We must have driven by the old fire alarm a hundred times without ever noticing someone had painted it with a portrait of our city’s namesake… Leica M, Noctilux.
Archive for Leica M
Local Color
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Leica M, Leica M-240 photos, Noctilux 0.95 on April 23, 2013 by johnbuckley100The Afterfrenzy
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Leica M, Leica M-240 photos, Noctilux 0.95, The Tulip Frenzy, Tulip Frenzy on April 21, 2013 by johnbuckley100All photos Leica M, 50mm Noctilux f/0.95, wide open in sunshine, ND filter on.
So last week, the tulips were mostly in frenzy, but the winter-summer-winter pattern of the weather kept them from being in uniform bloom. Today is a sunny, but cool day in Washington, and the tulips are all open, but the peak of the frenzy was probably three or four days ago.
We found some new beds not far from where we live, and we will remember them for next year. Alas, we are in the afterfrenzy. As far as we’re concerned, summer can now begin.
Wait, You’ve Got The New Album By Thee Oh Sees?
Posted in Uncategorized with tags 50mm APO-Summicron-ASPH, Leica M, Leica M-240 photos on April 16, 2013 by johnbuckley100Leica M, 50mm APO-Summicron-Asph, ND filter.
People Taking Pictures Of People Painting People Taking Pictures Of People…
Posted in Uncategorized with tags 50mm APO-Summicron-ASPH, Cherrypalooza, Leica M, Leica M-240 photos, Ted Leonsis, Ted's Take on April 15, 2013 by johnbuckley100
Leica M, 50mm APO-Summicron-Asph
Last week, when we posted pictures of the Cherrypalooza on the Mall, our friend Ted Leonsis posted on his blog “Ted’s Take” a link to Tulip Frenzy, entitled “Pictures of People Taking Pictures On The Mall.” This is a picture of someone making a painting on the Mall, and we admire the artist’s skill.
If you have any question, though, about what a sharp combo the Leica M and 50mm APO-Summicron-Asph make, check out this 100% crop — and we mean really check it out via clicking on it. We note the photo was taken using the rangefinder focus, not the EVF.
Of Course We Found The Tulips In Frenzy At Dumbarton Oaks
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Dumbarton Oaks, Leica M, Leica M-240 photos, Noctilux 0.95, The Tulip Frenzy on April 14, 2013 by johnbuckley100All pictures Leica M and Noctilux wide open with an ND filter. Raw conversion in LR4, sharpening in Nik Sharpener Pro 3, and then some fooling around in either Viveza or Color Efex Pro 4. As always, click on the photos, especially if you are reading this on an iPad with Retina Display, to get the fullest sense of the image.
It has been our experience that if you want to find the tulips in frenzy, you need to head to Dumbarton Oaks. Now some may remember that we love Dumbarton Oaks in the autumn for the way it can can be rendered in black and white, as we did last fall with the Leica Monochrom. But if you really want to find the tulips at their most colorful, especially in what seems to be a bit of an off year, you have to go to the Oaks…
We found them in full riot, though importantly, only in those portions of the garden that got lots of sunlight.
Where they were bright, they were very, very bright. And we found ourselves drawn to the cooler parts of the garden, which are just now coming alive.
The Tulip Frenzy Is Here
Posted in Uncategorized with tags 50mm Noctilux 0.95, Leica M on April 14, 2013 by johnbuckley100It’s the most. Wonderful time. Of the year.
So it’s a little bit of an odd Tulip Frenzy. Because it has been so cold, and then suddenly we hit 90 degrees, the orderly, though delayed process of tulips emerging in DC seems to have been overly hastened along. So tulips went from heavy bulbs to post-peak in the span of a single day. Colors are muted. And just as there are always funny stories when a baby boom follows nine months after a big snowstorm, we can’t help but notice that there seem to have been fewer bulbs planted in Our Nation’s Capital last fall. Hmm, autumn of a presidential year.
We will report back in later in the day. But this is an early taste of what D.C. is like on the namesake day for our blog. Leica M, 50mm Noctilux, ND filter. Yes, we had some fun processing it in LR4, sharpening the tulip in Nik’s output sharpener, and then fooling around in Color Efex 4.
A Perfect Letter B, Or The Diversity Of Crowds At The Cherry Blossompalooza
Posted in Uncategorized with tags 50mm APO-Summicron-ASPH, Leica M, Leica M-240 photos on April 13, 2013 by johnbuckley100Leica M, 50mm APO-Summicron-Asph, ND filter, wide open.
Not Everyone Is Getting What They Want
Posted in Uncategorized with tags 50mm APO-Summicron-ASPH, Leica M on April 12, 2013 by johnbuckley100At the Tidal Basin, midway through Cherry Blossompalooza. Leica M, 50mm APO-Summicron-Asph, ND filter, f/13.
Holding Hands With Captain Adorable
Posted in Uncategorized with tags 50mm APO-Summicron-ASPH, Leica M, Leica M-240 photos on April 11, 2013 by johnbuckley100Every once in a while a photo just comes together. It’s easy to understand how this little girl caught our eye in the crowd, but that we were able to focus and capture her holding hands with Captain Adorable is an example not of skill but kismet. Yeah, the dress makes the photo, but check out the dappled light and the soft background bokeh. Leica M-240, the 50mm APO-Summicron-Asph, and a 3X ND filter, shot at f/6.8. This is not what Joel Meyerowitz would call a “tough shot,” as anything with kids in it is, by definition, potentially sentimental. But we love this shot. Hope you do, too.
Cherry Blossom Time As En Plein Air Portrait Studio
Posted in Uncategorized with tags 50mm APO-Summicron-ASPH, Cherry Blossom Time, D.C., Leica M, Leica M-240, Washington on April 10, 2013 by johnbuckley100All pictures Leica M-240 with 50mm APO-Summicron-Asph. Click on picture for detailed viewing.
It’s Cherry Blossom Time in Washington, D.C. and everyone is enjoying the nice weather.
It’s a time for relaxation in the suddenly gorgeous spring, which given how consistently cold the winter was, provides immediate happiness.
But it’s also a time in which people come to the Mall to have their picture taken, and everyone is either posing for a picture…
taking a picture…
Or reviewing a picture.
The mass phenomenon of people taking pictures of themselves is a byproduct of the Smartphone Revolution.
But everyone loves getting their picture taken during Cherry Blossom Time, even if it’s not by the person to whom they thought they’d given the assignment.
It can all be a bit much. Until you see how happy it makes everyone.
Tulip Frenzy 