New David Alan Harvey pics

[cabophoto]

David Alan Harvey of National Geographic fame, who is one of the best

Leica M photographers around, seems to have moved to digital

equipment. For his recent NatGeo assignment on Nairobi, he used a

Nikon D70. You can find some pictures and a multimedia presentation at

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0509/feature2/gallery1.html

 

Carsten

 

http://www.cabophoto.com/

[andrew robertson]

Not really a Leica M photographer, then?

 

Maybe more of a photographer who sometimes chooses an M.

[scott squire nonfiction]

If you've always driven a 7 series BMW, then you started driving a Corolla some of the time,

does that mean you can't be a BMW Driver anymore?

 

Cripes the attitude around here...

[andrew robertson]

I know. So snotty and humorless.

[cabophoto]

Andrew,

 

Dave Harvey has been working with Leicas since he started his career. He is known as a "less is more" photographer in terms of equipment, mainly using an M6 with a 35mm lens.

 

I didn't post this link to criticize him (in fact I use DSLRs myself quite a bit and besides, photographically I'm really not in a position to criticize NatGeo photogs) but because I was surprised to see one of the quintessential Leica M photographers use a DSLR. OTOH he has been featured in Nikon ads (for instance http://www.nikonusa.com/fileuploads/seethelightography/index.html), so this is maybe not so much of a surprise....

 

Carsten

[lawrence_bochkis]

A professional photographer doesn't have the luxury of obsessing over his tools, rather he will use whatever is most appropriate for his goals.

Just because he's using a Nikon dslr doesn't mean squat, other than the fact that the magazine probablly wanted him to use digital, and Leica does not offer a digital M.

[anthony_brookes5]

The picture on the National Geographical site shows just where digital failures . The background is far too sharp.

[doris_chan]

"the magazine probablly wanted him to use digital"

 

This is what it's really about - reducing costs. In the coming issues you'll see a lot of

digitally produced stories from photographers like John Stanmeyer who've never worked

for NatGeo in the past. The ethos has changed and it would be foolish for people like

Harvey and Webb not to be glancing nervously over their shoulders - they may be good

but those Velvia and Kodachrome bills really mount up........

[jerry_lehrer]

Anthony,

 

I don't think that a sharp background is an artifact of the digital

process. DOF has nowt to do with digital.

 

Jerry

[dfeingold]

Always nice to see Harvey's work. Thanks for sharing it here.

df

[johan_greenhorn]

Another aspect is that he set up his subjects/pictures this time and was using an assistant with a powerful strobe for lighting. Not sure what to think of this. See the multimedia section for pics and Harvey's commentary.

[andrew robertson]

I'm aware that Harvey often works with an M.

 

I just though it odd to call him a Leica M photographer. I can just picture the giant rose

wreath and sash in my mind.

[cabophoto]

Ahto,<br>

>>Another aspect is that he set up his subjects/pictures this time <br>

>>and was using an assistant with a powerful strobe for lighting.<br><br>

yes, this is very different from his usual style. Seems like the basic idea was to underexpose the background and isolate the subject by lighting it with the strobe. Nice idea for a single story, but you can't do it too often.<br><br>

Carsten

[cabophoto]

Andrew,

 

>>I just though it odd to call him a Leica M photographer

 

while I agree that most photographers use different types of equipment and consequently can't really be called Nikon/Canon/Hassy/whatever-photographer, Harvey has been referenced here and elsewhere often as the one lens/one Leica guy. With the exception of a story on Australia, where he used medium format rangefinders, all of his NatGeo stories were done with M6 cameras. When I met him in Mexico a couple of years ago he told me about his approach and how the camera shouldn't get in the way.

 

BTW there is an interesting article about "less equipment" and Harvey at http://dirckhalstead.org/issue9910/nutsandbolts.htm

 

Carsten

[Rich B NYC]

Looks to me as if DAH simply used the best tool for the job. All four of the shots were made with flash...something that the Leica M simply doesn't excel at and very unusual for him.

