Adobe Photography Plan - Bad Decision Coming

Don’t do it Adobe. Your making a very bad decision.  

It looks like Adobe is dumping the $9.99 a month Photography Plan. This plan gives you access to Lightroom and Photoshop and 20gb of storage. The replacement gives you 1tb of storage and the apps for $20 a month. I recently did a survey for Adobe that hinted at price increases and have been worried ever since.  

I’m not going to tiptoe around this issue. This is wrong and is a mistake. Never mind the storage increase, this is a 100% price increase to keep Lightroom and Photoshop. Double your price because they have a virtual monopoly is just wrong. I’m not going to stand for it and I suspect most users won’t accept it either. The timing for this is especially strange given all of the signs that there is currently a significant slowing of camera sales.  

I am still not happy about Adobe’s change to a subscription plan for their apps. So now that they have us locked in they are going to price gouge their users. I can understand a $2-3 price increase but this is behavior that is usually reserved for the pharmaceutical companies. 

Word has it that the old plan is still available but you have to contact the company directly. I suspect many will use that contact information to tell them what the think of their plan. Even if Adobe does back down, which I think they won’t, it is going to happen. I recommend we start looking at other products.  

It’s not about Equipment - Leica Noctilux

You hear it all the time. It’s not about equipment. It’s the 12 inches behind the viewfinder that makes the image. What matters is vision. Equipment will not make you a better photographer. True.

But.  

Having the gear that you need to make an image is just as important as finding the image. Both parts of the puzzle are needed. So many boring images have been taken with the best cameras on the market. A Leica rep many years ago asked me what I thought what was the most photographed subject was with a Noctilux. I quickly answered head and shoulder portraits. He said nope. He said cats are the most photographed subjects with a Noctilux. Many people have the equipment but don’t know what to shoot. At the same time a Noctilux in the hands of the right person will produce images that are not possible with any other lens. The reason to buy a Noctilux is not for the one stop benefits in low light situations. It is because of the unique images that it creates. Another example is the studio strobes that I shoot with. I use Broncolor lights for two main reasons. First they have modifiers that give images a unique look with the Para umbrellas. Also they have a very short flash duration that can stop any motion for fashion or product work. I could buy cheap lights that don’t have these capabilities but I wouldn’t be able to do they work that makes my images stand out. 

Having equipment and not using it’s capabilities is what all of that gear isn’t the answer talk is all about. Saying you can shoot everything with one camera and one lens can be liberating in some aspects but is no good when your inside a church and you need an ultra wide lens.  

Its just that you have to have a story to tell and have the right equipment to tell that story. I shoot with Leica’s because they mesh with my shooting style. I like looking through a rangefinder. I like that I can carry 2 cameras and lenses in less space than I need for one of my Nikons and lens. Also the look that Leica lenses produce is what my mind sees.  

Too much equipment gets a bad rap because people buy equipment as a crutch to cover up the fact that their images are boring. If that new lens will enable you to do something that you can’t do now it might be worth adding it to your bag. But only if you use it.  

Leica Q2 Manual

This isn’t an issue for most people yet but just letting you know how to get a printed manual for your Leica Q2. The camera doesn’t come with a printed manual but one can be ordered at the Leica support page for the Q2. It comes from Germany and is free for users with a serial number from the camera. 

This is probably going to be the new normal for most camera companies. Electronic manufacturers have been requiring users to download manuals for years. It makes sense but it is nice to have a printed manual. The manuals might even become collector items in the future because of their scarcity. Seems like anything with the Leica or Leitz name on it has some value to it.  

I have been saying for years that Leica should have a dedicated section on their site on detailed instructions on how to use their equipment. Especially for the rangefinder cameras. They are so different than other cameras that new users are not aware of the hidden features of the cameras. I have always wanted to do a training class for Leica products but have been talked out of doing this because of the small user base that Leica currently has. The Leica stores are a great place to learn the basics but I would like to help the Leica community with more in-depth instruction. If I got interest maybe someday.  

