Beauty and the Beast

One of these is a photographic tool used to create images with light, to make framed and matted photographic art to hang on walls and savor memories. The other is a computer with a lens that makes files. One gives you endless possibilities for creating photographic prints. The other has a desktop computer job waiting...

Taking a Leica M3 Everywhere for 30 Days

I switch out a lot between many cameras in different formats. I enjoy working with large format view cameras as well as the miniature format (as it was originally called)--35mm. And my favorite camera is my Rolleiflex. But for the next 30 days I'm carrying a Leica M3 with a 50mm rigid Summicron with me...

I Could Make Do With One Camera

It might make my photographic life simpler. But which one? If I had to choose one, and only one, it'd be the Rolleiflex 3.5F. It does one thing well. It has a sharp lens and a large negative. Ilford HP5+ or Portra 400 for film. It's not 4x5 large. But it's a good size, 6x6cm,...

A Photographer’s View of Self

I was recently gifted a book of self-portraits, all made with Leica cameras called Leica Myself. It's comprised of a single self-portrait from dozens of Leica photographers from all around the world. Which got me thinking about self-portraits and what it is we do when we make pictures. Really all photos we make are self-portraits....

One Leica M2, One Rolleiflex 3.5F, One 5×7 LF Camera — That’s All I Need!

And this Nikon FM2. And this Polaroid SX-70. That's all I need. I don't need anything else. Except this Wista DX 4x5. A Leica M2, a Rolleiflex 3.5F, a 5x7 LF Camera, the Nikon FM2 and the Polaroid SX-70 and Wista DX. That's all I need. I don't need anything else. Except this Nikon S4....

Why The Leica M11 Might Be the Best Career Move

I was thinking about this latest iteration of the Leica M, the M11 (not an affiliate link, just one to B&H) and that, despite how expensive it is at $9k, if you can afford it, it might be a wise move for your career. Or mine. See, Leica needs to support their photographers and they...

Projects, Self-Assignments and Games – The Need to Create

We all get motivation from various places. For some it's self-generated. (That would be me.) I have an insatiable need to create work, which I've written about many times. It makes it easy to be prolific. My way is to create goals--projects, self-assignments, games even. Whatever it takes. I have been working on the Roy...

For Good Photography: Access > Gear

It's a simple equation, but good access beats top camera equipment every time. Because we need to be somewhere to make the photo, and where that is matters first, much more so than what camera and lens is in our hands. An example will make this clearer. I was at a friends' house on Christmas...

New to Photography? A Film Leica is All You Need

Henri Cartier-Bresson carried a Leica M3 and a 50mm f2.0 Summicron. That was all he needed. And it's all you need. You could splurge and add a 90mm Elmarit if you want to have a second focal length, a portrait lens, but that single Leica lens is really all you need. I have a 90mm...

A Leica M3 in My Pocket, A Couple Rolls of Film, Some Gas in My Car, I’m Good to Go!

I am having a new love affair with my Leica M3. I've always liked it but being a bespectacled photographer, I've fought to see the whole viewfinder frame without pressing my glasses to the viewfinder and scratching them up. I like using a rangefinder, I'm good and fast at it, but if I'm moving my...