A few shots from this week

Feb 262012
 
A few shots from this week

This week I went to Indianapolis for a meeting and to NYC for a long weekend. I took along my M9P with just one lens, the 35mm 2.0 Summicron. While I did not actively take photos, I enjoyed pressing the shutter here and there. Besides spending time in the city I decided to visit Coney Island and Zion Cemetery. I had never been there before and now I had time. Actually I liked Coney Island. Great colors, even when everything is closed. I met a vendor from Pakistan, who didn’t want to get photographed but he offered me a seat. […]

Lytro in the house

Feb 142012
 
Lytro in the house

Last week I had the opportunity to take a closer look at the Lytro camera. They were in town to show off their product at the MIT. They followed an invitation to our IDEO studio to get feedback from our creative group. First I have to say that it is an impressive concept. Based on research made at Standford University and further developed to a marketable product by one of their students and company founder Ren Ng, this small camera allows you to post define the focus point. How does it work? Don’t ask me, but basically it captures 16 […]

Nothing there.

Feb 122012
 
Nothing there.

Today has been a strange day. For weeks I have been waiting for some overcast. I have a list of sites that I want to photograph but I would need even lighting, which an overcast day would provide. It is easy to do this in Germany and there is no surprise that Gursky’s, Bernd and Hilla Becher’s, Elger Esser’s, Thomas Struth’s early images illustrate this cold, neutral, clean aesthetic, that is characteristic for that area. Düsseldorf and the region around has less sunlight than most other areas in Germany. Perfect for someone who likes to shoot on overcast, shadow-free days. […]

Reflecting

Oct 232011
 
Reflecting

It is crisp Sunday morning and our heating system woke up from Summer hibernation with a short, cheap sounding “Plop”. It gave up before it had even started. So I am hanging out in our study, the only warm, electrically heated room in the house. While drinking tea and chewing on a honey covered slice of bread I discovered two articles in the New York Times magazine, one about the training of Afghans to protect their homes and valuables from the Taliban, the other one is a photo essay about life in war zones. The first article is written by […]

Zone focusing with manual lenses

Sep 272011
 
Zone focusing with manual lenses

There is always this moment of excitement, appreciation, and respect when someone looks at a manual focus lens. The rings, numbers, and lines communicate control while demanding a certain amount of skill. A well designed, manual lens is a piece of beauty, like a jewelry or a precise tool (which it is). In recent years lens design has led to visually simplified lens constructions. Autofocus and viewfinder focus-confirmation have eliminated the need for manual controls. While photographers can still switch to manual focus, they often don’t have any focus lines printed on the barrels anymore. You still find distance indicators […]

Does an upgrade from an M9 to a Leica M9-P make sense?

Aug 132011
 
Does an upgrade from an M9 to a Leica M9-P make sense?

    NO! That is basically the short answer. The slightly longer answer would be; No it doesn’t make sense at all. So why do I have an upgrade floating around? Because life doesn’t always make sense. The M9-P is more or less the same camera. Technically it is identical with the M9. Cosmetically the top plate is slightly different, without the M9 sign and the red Leica dot. Instead it shows an engraved Leica name and camera origin on the top surface. The hot shoe is now black instead of satin silver. While the black M9 and the M9-P […]

Interesting Leica / IPhone 4 camera concept

Apr 262011
 
Interesting Leica / IPhone 4 camera concept

This is a concept by Black Design Associates that combines the IPhone 4 with a Leica Gestalt. I have to admit that having the IPhone 4 screen on a Leica is an interesting thought. More info here on Engadged.com.    

My digital camera designs from the 90ies.

Apr 242011
 
My digital camera designs from the 90ies.

During the mid 90ies I did not take a lot of photos. I owned a Canon AE1 P which I got as a Holiday gift in 1984. Somehow I did not feel the urge to pick it up and use it. While neglecting photography as a craft, it occasionally crossed my path as a design challenge. Digital photography was still in its first steps. I did a few sketches around potential camera systems that would use digital image sensors. I remember looking into the Yellow Pages (Yes, the web was just forming its structure in Germany) to find photo studios […]

Cool camera concept

Apr 142011
 
Cool camera concept

I found this video link on my Facebook site this morning. I like the design of the camera. Very clean and simple. Not sure how I would use the detached lens. Would be nice if you could mount the lens on a tripod and use the screen to set up a studio scene. D!RK