Black or Chrome

P1010019E, originally uploaded by benny ng.

Before I used Rangefinders, colors of gear were usually never an issue. For some strange reason, there is a tendency to try to match the RF gear with the appropriate finishing. So there's the usual chrome, then there's black chrome, and then there's even painted finish like black, olive or other exotic colors.

I've decided to be vain and trade out this beautiful black chrome Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 pre-ASPH for a chrome version. Basically, they are the same lens that produces the same images.

Shallow. I know. Shallow. But it's so pretty!.... Shallow...

Cheers,

Chimpanzee

Chimpanzee Portrait, originally uploaded by benny ng.

With the upcoming trip to Africa, decided to take out my SLR gear to refresh my skills with these gear.

Boy! Do I need a refresher. Anyway, one of the few decent pictures from the session at the zoo.

Hope I get up to speed before I leave for the African Safari.

(Canon 7 Rangefinder + 50mm f/0.95) X 2!

(Canon 7 Rangefinder + 50mm f/0.95) X 2!, originally uploaded by benny ng.

So Yiming got seduced. Ended up with one of these speed monster instead of the Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.1.

Check out the serial numbers of this pair of "brudder" lens!

Let's see how long he last with this. Focusing on the rangefinder ain't forgiving. Especially at f/0.95!

I give him 6 months.... Ha Ha!

Looking up

Looking up, originally uploaded by benny ng.

Hanging out with the guys again at the usual spot.

I think the patrons of Isle Cafe must be sick of being shot to death by the hordes of photographers that hang out there. Here I was trying to create a perception of depth with the use of the 'sandwich' effect. Obviously not very successful.

Shot with the Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.1 wide open on Zeiss Ikon on Kodak Portra VC.

Film is so much more challenging as there is no second chance...

Fooled me once, shame on you...

Fooled me once, shame on you..., originally uploaded by benny ng.

These three asked if they could share our table and I agreed.

Seems like the old man got conned of his money. What a shame. "Never again!" he vowed! "Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice, shame on me!"

Anyway, got this shot as I was fooling around with the LX3 and it's not obvious that I was actually taking a picture. Quite a handy little happy snappy. I think I'll going to like this compact very much.

Cheers,

3 Ladies

3 Ladies, originally uploaded by benny ng.

So I took the new speed king for a spin in Hong Kong. This was actually shot at the airport as I didn't get much shooting opportunities.

This is shot wide open at f/1.1. In the original size image, you can even see the text/brail on the two little aluminum plates!

The more I play with this lens, the more I like it.

Cheers,

What's with the old crap?

So some friends asked, after looking at some of these vintage photo gear that I've been accumulating over the last twelve to fifteen months. I think to a lot of folks, especially in Singapore, where efficiency and productively is valued, old analog technology is discarded as fast as what new gadget/gizmo the big companies can dish out.

So... What's with the old crap?

My first camera was actually a small little 110 Kodak that my mum bought for me when I was about ten. It's a tiny, all manual, no frills camera and I was so proud of it. Being the sentimental fool that I am, I still have it today. When I was about twenty one or so, my dad let me played with his Canon AE-1 and that's when I got a bit more serious about photography, albeit that it's all film those days. Without the internet or money for books, I was pretty much a self taught one camera, one lens guy. Photography as a hobby phased in and out of my life, switched to digital in 2002 and at one point, almost dumped all my old film gear as I simply don't use them anymore.

Of course, the recent interest in rangefinder gear took me back into film photography as there's only really two digital RF option, the Epson R-D1 and Leica M8. Being the gear geek that I am, the foray into vintage M39 mount optics was a progressive development, and subsequently the old bottom loading cameras.

These old crap today are no less than what they were built for during their hey days. Some of them still produces fantastic images that rivals the lastest gizmo. But what exactly is their appeal? It's subjective of course, but to me, it's a system that takes time to achieve results. No Auto focus, no auto exposure, no exposure compensation. Full manual. If you don't know your basics, you don't get decent pictures. Period. That being said, the process as well as the final result are equally as enjoyable when you use these antique equipment.

So, one thing lead to another and now, I have a box full of old Canon Rangefinder gear. Junk to many, but to me, its a celebration of the photographic process as well as a reminder of a time where things were made to last and instant gratification weren't the order of the day.

Cheers,

Oh no! The bokeh balls are coming!

Oh no! The bokeh balls are coming!, originally uploaded by benny ng.

Horsing around the coffee shop as usual and Yiming took this with the new lens. I quite like the out of focus bits.

I think this new lens will be great for evening/night outings and will be a favorite for quite a while.

Cheers,