Leica and I

About a month ago, I started being curious about the Fuji X-Pro 1 and possibly using it as my backup/secondary camera at weddings, while being my primary camera for everyday street photography because of its smaller (than my 5dmkii) size.

The Fujifilm X-Pro 1

So I stopped by B&H Photo on 34th Street (I won’t go into how much I love B&H… I think you can already tell by how often I update my Facebook status of my goings-on there) to see if the X-Pro 1 was up to par with how I shoot both street and weddings.  Needless to say, as soon as I tried the autofocus, ALL desire to use that camera disappeared faster than you can say “I do.”  I guess it’s more like, “I don’t.”

So I quickly ditched that idea but the thought of a smaller camera for street photography kept nagging at me.  And then the possibility/novelty of going back to film started leaking into my head.  And then the word LEICA appeared, and once that word shows up, all you end up thinking about is LEICA LEICA LEICA… a camera company whose products I lusted after before I even discovered girls.  Okay, that might be a little far-fetched.

Maybe this was the perfect time to get one… not a $7,000 body and $7000 lens outfit but something a little more… affordable.  Something I wouldn’t need an upgrade for every couple of years when the new 60 gazillion gigapixel, 6,966,423,000 ISO capability digital camera gets released.

And that led me to research Leica M3’s and M2’s.  Eventually, I decided on the M2 because its more 35mm lens friendly than the M3.  The M3 is more 50mm friendly.  And I’ve always shot street at 35mm so the M2 made a lot of sense.

Then I went where no one should really go to purchase expensive stuff… ebay.  Sure, there are lots of horror stories about purchasing camera equipment or electronics on the site… countless tales of counterfeits and ripoffs.  But I’ve honestly never had an issue with either buying or selling online.

So I looked and looked and finally found one that cosmetically, looked to be in fantastic shape.  And in speaking with the seller, I could tell he was a serious photographer and wasn’t one of those that just buys a LEICA because of it’s a top of the line camera.  (Do you know how many people I run into at weddings who shoot with LEICAs and have no idea how to use them but can throw around the term chromatic aberration like it was something they use in their everyday vernacular?  Too many.).  He also had documentation that stated the M2 was recently CLA’d (Cleaned, Lubricated and Adjusted) by a well known Leica restorer (yes, there’s such a thing).

Anyways, I offered what I thought was fair value for the body, the seller accepted and ended his auction early.  I also picked up a used Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f1.4 lens along the way.  This particular body was made in 1963… a full 16 years before I was born.

It wasn’t until I had the entire outfit in my hands that the true meaning and symbolism of this camera took hold for me.  You know me, I’m originally a writer so everything has gravitas when it comes to moments like this.

I had written a blog earlier this year about my father’s Contax IIIe.  It was the camera I wanted to use to get back into film photography – not because film is better than digital (it’s not, really… I can’t imagine anyone that started out in digital would want to get into film… they’re just saying it to sound cool, trust me… film for me is just nostalgic… it’s like going back to your roots, but no way is it more practical than digital… don’t kid yourself).  It’s not that the Contax was a great camera (it is), it’s not that the Zeiss Ikon lens is bad (it’s not)… I wanted to use it because it was my father’s.  It was a way to break the 32 year old glacier that stood between us; something that we could actually have a conversation over.

And I took this rejection very hard.  And I took it as a challenge.  I had set a goal for myself the moment I handed the Contax IIIe back to my father – that I’d get a camera that was even better than his stupid Contax.  Something that 20 years from now, I can give to my son/daughter if s/he were to show some inclination towards photography.  It is what clearly differentiates me from my father… which is something I am always striving for.  I had actually forgotten all about that promise until I was holding my Leica in my hands, when it all came back so suddenly.

Anyways, before this turns into a full fledged therapy session (I pay someone for that!), here are some shots of my beautiful Leica M2 and a few sample shots from the camera.

All of the photos shot below were from black and white film expired in 2003 (unsold film from my dad’s one hour photo lab, ironically) which is why the contrast is a little off on some.  But that’s okay for me.

I was actually just showing someone how amazing the Leica M2 shutter curtain sound is when I took this photo.  She said it sounded like any other camera shutter, which I was highly offended by.  =P  Turns out this is one of my favorite photos from that roll!

I broke my own rule of not taking photos of homeless/poor people because well… I just thought this was nice that although the two people are obviously down and out, there’s still some humanity, dignity and grace in love.

These guys are obviously checking out a hot chick.

Not the hot chick.

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LAURA+JEFF Long Beach Beloved Engagement Session (NYC)

I first met Laura a couple years ago at a wedding where she was the coordinator and I was one of the photographers.  This was when I was at my previous studio, and Laura was a big fan of our work.  I had a great time working and interacting with her throughout the day and we soon became friends afterwards.

We kept in touch through the years and I remember Laura always saying, “You guys are shooting my wedding.  I don’t know when that’s gonna happen, but you’re shooting it.  Okay?”  So when I broke out on my own last year announcing my new studio, it came as such a pleasant surprise when Laura reached out to me offering not only her support, but also to say that I’m still shooting her wedding (she still didn’t know when that was going to be ha).

Well, the date’s been set and Laura is well on her way to the big day.  Of course for me, there’s the added pressure of photographing a wedding coordinator’s ceremony, but I also couldn’t help but take it as a high complement, knowing how many resources and vendors were available to Laura.  She’s been a vocal fan of my work – both commercial and street and she absolutely fell in love with the Beloved philosophy that I was bringing to the East Coast.  She’s been on board since Day One and I am very grateful for that support.

So… on with the Beloved session.

I met up weeks earlier with both Laura and her fiance, Jeff to plan this Beloved session.  Their backyard is the beach, basically.  So why would we do the shoot anywhere else?  An afternoon at work on the beach?  Brilliant!

Jeff and Laura is the type of couple that I love, not just in a personal sense, but in an artistic sense.  From the moment we began discussing wedding details, their emphasis was “You’re the artist.  You do your thing.”  Any artist will tell you that’s music to their ears.  As much as I smile and nod my head, the more restrictions, perspectives, opinions, insights, advice, preferences, whatever – the less creative the artistic can feel.  So when the client tells me to run with it, I take it and don’t give it back. Ha.

Anyways, I had a fantastic time with Jeff and Laura (as was expected) and I sincerely hope the time we shared was a great experience for both of you!  The weather was amazing, the locale was perfect, and the couple outshined (outshone?) both.

Can’t wait to document your big day in February (though the weather will be dramatically different!

~ Jase

*** And also, don’t forget to check out Laura’s blog for all you that are planning wedding right now (or planning on planning a wedding in the near future) and you’re looking for some great tips and/or advice. If you need a coordinator, feel free to get in touch with her.  She’s the bees knees!

WE VOW TO INSPIRE

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Jones Beloved Session (NYC Family Portrait Photography – Central Park)

One of the ways Christie and her modern family celebrate their relationship is by jumping on a plane from Texas and landing somewhere else in the world.  Last year, it was Paris, France.  This year, New York City was the destination for quality family time and they wanted me to capture an early evening stroll through beautiful Central Park.

I had a fantastic time getting to know the entire family.  The dynamic between the relationships (husband, wife, father, mother, brother, sister, partner, friend… you name it, they had it), the stories and memories they all had… were even more interesting because the siblings span a couple decades in age difference.  So getting to know the different perspectives was lots of fun.

The true beauty of these guys though, is how they love spending time together as a family – their interaction with each other, the laughing and joking.  It was a pleasure to spend an a few hours with them and it left me thinking if I have a family that turned out like them, I’d be a pretty happy man.

Enjoy!

~Jase

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