More Chicago Images

From the same roll... Need to check out my negs. There must be more stuff done with my M4-2. In the meanwhile, these are not too bad. In fact, I like to think of this one below as a bit in the Winogrand style...

A sign of our times: the talking man in the street. In Frank's photographs, they used to be alone in their thoughts. Now they're not... but do they think?

A very urban view of Chicago and it's open spaces: the Cadillac, the parking lot and the sky.

This photograph of an urban space (a parking lot) makes me feel good as a photographer... for no reason whatsoever. I just like it. It's an unfancy Chicago, a working area, almost a place that has a job: to keep the streets free from (car) clutter. Besides, the intense light takes me back to the moment when I took this photograph... and it was a nice day.

Greetings!

Street shots I didn't remember

Here, some recently "discovered" street shots in Chicago (with a metered Leica body and probably my Elmarit 28mm f2.8), on Agfa APX ISO 400 film.

A lost bicycle ring, still attached to a rack, looking like a distant memory of something that was, and is no longer...
Drummer kids on Michigan Avenue. They animate the streets for the pedestrians, but drive bonkers those who live in the (expensive) condos nearby.

For some reason, the juxtaposition of the bike and the "Vote" sign made me chuckle, probably because I think there's some meaning in their random encounter.

Is there? Is that what street photography is all about? Meaning? Stories that await to be told? The so-called "decisive moment"? Or isn't it just images of the street, records of an era gone by?

You vote, So long... still waiting for that Leica M5 body!

Found negs

While waiting for my M5, I've decided to do some things or else I'll go nuts (BTW, the lens hood, purchased new from Adorama, came in today).

One of the many things I still have to do (besides sweeping the backyard) is developing some film. As a matter of fact, I did it just a few hours ago, and while I was filing my negs (they are too curled up for scanning), lo and behold! I found some very old negs... made with this very old Leica M4-2.

To be quite honest, I didn't remember NOT having burned anything but commercial film in this one... but it seems I did use some of my film stock (Agfa APX, no less), so here it is...

Frequent sights in campus, people (actually, students) walking about, and bicycles, though not in the abundance one would expect... I think this is a spot near the Founders Library.

Bike parking by Graham Hall, where my German class met in the fall 2008.

Classmates in German 202 at NIU

And yes, indeed, all these images were created with my trustworthy M4-2. Nothing more fitting than uploading them here.

The Obsessive Cycle

I started this blog as the result of an obsession of sorts... my anxiety about receiving my very first Leica M4-2. I never thought it would lead to any other type of obsession... But it did.

Now, in this very moment, I'm jonesing for a Leica M5 recently purchased on eBay. Wanna see?

Yes, the lens was borrowed from my M4-2, because after looking through the viewfinder I sensed that the best field of view for it is that of the 35mm.

I ended up with this camera on a lark. There was an auction on eBay, I felt like gambling (do it sometimes too often, not always win) and bid. To my surprise, I got the camera, even though I have never been to excited about the M5. Problem? I ended up liking it... A lot... More than expected.

Since the meter was all wonky, I had to send it to Sherry Kräuter's shop, "The Golden Touch," to get it revived (there may be more issues with it, and in any case, she has a reputation as a Leica M5 devotee). Then, I started salivating about another 35mm (I won't leave my M4-2 with a 50mm lens on... it's just against my religion, even though I have a nice Canon 50mm f1.2 in my inventory). I ended up falling for a Voigtländer Nokton 35mm f1.4 used, which I got not for a song, but still for a decent price (used but not much).

Wanna see what this camera did with a wonky meter?

This is Ben, our older, gentler cat, on a chair of our porche. I used the camera meter for this one, knowing fully well it was overexposing. All in all, Ben was correctly exposed, doing what he does best: rest.

With family at the office (hers, actually). At this point, I chose to "guesspose" and set the camera and lens at 1/60th, f2.8.

The silly thing now is that I simply cannot wait for the camera to return. I've been trying to get myself busy in different ways and forms so as not to THINK about the camera (or the lens, which will be shipped from Canada tomorrow, Wednesday October 6, 2010). In fact, the camera will not come before Sherry contacts me, and that tends to be over the phone. She'll give me the estimate cost of her repair, I'll have to accept it, and then, it may be a wait of three days or three weeks, depending on the work needed.

What a funk... but I got into it all alone by myself. Fortunately, I still have toys to play with! Keep you posted!