joel aron

In a beautiful spread of very colorful (and possibly digital) images, my image

of 'April Snow in Red Square' was chosen as a winner in PDN's World In Focus

2008. It's an absolute honor to have an image be chosen, and to have it be one

of the two b&w film images selected in the contest is an even greater honor.

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All contest winners are in print this month (Feb 2008) and here: <a

href="http://www.pdngallery.com/contests/worldinfocus/2008">2008 PDN World In

Focus Photo Contest</a>

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Just wanted to share with all my Leica/Rangefinder friends, and thank you for

your help and support over this last year while I entered an eternal romance

with my M6.<br><br>Vic, thank you for selling me the lens that was mounted to my

camera on the very cold day in Moscow when I grabbed this shot back in April.

I'm feeling better about selling my garage of motorcycles to support my photography.

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<a href="http://www.joelaron.com/" title="PDN World In Focus Win 2008 by Joel

Aron"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2161/2248229186_31fdaa38f2_o.png"

width="887" height="610" alt="PDN World In Focus Win 2008" /></a>

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Cheers,

-Joel

Both from yesterday.. my first weekend out w the M8.. 35 Summicron asph

<a href="http://www.joelaron.com" title="Next"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2228/2238869588_039b6fc30f_o.jpg" width="800" height="540" alt="Next" /></a>

<a href="http://www.joelaron.com" title="The Pampanito Docent"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2044/2238869764_7493958516_o.jpg" width="561" height="800" alt="The Pampanito Docent" /></a>

<a href="http://www.joelaron.com" title="April Snow in Red Square by Joel Aron - 2008 - All Rights Reserved"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/238/458430692_fed8d2da2d.jpg" width="500" height="319" alt="April Snow in Red Square" /></a>

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M6 : 35 f2 Asph : Delta 100

Vivek,

I like that little Nikon. We had our sights first on the SB-400.. a much lower profile... but not as versatile. I love how the sb-30 folds flat, I do wish it could fire from that position.

sb-30 = $80

sb-400 = $110

crappy colorflash = $25

..i know.. get what you pay for (i am a leica-holic after all), i'm just tempted by the cheap little flash in my pocket if needed.

And what are you suggesting w/ the pop up flash on my 40D that I never use?

I know this sounds insane.. however, for $25, it could be that little thing to

use in a pinch.

My officemate at work, and I talk photography all day, and the topic of the week

is cheap, low profile flash units for our rangefinders. He uses a Mamiya M7ii,

and I shoot with an M6 classic.

So, we borrowed a friends Lomo ColorsplashFlash. It's 1.5" high, and rests

nicely on my M6's hot-shoe.

http://shop.lomography.com/colorsplashflash/

We pulled one of the gels out, so it would act as a straight flash, clicked it

on to my M6, and *pop* ...it worked! and it looks very stealthy... Now I

can't wait to get home to develop.

Has anyone shot with one? Have you tried it with the flash filters?

Once again, pushing the envelope of buying camera gear without my wife killing me.

fpointinc.com came so highly recommended in this forum for getting anti newton

glass to adapt your Nikon scanner trays for better 6x6 scans.

I sent the guy money nearly 3 weeks ago, and only a confirmation of my order,

and no glass. Email is going un-answered.

Curious if anyone has dealt with them? Would hate to give them a bad name here

in the forum.

Also.. is there any other online place that you know of where I can order

custom cut anti newton glass for the Nikon 9000 scanner trays?

thanks for your help!

cheers,

-Joel

stick w/ slide setting w/ the nikon.

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I always leave the colors to default, and often push the brightness after the preview. for sure, make sure you're output is at least AdobeRGB 24bit, and not sRGB.

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Provia and I have a love/hate relationship with my Nikon 9000.

Here is Provia400 that I scanned last night. Left the color at default, and pushed the brights a small amount before the scan to get more info in the blacks. The image looks very close to what I had on the light table.