Some perspective needed - Leica Q2

Leica 1 California Museum of Photography 

Over at the Leica Forum there is a lengthy thread about people waiting for the Leica Q2 which is on backorder. People have been saying bad things about Leica, Leica stores, camera stores, and Jews ( B and H Photo ). Most of it revolves around not enough cameras being available for the demand. I was told by a manager that backorders will not be completely filled until late fall. Not uncommon for a popular camera to be hard to get. I remember when the first commercial autofocus camera the Minolta Maxxum was introduced and it was impossible to get. Also when the Nikon F4 was introduced in 1988 I witnessed a movie producer and a housewife pay a camera store salesman to be put at the front of the list to get the first cameras from a camera store. In the mid 1980’s when the M6 was released my wait for a camera was 7 months after it was announced.

The desire to get the latest is not limited to the photography world but I am amazed at the anger from people who want to part with $5000 for a camera. Many of the posters had only recently registered for the forum ID just so they could complain on the forum. Some think the lack of cameras is a deliberate attempt by Leica to increase demand. Others say Leica should have had a warehouse full of cameras ready to ship upon release date. 

It was not that many years ago that I was told that Leica was only making 100 of a certain flagship camera a month. People don’t realize how small Leica is as a company. I have heard that there are only about 200 workers at the Wetzlar plant. Leica equipment is sold all over the world, not just at your local camera store. This craftsmanship that we love so much about our cameras is made possible by a very small but dedicated group of workers. And just because Leica doesn’t announce how many cameras are going to be shipped each week doesn’t mean that they don’t care about the desire of customers to buy their product. 

First let’s get some perspective. This is not a cure for cancer. It is a great camera, I have one, but waiting for YOUR camera to ship is not the end of the world. Leica, like Apple, is one of the few companies that I think really feel that what they do is meaningful to people’s lives. Leica invented 35mm photography and they take that responsibility serious. So sign out from the forum and go take photos, that is what cameras are for. 

Alfred Stieglitz Inspired Image

The time honored tradition for beginning painters was to copy work by the masters. A student gained experience on how to use their tools and at the same time learned how the greats created works of art that are inspiring and beautiful. 

The above image was taken near the beginning of the photography program that I had started in college. It was taken with an 8X10 view camera with a 300mm lens that would be equivalent to a 50mm on a 35mm camera. At the time I was studying the work of Alfred Stieglitz ( 1864-1946 ). He was an early champion of photography as a work of Art. He was married to the artist Georgia O’Keeffe and was friends with many of the early greats of photography including Paul Strand, Edward Steichen, Edward Weston, and Ansel Adams to just name a few. He also introduced many painters to America like Matisse, Picasso, and of course Georgia O’Keeffe. Stieglitz was also a great photographer who excelled in many different genres such as nature, landscape, cityscapes, portraits and nudes. He was the first photographers photographer. One of his projects was called “ Equivalents “ which were photographs of clouds. He described the work as:

I wanted to photograph clouds to find out what I had learned in forty years about photography. Through clouds to put down my philosophy of life – to show that (the success of) my photographs (was) not due to subject matter – not to special trees or faces, or interiors, to special privileges – clouds were there for everyone…

A quick Google search will show more of his work.  

The above image was taken after setting my camera up and pointing it skyward and waiting. It was a long time ago but I know that I waited more than 4 hours. I had only one sheet of film so I had to make it count. It was hand processed in a tray and this is a scan of the image. 

This image is one of the defining images of my photography career. It was the first time that I visualized what kind of image that I wanted and obtained the desired results. Many people these days say that they shoot more deliberately with a film camera or with a Leica rangefinder. Creating an image that is in my minds eye is just the way that I operate. With digital cameras my shooting style is the same as when shooting a View Camera. I’m trying to express my vision. Sometimes it works and others the end result is not what is what I’m after. But the journey can be as fulfilling as the end result.  

