elmar in the case of the third image). These are some of the best images that I’ve gotten so far from the Monochrom.
Ground fogSunriseGarden