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<a href="http://www.joelaron.com" title="Moscow Metro by mrhollygolightly, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2063/2196469699_dfc04b1986_o.jpg" width="500" height="335" alt="Moscow Metro" /></a>

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You have the best book (love that book), and you'll learn as I did, that there is no tutorial for scanning slides (or film for that matter). Your best bet for color, is to do as I did, and photograph a MacBeth.. and calibrate from there... scanning.. a million ways to get it right, and 5 million ways of trying (at least with VueScan ;) )

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You may want to post the same questions in the digital darkroom forum, as there you'll get geek talk till your green and spinning on what you can do to scan provia and velvia. ..as they did to me.. ;)

good luck!

very nice work. ...but one comment, because it drives me bananas with very good, and simple websites when I view them on my laptop.. that the images/site is just slightly too tall in Y, and forces me to have to scroll the page down a little amount for each image in order to progress to the next. Also, on that note, I was on your title screen, with no indication where the nav was till I scrolled down.<br>

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make your images 10% smaller, and bring the nav up.. you may get this comment very often, as most people that have macBooks, powerbooks, or any screen that's wider than most, will have this issue.

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When I re-worked my site a few months ago, I was working on my 24" iMac, and had to keep hitting my site w/ my powerbook, and then my wife's macbook just to make sure that it was viewable perfectly on both resolutions. <br> <a href="http://www.joelaron.com">www.joelaron.com</a>

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Also.. Joseph's point is an important one.. 72dpi. Keep's the theft down.

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fantastic images!! ...like you.. i'm all 500cm, and M6! Sorry to be brutal and honest about your site.. I critique visuals for a living, so I kinda flow in that aspect. :)

are we going to start talking about the Queen and her M again? ;)

yes.. it's an M6. ..she also has an M8, but prefers the M6.

...information from a reliable source. :)

<a><img src="http://photos.jpgmag.com/378307_104064_17f0bf978f_p.jpg"></a>

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M6 : 35f2asph : portra 160 push to 400 dev at 360</b>

Thank you all so much!

I've been to every shop (except for Ron's...seems he opens when wants to no matter what the hours on the door say).

Either way, as far as shopping for a second camera body (aside from seeing the M3's that Ron's has), I found a nearly mint M6 'Panda' that is on consignment..if it's there next weekend, there will be a home for for my 50 Simmi' DR. Would like a M3 or M2...but have always desired the Panda.

The humidity.. thanks for extinguishing my concerns. I figure that if my room were not air con'd, and I spent more time in humid areas, there would be greater concern. Now I understand why ALL photo stores have small glasses of water in the corners of their store front displays. ...better to have growth there, than in a camera or lens! Duh! brilliant.

So.. off I go to shoot. Little India has proven to be a gold mine of subjects. And to boot... I found a lab (PhotoHub on Beach street) that can turn around b&w, and slide in under 3 hours. This completed my circle.

thanks again!

cheers!

-J

So, I'm a week into working in Singapore for 6 weeks, and the managed to

discover two things.. one, it's off the charts hot and humid here (don't even

think you know what I mean unless you've been here!), and two, there are several

camera shops in a cluster of well air conditioned malls that have dozens of M's

and III's for sale.

So, this comes as a shock (not the humidity) that there are used Leica's here,

after being told that they were not easy to come by. (that, and you CAN get

chemicals to do your own b&w film...so don't believe they hype)

Now the questions.. What kinda of effects does humidity have on an M6 that

just had a full 'golden touch' overhaul, or any film camera for that matter. I

fear the constant 'in air-con..then humidity' dance is going to have some effect.

The other question.. safe to buy a used M in this environment? I can imagine

that if these Leicas made it through battle in 1970's Vietnam, they may be ok.

I have to say, waking from used camera to used camera shop (all in a matter of

3 blocks), I've seen Leica bodies that you only see in magazines. From the gold

snake skin M6, to a IIIf red dial that's mint in the box. For those of you that

know the area of camera shops I'm talking about (the city hall area), is there

one shop you like more than the others?

thoughts?

They guy does have an eye.. and his prints are worth seeing in person. Books don't do them justice.

I do have a sour taste about his work, in that it's all tiled, and photoshop'd like crazy. (look at his crowd shots, and spot the duplicate people!)

The F1 prints are MASSIVE, and very beautiful, however, finding out after the show I saw in Munich, that they were composited, kinda took the power of the images away. Maybe because VFX is how I make my living, and can possibly duplicate his work..that it just seems too easy. I'm sure it's a difficult process, and the man does have talent.. but I would love to see what he can do with a manual camera walking down the street, or see work from a studio before I'm greatly impressed with him as a photographer.

Either way.. his show is very much worth seeing in person. The size of the prints are astounding.

So, we've tried all the usual setting. I can take the lens off, and arm the

mirror down, and make sure that the mirror lockup switch is set to #1, but when

the shutter is fired, and mirror does not come back down after cocking.

