I just put a bunch of stuff up on my Flickr page. Lots of market stuff from Montreal. Take a look if you have the inclination...

 https://www.flickr.com/photos/56796227@N02/

Best, Kirk

Not quite "street" photography. Let's call it "market" photography instead. What can you do with a 50mm lens and a decade old camera?

 

I have to admit right up front that grabbing photographs of people in crowded markets is much, much easier when using a state of the art mirrorless camera equipped with a fast zoom lens. You can raise that camera up to your eye and click without having to do any brain work beyond composition. And that may actually make the most sense if your sole concern is finding the perfect composition. But it also, at least for me, makes the whole process too easy. It's like eating chocolate cake all day long. You just know every bite is going to be fun but you start to miss the substance of real food. 

This post is by no means a paean to the Leica M series rangefinder cameras. The idea of shooting with manual focus lenses on a body with the exposure setting at manual is something I have done and shown over and over again on the VSL blog. My collection of old, manual focus 50mm lenses is becoming legend among my photo friends. It's the not the brand or type of camera that I find important to my enjoyment of photography but the layers of skill required, beyond setting the auto everything camera menus, that keeps my attention focused on making the images instead of just pointing and grabbing at stuff with an automated system. In my world; my brain, there has to be some sort of friction to the process to make it meaningful and real to me.

In a way that's separate from whether the images are good or not. It's also a separate issue from whether your camera is the "silver bullet" or not. What I'm suggesting is that having to work at the production of art immerses you more completely and the challenge is part of the formula for having successful imaging fun. 

I've mentioned in a number of the posts I've recently written about my trip that my daily photographic excursions were all done with only one camera and one lens at a time. Occasionally, as in the photos I wanted to take of the Metro, I might have seen a number of situations while walking around with a 50mm lens where I knew that a wide angle lens, like a 28mm, might make a better choice than a normal lens. Rather than make those scenes try to conform to the 50mm, and rather than stuffing other lenses into my already crowded pockets before leaving my hotel for the day, I chose to concentrate on all the subjects what would readily conform to the 50mm angle of view and then make a mental note to come back later, perhaps the next day, with a different lens and use it to capture all the wide angle views I might have seen. 

It might seem more "efficient/logical" to just take along contingency lenses but in my experience if I mostly shoot with a 50mm and decide to add a 28mm my mind immediately rebels and starts seeing more and more stuff that might be perfect for a 90mm lens as well and then the equipment starts to multiple and that burden creates a momentum toward making choices that kills the purity of intention --- in the moment.

You may see it differently from me because your brain might be wired differently than mine. These thoughts aren't intended to be hard and fast rules for everyone. Just the way I work.

The photographs I'm displaying here were mostly done in a couple of hours last Saturday. Some, like the marching chefs in the street, were done later in the evening, elsewhere. But they mesh with the topic a bit so I included them.

The M cameras work particularly well with 50mm lenses. The floating frame, with information on all around the outside peripheries, is an aid to the way I compose. I like to see what more or less could be included as I frame. And I do frame stuff quickly. The M cameras are, to my experience, less than perfect for 28mm subjects in that I can't see the frame lines  in the finder at all while wearing glasses, but even with a diopter attached I have to move my naked eye around the frame to accurately see the inaccurate frame lines for the 28mm. The 35mm and 50mm lenses are the only two that work very well with the optical finders of M cameras with my vision. In order to get the most out of my M mount 28mm lens I should really buy a good, 28mm bright line finder to put in the hot shoe of the camera. But I won't because I can always go back to the hotel, toss the M camera in the safe and trot out the Q2 which promises (and delivers) a much better operational platform for the 28mm focal length. 

I was neither "on" nor "off" last Saturday. I was lazier than I usually am and my hit rate was lower. But I scolded myself for being goal or quota driven and decided that casual observation and the enjoyment of my time spent at that location was more important than making some sort of temporary documentation to share mostly with people I have never met in person. And once I gave in to the idea of enjoying versus working at photos everything started to look much better. Insouciance can be a great tool for creative undertakings.

The "quiet" photographs are harder to show well on the web. But I really like them best.

 

I love this restaurant window. There are a lot of layers to the photograph. The wine bottles and the little credit card machines in the foreground. The deep interior of the restaurant on the right side of the frame; behind the bottles. The women on the left seemingly caught in the middle of conversation. And the reflection of the photographer at the top left of the frame. 

Capturing situations like this in the soft, evening light isn't as gripping as weird poses, intense saturation, inarticulate lighting or half naked young adults but I think it speaks to the quiet rhythm of life. 

