Made in Spain

This summer of 2014 I was in Spain, family and all, with a group of undergraduate students from my university.  Needless to say, I took a film body.  Again, needless to say, it was not any other Leica but the one this blog was started for: my M4-2 (and its inseparable companion, the Hexanon 35mm f2 lens). 

Here are some of the results from Madrid.

Plaza Mayor, weekly market

Custom-Made Poem, made by artist at the famous El Rastro, in Madrid.

Antique vendor in El Rastro

I just liked the textures under the intense sun in Madrid.

The lady on the bicycle saw me prefocus from a distance and smiled.

Plaza Isabel II at night (I think this was done with the lens wide open and at 1/50th or 1/30th of a second).

Light in Spain offers never ending opportunities.  Here's what I saw in Toledo during my stay.

Light leaking from a corner...

Light drawing boundaries between wall and ground.

The few times it seems to be uniform or even, one has to move fast...

It also creates beautiful effects... every day.

And I learned that nothing says "light" louder than pleasant shadows.

And nothing says weird better than shadows too!

A farewell to Toledo: night in the Plaza de Zocodover.

So, even though I'm slightly dissappointed (frankly, I expected better from myself), all in all, it could have been worse.  I learned something from this: not to repeat myself.  I don't know how many times I took the same photograph (the canopy over the street), but then... it's such a pleasant experience to do it that I may end up doing it again... and you, my brethren, my reader, will be glad to waive your finger at me and say "I told you so..."

Until then, thanks for your patience and have a very merry Christmas!

New Friend

New friend, just joined the ranks.  It's a Leica M2, anodized black (it was made in chrome silver), and in a more or less good shape.

The top looks a bit chipped.  I have repaired some of the finish with a permanent black marker, but this camera will definitely need a better, professional black paint job.

Here is the front; notice the two small screws next to the viewfinder window.  They're not original of the camera.  Let's hope it's not a banged up job of rangefinder replacement or some such thing...

By the way, these photos are not mine; the seller, Ken Hansen, took them and used them in the eBay auction in which I bid and won this camera. 

However, the camera isn't too bad of a picture taker.  I put a nice Zeiss Biogon 35mm lens on it, and then loaded it with some B&W film (which I haven't developed yet).  Later, I also used some color film with it, and here are some of the results.

Violin practice: part of our daily routine here in DeKalb.

My in-laws backyard.

The Chicago Apollo Choir, singing in front of the Art Institute, right after Thanksgiving.

Skater at Millennium Park (prefocused shot, exposure at 1/250, f4, on ISO 400 Kodak color film)

For the moment, I've yet to scan some of my film "production."  I just don't feel like scanning... because I'm afraid it's going to take forever and I won't be happy with the process or the results.  But I must try, sooner or later, and it's not like I don't have negatives...

Some time soon, this camera will leave for the Leica Spa in Oregon, WI, with Don Goldberg.  I want him to repair it or at least check it before I send it to Youxin Ye in March 2015, for its paint job.  In the meanwhile, I'll keep you guys posted!