Leica M8 2015: New Orleans

i seem to have lost for words, and i rarely update this blog no more but i still very much wanted to share my photos to the rest of the world if you ever stumble this blog. I haven't even finished updating my travel blog from last year's trip to Italy, let alone my recent trip to New Orleans. What i plan to do now is to shut up and just post pictures. Here's a few taken with my Leica M8 in New Orleans Jan 2015. M8 is still the shit.

To be honest, it was soothing to see the big ships moving slowly going under the bridge. Such a nice weather when i was there. 

All shots taken with Leica M8 with Voigtlander 15mm 4.5 ii lens. Processed tastefully with VSCO. 

.....and i saw dust spots. .... sheesshh..

Time for updates

I sold my X100S and now i'm missing the X100 series. Now i'm GASing for X100T. Why not? the X100S was after all my all time favourite camera. Its simple. One focal length to rule them all. Of course it cant do all types of photography. but for my type of photography, eg. portraits, landscapes, streets, the X100 series is great enough. With the new T model, i hope it fixes and improves all the niggles of the S series. To be honest, i sold the S so i could upgrade to the T. or should i wait for the F series? YOu may wonder why F? because F stands for Fourth but also stands for Five, i'm not sure whats the next naming convention. I'm sure you know that T stands for third? You dont? i dont blame you.... nobody cares what it actually calls. Anyway, i'm not sure if the T is sold here locally. i guess my best next bet is Singapore. but i'm not going to Singapore anytime soon.

I knew i'm gonna get the X100 series again because i kept the wide converter lens. I just love that camera. Awesome IQ, classic looks, although at times i wanna smash it to the ground because it keeps back focus (focus the background instead of subject). But now with face detection available, i hope it does what it does and be good at it. What else is there to be GASing about the T? Wifi implementation.... at first i thought of it as a good feature but not important but then i realised i loved transferring my recently took photos to my tablet and phones and upload it to instagram or just for viewing. I always do that with my Sony Rx100iii. it was indeed convenient! Large LCD is always a good thing. although non tilt, i dont think thats a deal breaker though.

As a taking still pictures tool, the T IS GREAT. but for video? based on reviews its bad although i wont probably noticed because i dun really know wat to look for in video quality. as long its not choppy i'm alright.

I brought the X100S for a trip to Italy last year. and i loved all the thousands of images that i took but i have to admit i kinda tired lugging it around. but the images taken was worth it.

I can also take pictures like above because the X100S is so damn quiet. Thats what i like about the X100 series. Suddenly i have guts to take candid photos. just because i'm stealthy. Because its basically mute. No sound! You cant do this with a Leica. unless you have balls. I dont. I also respect people's privacy. unlike certain Eric K.  but that's just me, different people different thinking. whatever to get your pictures.

I love this picture. This is how useful and stealthy the X100S can be. I was sitting on the opposite side when i noticed this man reading a book and at times looking out of the window. His face has got that character, the lines, the age, what is he thinking? is he heading home to his loved ones? is he going to work? thinking of the grand children? its a mystery. but from his face you can see he is definitely thinking of something.

Some people may not understand why i took pictures of strangers or why photograhers take pictures of strangers but thats what street/candid photography is all about, they were never your friends or families, just strangers running their daily business, their emotions, just characters, subject of a picture. Its like questioning why Monalisa?

What i dislike about Fujifilm is their aggressive noise reduction. if only we can control the NR manually. Its great to have noise free images but sometimes skins looked like mannequins and thats bad.

Why not X-T10 you say? Sure, its new, classic SLR looks, interchangeable lens, something about the X100 series is just so simple. no need to worry about focal lengths. and size wise the X100 is shorter? the lenses on X-T10 will be bulkier and longer.

I put up my two Leicas for sale. My M8 and M9. and i sell them cheap. especially the M9. too cheap. i think i wanna upped the price a bit. actually i felt a bit of regret selling those. Its a Leica. and i might never owned one of these again. I'm selling my M8 with Voigtlander 15mm about SGD$3000. and my M9 with Voigtlander 40mm at SGD$4200. Actually i'm having second thoughts about selling them but i believe i needed the money. SO far no buyer and i'm not desperate selling.