A quick shot with a Leica Q2.

Each of these has lots of detail and delicate colors. Try to look at them on a big screen, if possible.

Thanks!  Kirk

I'm pretty sure I was supposed to photograph all of these spaces with a wide angle lens. So I used the Q2.

When I travel by myself for the singular pleasure of taking photographs for no good reason I always try to put together a "wish list" or "tentative agenda" for each day. I rarely put more that five things on my list but I'm generally happy if I get around to actually completing three. Sometimes the first thing on your list turns out to be a gold mine of fun and visual stimulation and in those cases I think you'd be a bit insane to want to abandon that and compulsively move on with your check list. 

The list is more a motivational device meant to move you from that quiet moment of enjoying a just delivered latté from the balcony of your hotel room out onto the streets and, if you are in a hurry, into the Metro. My list for one day in Montreal might include: 1. Marché Jean-Talon. 2. Climb up Mt. Royale. 3, Go to the big plaza called The Esplanade. (It's a vast outdoor space that connects all of Place des Arts' show venues at the Quartier des Spectacles. It's an immense public gathering space at the heart of the Quartier des spectacles).  4. See all the Metro stations. 5. Have dinner at Au Pied de Cochon (I skipped the "duck in a can" and ordered the pork shank....).

But the understanding is that I'm not wed and bound to go to all of the spots on the list. They are by way of suggestions. One that particular day I did the first two things on the list and then went totally off script and explored neighborhoods. But the list was there if I came up short.

I did go out one day to see Metro stations. I was inspired by a young YouTuber/Photographer named Yvonne Hanson who went around to see which Metro stations she thought were most architecturally interesting. Seemed like a good project to me so I gave it a try. Since the entirety of a morning would be spent traveling through tunnels, corridors and medium sized stations I thought I'd ditch the M240 and depend solely on the Q2 for the morning. It was a good choice. I guess "wide" is generally a good choice for the interior spaces of industrial locations. 

Since the whole Metro/Mass transportation thing is mostly novel and unknown to Central Texans, who are near wholly dependent on their cars and trucks I didn't have a real handle on how to shoot this particular topic so I did what photographers everywhere do; I winged. 

Traveling around with just the Q2 is really freeing. The 28mm takes some getting used to but it's a sweet lens and sharp everywhere. With a nearly 50 megapixel sensor and the crop lines for 35mm, 50mm and even 75mm you can punch in and see how your composition will look and then, in post your can crop down to the exact parameters you saw initially in the finder. Sure, cropping to the 15 megapixels of the 50mm frame or the 7.5 megapixels of the 75mm frame isn't going to be optimal for the making of large prints but for web use, and when under composition duress, it's nice to have options --- or at least guides. Optical "training wheels?"

I've been on Metros in Rome, Paris, Berlin, London and NYC and I think Montreal has the very best system. No trash, no graffiti, no bad smells, no pushy crowds and very helpful staff. Every ride was perfect. I will admit I don't think I'll ever sneak shots of people in the train cars. Doesn't seem fair. Like shooting fish in a barrel. Not my cup of cappuccino. 

The Q2 and the M240 with the 50mm make a nice combo. Just wish they both took the same battery type. That would be so cool. 

Several people asked me just how sharp the Voigtlander 50mm APO-Lanthar is when used at its close focusing distance on an M series camera....

 

I posted a visual response. The TL:DR?  It's more than sharp enough for me....

Voigtlander 50mm APO-Lanthar, handheld on a Leica M240, close in. The lens is one of my absolute favorites and was my most used lens on my recent photo adventure in Canada.

My final summation?   I'd buy it again. And again.

So nice that I visited twice.

 

There is a famous open air market in the Italian neighborhood of Montreal. It's called, "Marché Jean - Talon. It was founded in 1933 and it's been in the business of providing a marketplace for fresh produce, artisan cheeses, spices, and other great food ever since. It's well worth a visit if you are planning a trip to Montreal. Especially if you are coming from a city with no real, non-corporate grocery venues.

B. and I first went to Jean-Talon back in November of 2019. It was chilly and far outside the tourist season. There were fewer vendors but it was still a superb place to discover fresh food. And it was a delight to photograph. This time, traveling solo, I was up early and at the market the second day of my trip. I went again on a Saturday morning. Both times I made the trip from the Old Town to the market via the Metro. Very quick and efficient!

On both visits I took only one camera and one lens. The camera was the Leica M240 and the lens was the Voigtlander 50mm APO. I'd had the M240 for less than two weeks and didn't have as many opportunities to practice with it before my trip as I would have liked but I'm still very happy with many of the images I was able to capture. 