Leica LFI Magazine - 3/2019

The new issue of Leica Fotografie International is now available. The articles include an interview with the first Director of the Ernst Leitz Museum in Wetzlar, coverage of Photo London, New work at the  Leica galleries in Istanbul and Los Angeles, and an update to the LFI online gallery. The online gallery will soon feature individual photographers as well as its current mission of showcasing photography from around the world. On the new hardware there are articles on the Leica Q2, the Summicron 35 for the SL, and the limited edition M10-P “ASC 100” camera marking the 100th anniversary of the American Society of Cinematographers. 

As always the best part is the work of the featured Leica photographers from around the world. I have been a subscriber of the LFI Magazine since the mid 1980’s. It is fun to look back at how the camera world has changed but at the same time good work always is always appreciated.  

Web Site Update - Thank You

I would just like to take a moment to thank the visitors to my web site. I have seen a large growth in the amount of people visiting my home on the Internet in the last 6 months. There has been a 5 fold increase in the number of visitors. This has encouraged me and I plan on increasing the how to posts and having more detailed reviews. Thanks for visiting and please tell your friends, the more the merrier. 

Jeff

LHSA - International Leica Society

I just received my free membership to the International Leica Society. This is an organization for photographers that are fans of all things Leica. They just celebrated their 50th anniversary. They were previously called The Leica Historical Society of America. They changed their name to better reflect the mission of being a worldwide organization rather than just being an American club. I have been a member a couple of times. 

Currently if you purchase a system camera or a “Q” series camera you get a free one year digital membership. I qualified with my recent purchase of the Q2 camera. They have a quarterly newsletter, a members buy and sell section, and lots of info on how to use Leica cameras and are a leading repository on the history of all things Leica. They have group shoots a number of times a year and an annual get together that is quite popular. Last years was in Wetzlar, Germany, the home of Leica. 

Even if your not buying a camera in the near future I would recommend joining. The newsletter is worth the yearly fee alone. If you have any interest in the history of 35mm photography this is a great place to learn. Remember, Leica invented 35mm photography and the M10 is a direct descendant of the original Leica 1 from 1925. 

Garry Winogrand - All Things Are Photographable

There is a new biography out about one of the greats of street photography, Garry Winogrand. It is called “ All Things Are Photographable “ and is directed by Sasha Waters Freyer. It will have its television debut on PBS this April 19. I recently had the opportunity to view the program and it is a must see if you have any interest in street photography. 

Garry Winogrand ( 1928-1984 ) was one of the most influential street photographers the medium has ever seen. He worked mostly in black and white. He was at the height of his powers in the late 60’s thru the mid 70’s. Today he is mostly known for leaving behind 2500 rolls of undeveloped film and 6500 rolls that had yet to be proofed. He was a very prolific shooter. He was awarded three Guggenheim fellowships and a National Endowment of the Arts award. He published numerous books and was a popular speaker and taught at a number of university programs. 

I first heard of “ All Things Are Photographable “ because of a Kickstarter program the the director was using to fund the production of the film. I attended a talk by Sasha Waters Freyer at the Los Angeles Leica Store last fall. She gave an entertaining presentation so I wash anxiously awaiting the finished film. I must say that I give the film two thumbs up. It did a good job of covering his life, both personally and professionally. There are a number of interviews with people who new Winogrand personally and were able to give a pretty good idea what he was like. I was disappointed that two of his best friends who are still around were not interviewed. One I kind of understand. Lee Friedlander is notoriously media shy was missing. I so wish he could have been interviewed. The other is Jay Maisel. He has never been shy to give an opinion. He is featured in a long audio recording with Winogrand that is the centerpiece of the documentary. Another thing that I didn’t like was the interview with Winogrands first wife. This brought nothing to the program and I felt that she actually detracted from the story. No I don’t want to hear the story about the first time she saw Gary’s penis. I didn’t like her other stories either.  

The last third of the film does drag a little. This is about the last ten years or so of his life when his work was not quite up to par to his earlier work. After the early interviews with people talking about how great he was most didn’t seem to enthusiastic talking about the later years. I have been looking at his work for a long time and I feel it did drop off in quality. But that should not detract from the rest of his wonderful work.  

Sasha Waters Freyer has done a great job on “ All Things Are Photographable “ the story of Garry Winogrand. I highly recommend the film. I love every time we see Garry and his Leica M4.  

