New Anachronism

My new camera body arrived today- a used Leica M6 .85 TTL. The cost of the M9 and the waiting list caused me to drop that idea, and I wasn't interested in the M8 or 8.2. I bought from B&H's used shop; the camera was listed as "Condition 8+" and it is every bit of that.

More importantly, this is without a doubt the most elegant piece of photography gear I have ever had in my hands. Very solid but not too heavy, beautifully engineered and made, and just the ticket for street photography. This is my first Leica; I've got the 50/1.4 Summilux I purchased last year while waiting for the M9 (at the price of Leica lenses I don't anticipate buying another anytime soon).

I'm also armed with 50 rolls of Tri-X and some Ilford Pan-F along with the means to process film and scan the negatives. I'm excited about this return to the old days. More to come!

Wendy

Hi Wendy,
WAY cool! I'm looking forward to seeing the results of this purchase!
Question though...considering your remote location(s), how do you handle processing?
Can it be done locally?

John-

Surprisingly, B&H shipped D-76, Ilford stop bath, and Kodak's fixer and some Photo-flo. With the chemistry along with some reels, a tank, a changing bag, and a thermometer, I'll process the film in my bathroom. I have a not-too-expensive Plustek 7500i scanner for the negatives. Wet-printing here is out of the question.

I think I am set and am looking forward to working with film again.

Wendy

Now I'm seriously impressed!
Can't wait to see the results!

It's going to take me some time to reacclimate to film. It's been years since I've processed any; relearning the stainless spool dexterity is going to take a bit. The scanner software is complex but deceptively simple to use. If all that weren't enough, throw in a new camera system that actually involves the photographer in the image rather than making a zillion decisions almost instantly and the learning curve gets pretty steep! I'll keep at it- this image is a throw-away due to the streaking but there's some promise here:


Wendy

Congrats Wendy. I know this shall be your niche.

Stay safe.

Wendy Thurman said:

It's going to take me some time to reacclimate to film. It's been years since I've processed any; relearning the stainless spool dexterity is going to take a bit. The scanner software is complex but deceptively simple to use. If all that weren't enough, throw in a new camera system that actually involves the photographer in the image rather than making a zillion decisions almost instantly and the learning curve gets pretty steep! I'll keep at it- this image is a throw-away due to the streaking but there's some promise here:

Wendy

Click to expand...

This picture, Wendy, is itself complex. The built in symmetry of the architecture is not matched to perfection by your vantage point for shooting. You are not centered and that might be a point of contention by some. However, for me, that slight off kilter shooting angle is just enough to cause us to be disturbed and give life the an otherwise dead structure. Intended or not, this has a good effect on your pictures ability to work for me.

Thanks for sharing. You didn't see how this picture was obtained, old fashioned digital or the latest film?

Asher

Asher-

Image was shot on a Leica M6, Kodak Tri-X at ISO 400 and processed in D-76. The slightly-off-center perspective bothered me at first but everything around here is built a little off, so in that respect it's at least representative! I think it was more of a case of learning how to use the brightlines in the Leica finder than failure to pay attention to what I was doing. Negative was scanned on a Plustek OpticFilm 7500i scanner with SilverFast software.

With the Leica, I have to think- exposure, DOF, focus, and composition- and that takes a bit of time. Having shot, in the days of yore, with Nikon's FM and F2 cameras, this isn't necessarily new to me but undoubtedly a forgotten skill to be relearned. That said, I think I am going to really enjoy this camera.

Fahim-

I am not sure about a niche (I can hope!) but no one else I know of is shooting and processing B&W film here. Once I gain familiarity with the camera and regain familiarity with processing film, I can't help but think that the system will lend itself favorably to the streets here in Kabul.

Wendy