Summertime

Dear Carsten Ranke.

The image is not a sharp, and bent down to the right side a bit. Black and White composition would be more stronger than colourful image. For your information. Regards.

Well, the in-focus plane is very thin with f:1. But if you look closer you find the eyes sharp, and as corollary of field curvature their feet :-)

The camera point is not perpendicular to the wall, but I dont think this is mandatory.

Black and white was also my first impulse, see the attached conversion. After a while, I liked the color more than the monochrome, but this is a matter of personal taste of course.

Thanks for your observations

I think that sharpness is massively overrated in shots like this. It's the moment that counts, not whether every hair is blazingly sharp. It's a good capture with great expressions. You must be pretty quick on the M9 focus to get this at f/1.

What a shift from your landscapes....;-)) I like the colored version. (Has to be seen large.)It is sooo funny, and classical children enjoying ice cream....I see my small grandchildren...;-)) (I agree with a bit more sharpness in the middle form, but it is much  better in the enlarged one , still a very nice timing).

Jeff and Pnina, thanks for dropping by !

Jeff, focusing @ f1 is indeed demanding, often I make a series and go a bit back and forth with the camera, because of focus shift due to reframing and field curvature.

Pnina, my street photo activity is limited to those rare occasions when I visit the city - here, Freiburg, after a business trip :-)

I agree with the 'sharpness for the sake of sharpness' being overrated and one which (sadly) many beginners to portraiture believe more important over actually capturing a moment in time...

Love the scene you have captured here.... and colour give this capture added 'life'... :)

Thank you, Michael - to capture the moment, this rangefinder is really good. I have much more keeper than with my DSLR before, especially portrait work with the M9 and Noctilux is very rewarding.

Very good street - right spot, right moment, very well captured. I don't think there is any technical flaw here, a somehow reduced sharpness (don't see it, sorry - may be I need new glasses... ;-)) as well as the special kind of editing creates / delivers a very special, distinct (dense) atmosphere here - somehow.  

Must be a nice departure for you :)

For me, the most interesting aspect of this lovely photo (colors are definitely needed, by the way) is the look of the little fellows. None of them smile! And, they have such a confident stance that you might not expect to see in this context.

I liked your post processing very much; nothing is overdone.

I find myself agreeing with Michael Hills that capturing the 'moment' should get precedence over sharpness and you seem to have fulfilled that criteria.  Put me down on the side which favours the B&W version if only for the nostalgia I feel when see a group of German kids.  It's really interesting to compare the styles of dress of this one to the ones I took in Wetzlar in 1963. (see my Leica School folder)  This one is nicely balanced, with the kids on either end providing the tongue action to be expected on a hot day while in possession of an ice cream cone.  Best, LM.

Thank you all for your thoughts !

Thanks for pointing out that their eyes are sharp. But I do agree with Jeff that the moment is more important than to get all of the technicals correct.