I only recently discovered the story and the photographs of Vivian Maier—-and both (the story and the photographs) are fascinating!
“An American of French and Austro-Hungarian extraction, Vivian bounced between Europe and the United States before coming back to New York City in 1951. Having picked up photography just two years earlier, she would comb the streets of the Big Apple refining her artistic craft. By 1956 Vivian left the East Coast for Chicago, where she’d spend most of the rest of her life working as a caregiver. In her leisure Vivian would shoot photos that she zealously hid from the eyes of others. Taking snapshots into the late 1990′s, Maier would leave behind a body of work comprising over 100,000 negatives.”
the story of how these photos and the intriguing person behind them were discovered:
I ordered this book a while ago on pre-order, and it arrived this week. $22 from Amazon. An amazing and beautiful book for a very low price. Hardcover, by Alessandro Pasi (2012). Highly recommended beautiful short history of Leica with full page spread profiles of every significant camera produced in their illustrious history. This book does not read like a publicity book—-instead it is full of beautiful and iconic photography throughout their history. This is the 3rd edition of this book, revised to include the digital range through the recent M-Monochrom.
Yes I am a Leica fanboy these days and it is driven by my love of creating fotos. And there’s nothing you can do to stop me!
Being inspired to create is so much nicer than obsessing to appreciate.
i’m really loving grinding my creative teeth on my M8. “Hip shooting” is my latest interest….pre-focusing the lens, with delayed shutter reload…..and then creating the distance i need. There’s nothing quite as interesting as walking around seeing the wicked charms of New York City….with a camera in hand. I used to think nothing was better than driving around NYC, but now i’ve found something even more interesting.
I usually shoot in B&W, but the colours in this photo were too beautiful so I had switched to colour for it.
New York City, Leica M8.1 with Voigtlander 35mm f1.4
Who is the greatest photographer of all time? I’m certain I will hear many people say Henri Cartier-Bresson. I haven’t finalized my answer yet, however I can certainly see why.
Since really cutting back on my intake of automobile-related news and interests (more about the details of that at a later time) as of a few months ago, they have been replaced by a burning love for photography and cameras. After recently buying my Leica M8.1, i have been turned on to the magical world of rangefinder cameras. New and old. Eventually I would like to buy a nice Leica M5 and fool around with film photography; however my primary love of cameras is around digital photography. Part of this may be due to the fact that I am impulsive and need to see my photos within 24 hours, but mainly due to the fact that I really don’t have the time to dedicate to film photography. Digital photography, while saturated in this day of iPhone-photographers, can still be beautiful.
Today at Photokina in Cologne, Germany; Leica revealed the new lineup of Leica M cameras. The much anticipated ‘next step’ in the Leica M range is actually going to NOT be called the Leica M10; but instead called simply Leica M.
Bigger screen, video recording (in a Leica??), focus assist (in a Leica??), optional electronic viewfinder, 24mp CMOS full-frame sensor, and a familiar body with likely beautiful construction and materials as all Leicas generally have. The M will cost $6950 in the US.
then there’s the Leica M-E; essentially the same camera as the outgoing Leica M9P, however recoloured in a beautiful anthracite and debadged to be a bit more stealthy! Same exact specs as the prior M9P. Oh and the price has been slashed to $5450.
will these make you a ‘great photographer”? NO. Will this help inspire you to be more creative and understand the fundamentals of photography? probably YES. Well, at least the M8 has done that for me…..now, time to save up for a Leica M-Monochrome (announced as still in production).
Digital photography and videography have completely changed the landscape of imaging in all realms of life; creative to scientific to archiving. “Side By Side” is a documentary investigating what changes have occurred in the modern film industry to utilize the new technological developments brought forward to digital video technology and where that leaves the original reel film mechanism. Reel film seems so bulky, inflexible, and archaic compared to what we can now do with digital film.
The ‘big time’ hollywood aspect of this documentary is a bit naff….especially with overblown and overdone filmmakers like George Lucas (rubbish)….however the topic is interesting.
In the end, the quality of the film is not determined by what kind of mechanism it was made on—-but the mind of the filmmakers/writers and the strength of their ideas.
