The Fab Four?

Yesterday, I just got back 25 rolls of processed Kodachrome I've been shooting over the past few weeks. This is the first Kodachrome I've shot in over 30 years. This is also the first time I'm scanning the film, as digital wasn't around 30 years ago. Everything I've heard about scanning it is true. It's a challenge. I believe that mostly due to the high contrast of slide film, particularly Kodachrome.

This is a group of young men I met in downtown Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin on June 13, 2009. They do a Beatles impersonation act, and happily agreed to pose for me as I was out shooting street that day.

On her last leg

Great Blue Heron at the water's edge.

Concert Poster

Rehearsal

Music Man

Madison, WI, with my wife's FX01

Hanging on

The calling of the elephants

What once was...

Another headshot of Zoomer

Taken with the Leica M3, Elmar 50/4, and Kodak BW400CN.

4th of July Fireworks

Last night I photographed the fireworks across from our house, using both digital and film (Kodachrome). It will be a few weeks before I see how the film turned out, but at least I can share a few digital pictures for now.

First shots with the 1957 Elmar 90/4

This lens is sure to prove a worthy companion to it's shorter brother, the Elmar 50/f2.8.

These shots were taken with Fuji Superia 400 @ EI 400.

I second that Elmar

My M3 kit feels just right with the 50mm/f2.8 Elmar mounted on it. But the M3 was also designed to take the long glass better than any other M, so I've been looking and looking for a 90mm Leica lens that I could afford. And last week I found it, a 1957 90/f4 Elmar in M mount, born the very same year as my M3 and the 50/f2.8 Elmar. It's from a member at RFF, and it sure looks like he knows how to care for his camera gear, as the glass is still clean and clear, and the lens barrel is not too far from that itself. Pictures taken with this lens to follow soon!

This pretty much completes my M3 kit, and probably my Leica RF kit overall.

Remember the Sound of Color?

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/films/catalog/kodachrome64ProfessionalFilmPKR.jhtml

http://homepage.1000words.kodak.com/default.asp?item=2388083&CID=go&idhbx=kodachrometribute

Elmar does good light

A few days ago I scored an old Leica MR-4 lightmeter for the M3. It seems to perform well, as the reading is right on par with the built-in meter on my Leica MP and my handheld Gossen Luna LUX. The MR-4 couples mechanically to the shutter speed dial on the M3, so what I essentially have now is a aperture-priority camera.

Leica M3 goes Hollywood!

What can I say, the original vulcanite was old and crusty. I had seen a chrome Zeiss Ikon a while back, covered in cobalt blue goatskin from camera leather, and thought if I ever get a chrome M, I would try it myself.

Old vs. New

A couple days ago, I posted two photos from the 1958 Leica 50/2.8 Elmar lens. Here are three photos taken with the new version of this lens. Please note that this is not a controlled test, as it's just too darned hard to control a greyhound. ;) I hope to soon perform a very controlled test with both lenses.

Lens Test

Today I loaded up my two Leica M cameras with Kodak T400CN, the MP that sports the new style 50/f2.8 Elmar-M, and the M3 with the recently aquired 1958 original 50/f2.8 Elmar. These are two shots from that beautiful 51 year-old piece of German glass. Our greyhound, Zoomer, provided his talents as model.

Ain't she sweet!

I've been looking and looking, and losing and losing. Everytime I find an original 50/2.8 Elmar M-mount, it's either full of cleaning marks, haze, fungus, or oily aperture blades. Or when I found the one I wanted, someone's highest bid was higher than I wanted to pay.

Finally, a few days ago, I found one. But I was feeling a bit uneasy about the whole deal, as the seller wasn't providing any more than a couple of pics that gave no impression of the glass's condition. He said he didn't have a camera to take anymore pictures, but he assured me the lens was in excellent shape. He wouldn't provide a serial number. But through all this, he assured me the lens was in excellent shape. Well, I was getting a bit nervous, since I had already placed my highest bid. And I won. It came today, a few days earlier than I expected. And the lens...well, it's truly "in excelllent shape".

The glass is immaculate. Not a bit of haze. Not a bit of cleaning marks. Not a bit of oil on the aperture blades. In fact, the blades look hardly worn from use. The lens barrel onto which the lens collapses, is like brand new. I wanted one of these original Elmars for two reasons. First, this one was manufactured the same year as my M3 (1958), where it will live day and night. But I wanted it mostly because it has FIFTEEN aperture blades! The newer Elmars, of which I have one for my MP, have six blades. This lens is a real beauty. It even came with the original bubble case and Leitz UVa filter. And the funny thing is, I paid WAY less than any other one I've seen around. It was certainly worth the wait. Now I'm going to play with some light. :)

Naked M3

I just got all the old vulcanite off my 1958 Leica M3. Yesterday the new skin arrived from cameraleather. After getting a few tips from my local Wisconsin Leica guru, Don Goldberg (DAG), I should have this thing looking totally unrecognizable in a couple days. And next week my original 50/2.8 Elmar (M mount) should arrive to join in the unveiling.