I was intent on using the wider apertures on the lens and wanted to see just how well calibrated the rangefinder mechanism is. From the results I was able to get I can say that the RF is at least as well calibrated as I needed it to be. 

I watched several photographers take images at the market. The bad ones fell into two camps: the Sneaky Petes and the immovable traffic bumps. It was obvious to everyone that the "Sneaky Petes" didn't think that they would be at all welcome to take photographs. They glanced around furtively and tried to get their photos when no one was looking their way. And not just for people shots but also even for close ups of the products. Their whole process made photography seem just a bit dicey. Like cheating on a test and just knowing/fearing they'll get caught. I can see why some photographers think people are uncomfortable with being photographed. It seems to me that the furtive shooters bring that paranoia with them and then, unwittingly, maybe unintentionally, share it with the subjects of their "stolen" images.

I get that it can be intimidating to be in a new situation and experiencing a nervousness about what the rules of engagement might be. I think the rules are pretty clear. Act like a compassionate human. Smile. Say, "Bonjour" and photograph as though it's as natural to you as breathing. If someone indicates that they don't want to be photographed I think it's always, always best to honor their wishes and not try to steal a shot. If you treat people like friends they tend to respond in kind.

The second group of photographers are just people with cameras but with no situational awareness. They see something that they think might make a good snapshot, plant their feet solidly, not taking into consideration that they might be blocking traffic, impeding commerce, etc., bring their camera with (always) a wide ranging zoom on it up to their eye, and spend way too much time zooming, refocusing, reframing and piddling around. It makes me want to yell, "Just take the damn photo!" 

Some people are very tentative about operating cameras. If you only pull out a camera for vacations/holidays and don't practice with it at any other times you can count on being slow as a turtle when it comes to "catching a moment." 

There really are no cures for slow motion photographers who are oblivious of their surroundings. I watch them sometimes while pretending that I'm viewing a YouTube video of what not to do.

I try to find things I want to photograph, wait until there is no traffic to contend with and then lean in with a preset camera and try to get a good but quick composition. To engage quickly one must trust one's own sense of immediate recognition of a good photograph appearing in the finder and then pounce. Waiting generally doesn't make things any better. first impressions mostly work best. 

But really, there were very few of the photographers I described. Most people stepped up, aimed a phone at something interesting to them, snapped and moved on. I tried to emulate their speed and approach. The insouciance imbued by the phone as camera.

One other thing for manual exposure photographers to note is that in covered spaces with uniform lighting the light intensity doesn't change much from stall to stall. That basically means that you can set an exposure and maintain it until you notice a change in the light. Automatic meters can be all over the place but one quick meter reading using a spot meter and the back of your hand as a target might be the only reading you need for good, overall manual exposure. Try it. You might find your folder full of images to be much more consistent from frame to frame than if you depend on your camera's automatic calculations. Especially so in direct sun.

I spoke with everyone whose booth I photographed. Sometimes just a quick "hello" and a smile but sometimes I asked for more details, or just asked how their day was going. It breaks down walls in both directions.

After a couple hours of browsing and smelling and looking at great food I remembered that breakfast had been a long time ago. I went by one fruit vendors stand and bought pint of blackberries. I asked the vendor to rinse them off and he was happy to comply. I walked the periphery of the market, looking at murals and graffiti as I munched through the blackberries. Half an hour later I was still hungry and found a fresh fish marketer who has a side business of making things like fish and chips. Or fried shrimp and chips. 

I ordered the fish and chips which came in a brown paper bag. I found a picnic table and sat down to a feast. The fish was wonderful but the portion of French fries was big enough to feed five people. I prioritized the fish, grazed on fries and then, with about a pound of fried potatoes left in the bag I called it "lunch over." And, well stuffed, moved on. 

It's interesting to see things like the market when the weather is near perfect, the season is still comfortable and the Saturday morning crowds are strong. I would also love to come back in January and see how different the whole vibe and visual display is when the temperatures are bitter cold and there's ice and snow all around. 

January. Might be a good time for a follow up visit. I'm betting hotel rates are so low that they pay guests just to be there.... or close to it.

The M240 made me work for the photos. There is more friction there. It's different than the times I use AF cameras with total automation. You have to put in the discipline and pay attention to get stuff you want. 

Smile. Make friends. You'll make better photographs.

don't know why but I'm in love with this images of these carrots. I will be making a print to put somewhere. Someone actually thought about composition just for display. That's nice.