…by my favourite photographer i’ve been recently introduced to the works of: Ray K. Metzker. Thanks to Drew (MCB) for introducing me to his style and work! It is very inspiring. This photo is currently my desktop background.
During my massive research spree prior to getting my M8, i spent several weeks reading forums, articles, and watching videos. One of the most entertaining discoveries I made was a series of videos on YouTube by a lad named Kai Wong for DigitalRev.com. Who would have thought that Jeremy Clarkson would have had a young bastard asian child!? That’s pretty much what Kai Wong is—while most of the other camera reviews and videos are about as exciting as lifting the toilet seat up, Kai does something unique. He instills his thrill and enthusiasm into cameras and photography in the same way that Jeremy Clarkson instills his enthusiasm into automobiles.
Since that time, I’ve found myself watching lots of DigitalRev videos hosted by Kai—not because I really want the cameras he is reviewing, but because I find the videos very entertaining. Good on ya, Kai! You may not be entirely original, but you’re doing a great job nonetheless. (BTW, Kai also uses an M8 as one of his primary tools)
This is one of my favourite videos—which played a role (along with people like Drew from MotoringConBrio) in convincing me of the magical powers of rangefinder cameras.
My Leica M8 is now fully capable, up and running with a Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 lens. This is my first time ever owning and using a fully manual camera, and my first time owning and using a Rangefinder. What a machine—-really find it a fascinating piece of equipment. I just put it all together last night, and am still playing around with the settings. Less than 24 hours with it, and these are my favourite photos thus far. Lots more to come in the future, hopefully!
I have no idea what this Chinese cough syrup is made of…but it sure should looks hardcore:
I’m still really excited about my Leica M8.1, however I always wondered how these cameras are made. Leica always states these are hand assembled, and this fantastic video shows the M8 successor, the M9 in its assembling phases. Very cool attention to detail, and this is part of the reason why their products cost so much. The factory (laboratory?) is also very very german….which is a good thing!
Unfortunately the embedding function does not work on this video (not sure why)…but click through this link to watch: http://vimeo.com/6551861
As i get ready to pick up a new Camera, i’ve been shooting a lot with my Leica D-Lux 3, a fantastic point & shoot camera i’ve had for over 3 years now. It still takes wonderful photos, and is super small. Even after picking up my other camera this weekend (hopefully) i’m still gonna hang onto the D-Lux 3 as my pocket point & shoot.
What you’re looking at is the most expensive camera ever sold….the 1923 Leica O-series. Quite beautiful, but absurdly priced! Sold at 2.16 million Euros ($2.77m) at the Westlicht Photographica auctions in Vienna.
I first saw “C’Etait Un Rendez-Vous” about 7 years ago, and was absolutely blown away by it. I used to watch it every day for a while. A couple of years later, after speaking to a ‘car guru’ friend of mine, I learned that the car in the short film was NOT a Ferrari 275 GTB, but a Mercedes 450 SEL 6.9, which was later admitted in interviews by Claude Lelouch, maker of the film. Since then, i’ve made it my duty to point this out to almost everyone who seems to think it is a Ferrari 275 GTB, the same thing I USED to think—until i was told the truth.
The sound of the engine, has been rumoured to be overdubbed from a Ferrari 275 GTB, something I feel to be consistent with the sound—unless proven otherwise by some other documentation.
I found this sweet photo of Mr. Lelouch mounting his camera kit on the SEL @ The Torrible Zone
(2nd grainy photo from IDCMB.com)
I’ve seen this clip about a million times, but I suppose for context and for people who have never seen it—-it is worth reposting here.
Could this combination be any better?!? my favourite carmaker and my favourite camera maker have come together, with one of my favourite auto designers Walter De Silva putting his hands on the redesign of the Leica M9 Titanium Edition. It will probably be too expensive, but it’s also too cool….what does “expensive” mean? well considering a standard M9 costs $7000+, i’m guessing this limited edition will be at least $8000 or more? OUCH OUCH!
As much as i love my Leica D-Lux 4, i must admit to daydreaming…..
IEDEI 