 

I'll wait to see if his next NG assignment is shot with flash or available light before making any conclusions as to whether Harvey has jumped to digital.

[jtk]

Jerry Lehrer : Depth of field has a LOT :to do with digital" when discussing tiny APS and smaller sensors, per D70 and 20D!

 

The sensor size correction factor of around 1.5:1 means the "normal" focal length becomes more like 35mm and the equivalent of 35mm is around 25mm. A 50mm lens becomes a short tele.

 

This DOF detail isn't commented on much, I've noticed, but surely must be the reason digital types are more obvious buyers of ND filters than are fillum shooters: they want background out-of-focus so need to work at maximum apertures...a different challenge than for us antique fillum shooters, since our digital brethren are stuck with automatic everything.

[charles_stobbs3]

I don't know if it is a digital effect on his end or mine but the faces are not well exposed in any of the four portraits.

[johan_greenhorn]

See <a href="http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0509/feature2/multimedia1.html">this link</a> for more pictures on the subject and audio commentary. IMO this is not documentary photography.

[terry_m1]

I bought the September issue of Petersen's Photographic Magazine at the supermarket yesterday and, upon viewing the second-place sports photograph winner on page 15 (a photo of a dog jumping over a pole), I was horrified when I saw the ugly mess in the out-of-focus background (bokeh). If a store near you sells this magazine, do examine this photo to see what I mean. The faces of the people in the background are blotchy messes, especially the female in the upper left corner. I sent the editor a letter yesterday, asking him/her how this photograph could end up in second place with the bokeh being such a disaster. I truly hope this is not a sign of things to come re photos published in Geographic! Meanwhile, I'll continue to use my Leica equipment and film for decades to come, especially because the optics create beautiful bokeh.

[m_.]

as far as i can tell, this series looks better than his previous project done by an RD-1 with leica glass.

 

also maybe this project requires flash light and leica is not famous for that?

 

love it and thanks.

[jorn ake]

David Alan Harvey's work lies in the intermediary point between documentary photography and portraiture. Really sort of documentary portraiture. Much more decorative than documentary photography usually is.

[david_kieltyka1]

The DOF issue with digital cameras depends entirely on the size of the sensor (and thus the focal lengths used). Harvey or anyone else using a Nikon D70 should have no trouble whatsoever getting shallow DOF, with pleasantly blurred backgrounds, if that is the desired look. With the D70 for a given field-of-view and aperture you gain 1/2 stop of DOF compared to using a 35mm camera. (In macro territory the formula is different, but I won't go into that here.) Using, say, a 50mm f/1.4 lens on the D70 is like using a 75mm f/1.7 on a Leica M or any other 35mm-format body. Shallow DOF is most certainly possible with a 75mm lens at f/1.7. So if Harvey's photos have too much DOF for your taste it's due to his (or his editor's) choice.

 

-Dave-

[preston_merchant]

Bravo to Harvey for trying something out of his comfort zone. It's not just the fact that it's digital and not his precious Leica--it's Africa, two assistants, and an armed escort. The guy is still willing to challenge himself after 25 or more years on the job. Like Tiger Woods, he is willing to change his swing while he's at the top of his game. That takes guts.

[m_.]

>>john kelly , aug 18, 2005; 07:40 a.m. Depth of field has a LOT :to do with digital" when discussing tiny APS and smaller sensors

 

wrong!!!! dof has nothing to do with the sensor size but has everything to do with the focal lens length and the focus point from the lens. in this series, he used 18mm and 20mm lenses that ultimately have infinite dof.

[ben z]

Yes, but the _reason_ he used 18 or 20mm lens was because he had to, on account of the 1.5x crop of the smaller sensor, in order to get the FOV of an (approx) 28mm lens. Had he had a FF sensor he could have used a 28mm which with the same composition and aperture, would have had less d.o.f., so in a roundabout way the sensor size does have an influence on d.o.f.

 

BTW I'm curious as to why Mr. Harvey chose a D70 and not a D2X. Maybe he used to use "cheap grocery store film" with his Leica : )