I love Leica, its like owning a Ferrari. but owning a Ferrari is over the top? not justified? i cant find the words here. any car can go from point A to B, just like a camera, it just take pictures. Leica is too expensive. i can get 3 or 4 Fujifilm and have one Leica.

One reason of selling it is i'm not really good at that rangefinder focusing. i'm just too slow. trying to aligned the patch sometimes it took me a while and the photo opportunity just gone. especially taking pictures of them kids. You cant ask them to stand still. and if you can its not natural. i like candid and natural expression. not created. i'm better off with a camera that can do fast autofocus just like a X100S. Shooting wide open at 1.4 with the M9 is harder for me. if i didnt get the eye to focus the pictures will become blurry or at least the nose is sharp. thats a bad photo in my book. With the M8 is okay because of the smaller aperture at 4.5.

But but but, this Leica M9 that i purchased has a very low mileage. the last picture i took was only at 473 shutter actuations!!!! its a steal! Its in pristine condition. I want to keep it for collection but then i might need money too. Confusing times. I wanna sold off just the M8 but the pictures it took was amazing too. super sharp. although need to put IR cut filter or else all black shirts becomes purple. uweeekkkk... and the M8 is in silver. its super sexy retro look!

Should i sell or should i keep?

I brought my M8 to New Orleans with the 15mm. 

This is where Nicholas Cage is heading when he'll rest peacefully. He's not dead yet. but very much owned this part of the cemetery. 

Jackson square New Orleans taken by Liam Neeson...Not... by Leica M8

The only thing Fuji cant take is sunstar. Correct me if i'm wrong. but i never got the light to burst into a sunstar with my Fujifilm X100S but with the Voigtlander there she is....

And just look at that color noise on the M8. but why peep when you can just watch and look at the picture of the alley.

Oh.... such tough times. 

To sell or not to sell the Leicas.... 

To buy or not to buy the FUjifilm X100T.

GAS comes and goes.

Hello world.... its been a while.

Its been a while since i've last updated but if you still care the picture above is taken with my Sony RX100iii. I just love em mountains. Above the clouds. its cold. its cloudy. or foggy.. it felt like time stood still, thus somewhere in time as i called it. Your mind sets free. If only i could stay there forever but its time to get back to reality.....

GAS alert... OMD EM5 II ...

I have always taken interest with OMD EM5 ever since i got a hold of its younger brother EM10. Always looking around on Ebay for the best deals. Its almost the same camera EM10 and EM5 but im not sure why i always wanted to try the EM5. Maybe because of its 5 axis stabilizer. maybe because its weather sealed. Maybe its just GAS. i believe it was GAS all along. But i never did it. I never own the EM5. But now with the newly announced EM5 II, i'm all GAS juice. The upgrade is not minor [*lookingatfuji* (*_*')], it seems much better spec than the flagship EM1, thats what they say. Ever since i owned a few cameras from different manufacturers, i can safely assume, Olympus is the most featured while Fuji has the best IQ and Sony RX100M3 is the best high end compact. Now that i learned to love smaller sensor IQ (1inch Sony), now i'm trying to like Olympus micro 4/3 sensor. whereas before i bashed them when i compared to Fuji. Because back then i just like to zoom 1:1 pixel peep kinda. its exhausting. Its a mistake, its a learning process. Oh well, another GAS excuses, i think. Although i wished the Em5II would look like an OM10 but it never will, why? i dont know. Maybe poor handling. but gotta love the retro look of the OM10.

 taken from www.thephoblographer.com one of my favourite sites for reading camera reviews

taken from filmadvance.com

Go check out EM5II via google and give it some love.

Leica adventure: Chapter 1 New Orleans (Day 2 Part II)

I guess i have not got enough of Bourbon street? Here i was again finding myself on Bourbon Street for the second time on my second night in New Orleans. How did i get here? .... I was strolling along Decatur street, went to H&M to get my sweater and found myself 5 minutes away from the original, legendary Cafe Du Monde.

I just had to see it.

 It was kinda pack

 But i'm not about to order, i just had myself beignets!

 This is M8 OOC colors. I like it. There's only a push on exposure and some noise reduction.

 Again with the alley shot. I love how that light burst into a star. I'm no technical but i think thats the character of the Voigtlander lens.

