Cartagena in 2010 with a Leica M5

Back in 2010 I went to Cartagena, Colombia, to a conference, and brought back some six rolls of film with a number of images. Here are some of them...

At nights, life doesn't stop, and people get hungry and buy food from street vendors like this lady.

If I remember correctly, this spot is called Plaza Bolívar, and it's one of the many in which dancers of African music gather to display their skills. 

Another view of Plaza Bolívar.

During the day, right after the rain, the streets show a particular brightness... and the air is still as humid as a thick, damp towel.

The Plaza del Reloj is the gathering point for candy makers, some of whose production is weird but delicious and hard to describe. 

My Leica M5 performed great under the circumstances (hot and humid environment). I had a Nokton 35mm f1.4 lens, which together with Arista/Agfa ISO 400 worked wonders in low light.  However, it wasn't skimpy with details.  Look here...

I still have evidence of what this camera and film combination can do under the conditions I was (high temperatures and humidity). Considering the sudden changes it was subjected to every time we returned to our hotel or went to a restaurant (high air conditioned areas), this 1971 body turned to be resilient and tough... and still turned nice exposures. Right now, a few years later, I am concerned about its meter, but otherwise, the camera is still going strong.
 
Soon enough we'll see some more samples of Cartagena, and perhaps more from Toledo.  Let's see what happens first.  In the meantime, I must go back to work, but the photographic-gear stories never end! 

Randomness

Pottery near window in a Colombian store (2006).  We ended up buying a nice, blue creamer there.

Brazilian musicians playing at Bembo Haus, in Nuremberg, during the Blaue Nacht, an event in which all museums stay open until late, with free admission and hosting musical events.  Done with an M6TTL, Summilux 35mm and Provia ISO 400 pushed at 1600.

Silly scene in Providence, RI.  This is near the main drag in town.  Done with my M3, Summicron 50mm (collapsible and unfiltered), on Agfa ISO 400 film (developed in T-Max).  

Random shots have the value of the unexpected, the common and ordinary that turns into a strange thing once it's recorded in film.  

Let's see if I can find more for later; right now, I'm busy with a newborn at home...  Of course, he's a handful, and he's keeping us busy.  So far, he was already photographed with my M3 and my Elmar 90mm lens, but since it's color film, I won't develop it.  Later on, once I have it, I'll see to post it (provided it's reasonably exposed). 

The Problem With Leicas

The problem with Leicas is...

That they have to be so darn good... The photograph above was taken in a store near Bogotá, Colombia, with a Leica.  Spur of the moment, light hitting the right spot, or maybe simple boredom, but the camera (and the `cron 50mm) came to the rescue.  Mind you, I'm not a fan of this focal length, but then, I force myself to use it, as it was the first Leica lens I got, and the one and only purchased new (hard to believe!!).  Now, the photograph below is, as it turns out, somewhat random.  Taken with my very M4-2 and Hexanon lens, I did not take a reading; just set the camera at f2.8 and 1/60, overexposing one bit on Provia ISO 400 (yes, I dared use slide film).  The result is a fairly pleasant photograph of a colleague in his office at the university where I work.  He liked the shot himself, it seems.  

Lastly, we go back to Denver.  In a place called Red Rock there's a huge auditorium carved in the rock that, when it's not busy with famous bands (the Beatles offered their first concert in Denver at this place), turns out to be just as useful and the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum were for Rocky Balboa.  Here's the proof! 

Need I add that this one was taken with my M4-2?