Tried all mirror lockup settings, as suggested in the manual, but to no success.

Any help would be suggested!

thanks!

-J

The upa image thread from the event:

http://upaphoto.xs4all.nl/display.php?page=1

..it's good to know that his lens hood is outa wack like mine. ;)

..and Keith, have you seen the Queen's images? Harsh words my friend. Maybe he and the Queen are like us, and just enjoy having a Leica to shoot with.

-J

awesome shot! ....fantastic tones... and honestly, the scan is pretty good!

well done! keep it up!

I'm glad that y'all accepted this post, and like Paul just said, it kinda made us think a bit.

As I type this, there is a 1932 Argus that sits on the shelf above my monitor. It may not get the use it once had, but by golly, it's a user, and that's exactly what I am.

If I had the cash to allow me to fly to Europe, and take ownership of that wonderful M3 masterpiece, I would load it with film as soon as it was in my hands, and click on my 50 DR for the flight home... light leak or not.. I would use that camera. When I get home.. it would take it's place on the shelf.. beside the Argus. No special treatment.

And as soon as I would wake the following morning.. I would then donate the camera to a museum here in San Francisco.. and if there was no such museum to accept the camera.. being rich enough to afford the camera, I would then open a museum based around that camera.

All this being said.. tomorrow, I am going to load the Argus w/ some hand rolled Efke 25, and hit the streets.

I hope that guy selling the M3 prototype at least gets what he paid for it. In my mind, there should be no reserve on that auction. It is what it is.. 1 of 65. One the scale of rare Leicas, this one ranks up there. ...New Yorker article or not... ..and who cares where he sells it.

To me, this camera is priceless, and I feel lucky enough to of screen grabbed each one of those images from the ebay page, to enjoy probably more than if I did have the camera here in front of me...because, dreaming of the blond bombshell, sometimes, is better than having it.

But did you see what is selling on ebay? Out of respect of to not spam an ebay

link, if you have the time, just go to ebay, and search:

LEICA M3 PROTOTYPE

..it's real.. and wish I had deep pockets of cash, because as of 1pm PST, it's

up to $70k usd. with 2 days left.

It's just nice to see such detailed images of this amazing camera, if anything.

Sher... good choice for gear.

three suggestions, and an important tip for street shooting....

1: keep shooting

2: develop your own b&w (try different film and developer)

3: keep shooting

tomorrow, grab a roll of 400tx, and Ilford Delta400.. shoot them both, develop them at the same time.. you may like one over the other. can't stress enough to develop your own b&w. That will bring you closer to your camera, your images, and your skills as a photographer. It may sound daunting to keep reading this suggestion, however, it's the key to bring it all together.

I started where you are right now, and 400tx, and D76 developer was all I knew... now, I'm all over hand rolled Efke 25, and home brewed Rodinal developer. Took me a year to get here, and if you told me that I would be shooting what I'm shooting, and filling the kitchen sink every night with 68 degree water.. I would say you are bananas.

..now, I think it would be bananas to have a lab develop my b&w.

Keep shooting. Develop your own.

A little photojournalist tip for street shooting, so you don't have to keep setting your shutter, f stop, and focus, or even look through the viewfinder for every shot... before you start shooting, meter off of the palm of your hand, with your palm aimed at the brightest light in your environment. Set for an exposure that will get you a shutter speed of at least 1/60. (let's say you get f5.6).. look at your focus zone on the lens.. Set the infinity on the right side 5.6, and if you look at the left side at 5.6, you'll see about 7 feet... so, now you you're all set! Every object from 7 feet on..chances are, will be in focus, and exposed correctly. You don't even have to look through the viewfinder. aim and click. I can roll through 10 rolls like this on one single subway ride.. and *nobody* knows I'm shooting :)

Then.. there's the sunny f16 rule.. that works too ;)

Good luck!

Looks like aberration to me. Tough to tell exactly.

Do you have a filter on the lens? If so, it could be light that's bouncing around the top element. I would not toss the lens.. this could be a very desired look for portraits! ;)

you betcha. ..and I hear ya. wish I knew that as well!

Sherry is doing a great deal of work on my M6. replacing both (shattered) glass windows on the face of the body (my doing), upgrading to the MP viewfinder, full CLA, and the circuit board... all of that is just over $800. I think the board is $170, and the labor for that along with the full CLA is $40 (full CLA $260).

google 'sherry leica' ;)

Drop Sherry an email... she's the best.

good luck!