I've walked past this alley behind East Sixth St. hundreds of times and
this was the first time I saw this bizarre combination of metal plates and
the purple door.
A little context. I'm a glutton for punishment so I spend too much time on YouTube watching photographers like Paul Reid and Alan Schaller do their work in black and white. With monochrome only Leica cameras. And I really like their black and white work so after a bout of "research" on their channels I rush over to Leica Store Miami's website (not affiliated!) and check to see if they have an M monochrome camera that is both cheap and in perfect condition. And I always have the intention to buy one but I seem never to be able to push the "buy" button for what I still consider to be such a niche product.
I came so close this morning, after swim practice. I had my rationale in place and I had cued up a credit card because I found just the right product today. An M246 (monochrome version of the 2012 Leica M240) in really nice condition that just came back to LSM from a CLA by Leica. Spa session for used cameras.... The product description was....flavorful, crunchy, fulsome. But I thought to myself that I should go out for a walk instead. That I should take along a modern Leica, set to make black and white Jpegs, and that I should evaluate the take at the end of the day and see if I found anything about the black and white images to be wanting. Flawed. Coming up short. If I saw faults then I'd hit the button. But....
I tooled around for a couple hours on my regular downtown route. Like a mouse in a maze.
If nothing else my Apple Watch informed me that I walked 3.4 miles during my black and white camera deep dive. Good to be mobile. And good to walk in the sunlight. Keeps you younger. And healthier.
The black and white project was going smoothly. I was passing up bright colored scenes left and right and only photographing stuff that I knew would look really good in black and white. I'd shot a couple hundred semi-abstract frames when I turned the corner and saw the image above. Sure, I tried it in black and white but....meh. Ick. An image only a rabid Lee Friedlander fan would like. And in that moment I realized the benefit of the bayer filter array spread across the 47 megapixel sensor in my Leica Q2. I could change one control on the back of the camera, in about three seconds, and I could capture the image in full color. Rich color. Contrasting colors. Satisfying colors. No extra cost. No extra work.
As I was sitting at my desk looking at the image at the top of the page and then also the monochrome images I made during most of my walking experiment and I opened up a window in Safari and deleted the M246 from my "shopping cart." The black and white Jpegs straight out of camera look wonderful. As nice as I could hope.
When I win the lottery, or when the S&P 500 hits 10,000 (it could happen...) I'll head over to the same website and put in my order for an M11 Monochrome. Might as well reach of the top shelf.
But for now? Happy with the B&W out of the Q2, the SL2, and the SL. Happy with the same out of the Sigma fp. And even happier that all of those cameras can be effortlessly switched back to color on a whim. It plays into that quantum wave that unites all the consciousness in the universe.
I'll post some of the black and whites a bit later.
One more sample that just had to be in color.
Leica Q2. SOOC Jpeg. Color
3 comments:
i would like your SL if you ever get tired of it which is probably never :-)
You made the right call, I believe. I do not see how a dedicated black and white sensor would improve your work. You might rent a Monochrom just top prove it to yourself. And ask JC how the Pentax is going.
Hi Roland, I adore the SL cameras. The first generation in particular. I don't think I'll be parting with them for quite a while. If ever. But they exist out there. Find one at a Leica Store dealer and see if you can get one that's been recently serviced.
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