[Leica] Don's PAW Summarit explorations

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant)]

Don Dory showed teh Summarit Leica glow.: :-)
Subject: [Leica] Don's PAW Summarit explorations


Greetings again. Last week I played around with a Summarit at F1.5. This
lens does indeed provide that famous Leica "Glow". For some situations this
lens has a unique signature very hard to replicat in PS and certainly not to
everyones taste.
 First up is a window portrait of my daughter. This is a little less than
half the negative as the original showed far more of the window in a
landscape mode.
 http://gallery.leica-users.org/album167/VMARYWINDOWSMILINGPRINTADJU
 Second is a gray day shot with room to show the Summarit's unique signature
in background detail at wider apertures.
 http://gallery.leica-users.org/album167/marybench
 Last for today is a shot taken while waiting at the airport. No stealth,
just pick up the camera and shoot.
 http://gallery.leica-users.org/album167/waitinginlove<<<<

Hi Don,
As much as I like these with the Summarit creating a feeling I should make 
use of mine more often, unfortunately I'm selling a complete Leica Red Dial 
lllf kit with 1.5 Summarit, a 35mm and 135 mm lenses along with other 
close-up and various other like new bits and pieces including an un-marked 
fine leather case to carry camera with auxiliary viewfinder and all other 
bits and pieces.

Now when I see the results from your Summarit exposures I'm now tempted to 
shoot with mine on an M7 using adapter and do some fun shooting rather than 
"assignment related." As some hobby like stuff. ;-)

However the gear is pretty well committed to someone who'll give it a good 
home ;-) while making good use of it. Besides I'll have another of my old 
camera stuff gone. A couple more Leica's, 1932 for one with a couple of 
Russian copies, Leica and Contax. But that's for later this month when many 
things will be listed on a Friday.

However the Summarit does produce that Leica glow certainly if you use it 
under similar lighting conditions of times gone by when Leica was king of 
Kings of cameras in it's hey day. I'd like to see images of really old 
buildings, circ early 30's, moody light and or early evenings with a little 
light left in the sky and street lights on. Oh maybe a tad bit of fog might 
help! ;-)

Some what in the form of early Atget works.;-) That mood stuff no matter 
what cameras he and others of that era used.

The shot of your daughter in the widow is intriguing in that I would've 
liked to see a fuller use of the neg, rather than crop it from a little less 
than half the frame. This doesn't mean I don't like it, it's "the glow" 
maybe a tad too much.;-)

But then we become spoiled by the sharp cutting contrasts of modern day 
glass and quite often the visual value of the "Leica glo" is lost due to our 
vision of today's "snappy colours and contrasts" cut by new Leica glass.

Thanks for posting as I think it's good for folks to see what can be done 
with old lenses as pictures don't always have to be as sharp and crispy and 
finger cutting sharp and moodless as we see many today.

The important thing is knowing when to make the "Glo" work in a photograph 
and when not to, as it doesn't work every time. But in the right scene it 
creates such a wonderful visual effect that's just as much a learning thing 
for success as making the correct exposure.Which I feel you've done here.

One last point; The couple in the airport.... just a neat life moment 
photo!:) Basically... "SEE-SHOOT!" No screwing around deciding exposure 
compensation or other techie things so many allow themselves to become 
trapped into with bloody details or taking for ages to focus.

The success of these type of photographs is the ability of photographer to 
"SEE and REACT" all in one motion. As you say...>>" No stealth, just pick up 
the camera and shoot!"<<< Good on you for a well captured life's moment in 
airport fun.;-)
ted