Leica Q2 Review

The Leica Q2 has captured the sweet spot in the lineup of Leica cameras. It’s priced in the middle of their line of cameras and it has just the right amount of features that entice most people to the Leica brand. It is a minimalist camera ( for a digital ) that takes great pictures and is fun to use. It is similar to the original Leica Q that it replaces but fixes and refines what has turned out to be a good selling and well respected camera. 

 The biggest changes are a jump to a 47MP sensor, a new 3.68MP OLED EVF, and being sealed against dust and moister. It has revised camera controls on the back that are similar to the Leica CL, a lockable eyepiece diopter adjustment, and a larger battery that is shared with the Leica SL. With all the talk about what has been added, I’m surprised there is not more opinions on what was not deleted. The Leica Q2 still has video recording capabilities. After the Leica M10 dropped video I thought the Q2 would become strictly a stills camera. 

The lens is the same 28mm 1.7 ASPH Summilux from the previous camera. It has 11 elements in 9 groups with 3 aspherical elements. This is a sharp and well corrected lens. It really is like buying a lens and getting the body for free. As shown by the popularity of the iPhone the 28mm lens is a great choice for casual snapshots. The focus range is from infinity down to 30cm. When switched to Macro mode the lens focuses down to 17cm.

The new sensor is 47.3MP controlled by a new Maestro II image processor. With the larger sensor comes the ability of the camera to do another in camera crop if needed. The ability to crop at 75mm has been added to the previously available 28mm, 35mm, and 50mm settings. This gives the following resolutions: 28mm-47mp, 35mm-30mp, 50mm-15mp, 75mm-7mp. The ISO range is 50-50000. The dynamic range is 14 stops with a color depth of 14 bits. 

The viewfinder has the same resolution at 3.68MP but is now OLED instead of LED. What that means is a sharper image and truer color fidelity. Comparing the Q1 and Q2 viewfinders the difference can be plainly seen. Also the diopter has been modified. The diopter adjustment is now to the right of the eyepiece. When pushed in it pops out so that it can be adjusted and is pushed back in to lock the setting. Much better that the previous method.  

Because the new processor requires more energy the battery has been changed. The Leica Q2 now uses the same battery as the Leica SL. This enable the camera to take about 370 shots per charge. Depending on how trigger happy you are you might want to invest in an extra battery. The battery and SD cards are now accessed separately. 

The camera is not waterproof. It can not be submerged and used underwater. It is only dust and spray resistant. So that the camera can be sealed from the elements the designers have removed the USB and HDMI ports from the camera. This further limits the camera’s usefulness as a video machine. Further proof the video capabilities should have been dropped. 

With Leica trying to standardize on one app for files transfers to phones and tablets synchronization with the Leica FOTOS app has been modified. The camera has added Bluetooth. This should improve the connection between the camera and the app. It will be nice to tag our photos with a GPS location. The FOTOS app has had mixed reviews so far. Some are having connection and slow transfer problems. For me it has worked as advertised.  

As far as usability goes there are a few changes. The back of the camera now functions like a CL and a M10. Only the PLAY, FN, and MENU buttons as well as the D button with directional arrows. A much cleaner interface. On the top the camera on/off switch has removed the continuous option. The shutter button is also a little larger. In case your wondering the 2nd FN button is hidden in the center of the thumb wheel. It’s default function is to adjust the ISO but this can be changed in the MENU setup. The aperture and macro rings are a little bit larger for better handling. 

There is no other way to say this, the Leica Q2 is fun to use. It’s simple to operate and gives fantastic results. I enjoy the quick turn of the macro ring to get all of those closeup that I couldn’t take with my M10. The camera is so light it is a joy to carry it all day. The autofocus is really fast and accurate. I can’t say enough about how I love the quality of the lens. The images are easy to work with in Lightroom and Photoshop. I have already made a number of large prints that look spectacular. I have already adjusted my workflow because of this little camera. I now carry a M10 with 50 Summilux, a 50 Noctilux, and the Q2. This combo will take 95 % of the shots that I want to take.