Archive for December, 2009

Bus lane

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 by


A more abstract street shot. I’ve had a 8X12 of this on my whiteboard for a few weeks now ((Whiteboards are great for keeping test prints. Much like a pinboard, but with the ability to add notes.)) and once I get my darkroom set up, I intend to make a bigger one to frame ((Unfortunately, my normal lab prints B&W shots on colour paper, which doesn’t look as good as I want it, you get a kind of pinkish undertone in the midtones.)).

Technical details

Leica M3, 50mm Summicron, Neopan 400, developed by my lab in Ilford chemistry.

Why I like it

It’s something new for me, but one of the first shots where I really think I got to the gist of B&W photography (at least what I want to do with it).

Falling apart – Part 2

Monday, December 21st, 2009 by

First, my apologies for yet another long radio silence. I’ve been renovating my new home, so I haven’t been taking a lot of pictures, and haven’t been close to a computer either.

Second, the follow-up to the missing-lever-problem I described three weeks ago. Back then, I mailed Leica’s spare parts service ((I also contacted Will van Manen, the Dutch Leica repair technician who serviced my camera before I bought it, who also replied promptly that he could supply and re-attach the part, even if the inner coupling had gotten dislodged.)), and within a few days got a reply that if I supplied them with my postal address, they’d send me a replacement lever free of charge ((Leicas may be expensive, but the service is great: Free parts on a second-hand, 54-year-old camera.)).

The new lever promptly arrived a few days later, so I can now once more preview how a picture would look with a lens I haven’t got…

Tomorrow, I’ll finally post another picture.

SOOKY-M manual

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 by

Just a quick note: As I already stated on my lenses page, one thing that bugged me when I was looking into the SOOKY-M (SOMKY) device, was the distinct lack of info available online. I’ve therefore made the manual available as a download.