 Found the Violin Monster. It howls when you tipped. 

 This building in Jackson Square.

 There were a few fortune tellers and some just want to give it a try.

As Decatur street is just a few blocks away from Bourbon street, i just had to stop by Bourbon and look for something new. As a matter of fact i was looking for the legendary Preservation Hall. As i made my way to Bourbon, i saw this long queue on the side of the road. It was the queue for Preservation Hall. It was long, it was packed, i just need to take a photo and go, avoid the crowd. Maybe i'll come back again tomorrow. Here is preservation hall.

Everybody's waiting in line.

A few more steps and here i am again in Bourbon Street. As usual, it is crowded and noisy. 

 Cops on Harley

 Again, same cops on Harley.

 Here i am again on Bourbon Street

 Want to take a candid portrait of this guy as his face got character but i was too chicken to take it so i got his back only

 Just gotta have these guys, saw these a lot in Vegas. Not surprise to see them here too. Your choice, Heaven or Hell.

 Now it's Cops on Horses

Got some parade going on, people were just dancing and giving plus throwing beads. Beads are kinda a thing in NOLA. You'll see them everywhere.

These guys are serving alligators. A lot of restaurants in New Orleans serves gator. Just had to try 'em. It tasted like chicken. I think everything tasted like chicken except for shit. I dont know, i never try, i assumed it wont. Sorry i just had to ramble away and it just had to be sh*t.

Had the best oysters here too. and the waiter just looked like Steve Buscemi. Didn't catch it on my M8. But i did with my Sony RX100M3.

Not really like Steve Buscemi but he did remind me of him. (shot with rx100m3)
and dont ask me what he's doing.

X-A2? A What now?

There's a new Fujifilm X-A2 which i didn't even know exist until today? when was it announced? And with so little updates except for selfies whats the point of upgrading to this? Whats the point of selling? Is it because of Panasonic/Olympus? Why is Fujifilm going down this road? Is the technology so quick they need to make minor updates and sell it instantly to the market? Has it been 2 years already? What is wrong with Fuji? Please compete with other manufacturers and winning, be revolutionary, just like how you used to be and not following trends. Da fuq.

Leica adventure: Chapter 1 New Orleans (Day 2)

I believe i'm the type that didn't really get jet lagged, my trick is to usually quickly adjust my time zone to my present location time zone, switch my watch and never think whether its night or day back home. and i believe it worked. I never had trouble sleeping or waking up in the middle of the night, i mean i always woke up in the middle of the night going to the restroom, that is just me, i drank a bottle of water before i sleep.

Anyway i woke up to this,

This is the view from my hotel

Sunrise, i'm a morning person of course i had to have coffee at this moment. I have work waiting for me at the Hilton hotel which is also where the RiverWalk Outlet mall is located. Sweet!

 This is the Cafe Du Monde in the mall i was talking about, i just had to have the beignets again.

 This is where the magic happens, the flour is shaped and deep fried to make beignets

 This is the moment where the M8 is not so discreet, the shutter is so loud, the lady just had to turned and look at me and of course i used the Zack Arias's skill looking the sign above her but honestly i did want to take a picture of the sign.... and the crowd below it. Composing was a guess, i think it was okay.

 I'm queuing for the order , might as well take snapshot

 I'm on my way back to the hotel. Too bad i couldn't find a higher ground to take this picture

As i reached my room, i was 'introduced' to this view, my room was dark only lit by this view, the window curtain was open and the sun sets, it was a beautiful scenery, it was orange and blue, i just had to get my M8 out and used the slowest shutter speed to avoid shake. I had to pushed this an extra stop in PP, and those are not banding on the upper left corner of this picture, its a reflection of the curtains. The sunset was just breathtaking. I'll never forget this view.

And then i had an idea of doing long exposures although i did not bring a tripod, i just placed my M8 besides the window. I switched off all the lights in the room and start shooting. I think the picture below is about 2 seconds long. This is to the right of the sunset pictured above. It wasnt a proper shot but i like it. It just shows the cityscapes of New Orleans. All the lights from buildings and cars make it nice, and the trailing white smoke caused by the jet add character to it.

I just had to have beignets again.

....the nights not over yet.... to be continued.....