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Some shots from the Leica R8 with DMR: All with Vario-Elmar-R 1:4/35-70 Macro

Like a Blow Torch

I've got my Leica M9 on Dec 28th 2011, just couple of days before I went to Israel and since then I've been to some places with my M9. And I just sold it yesterday (28th Dec 2013), exactly 2 years! don't be sad, I still have another M9 and waiting for a M7 to come... the followings are the photos I've taken during these two years' travel. All my travel photos are on My Flickr here Ok, let's begin with Israel:

I will be presenting a travel talk with "slides" on Georgia on Saturday afternoon on the 5th of March titled 'Good Morning Svanetti'. All the photographs made in Georgia were done with a Leica M9. The talk will take place in London at the Globetrotters meeting starting at 1430 and I'll make sure you are very welcome. There will be another speaker, Leon McCarron, who will also have an adventure travel talk: ’On Foot Across China: a 3000 mile trek from the Gobi desert to Hong Kong’ After the meeting, we'll head to a local pub around 6pm where we can chat more about Leica/photography/travel/life. more details: The Globetrotters Club | London Meetings, Saturday 5th Apr 2014 directions: The Globetrotters Club | About the London Meetings

I spent my Easter weekend in Milan, visiting a friend who's working there on a doctoral project at the local University. He's only been there for two weeks and hadn't really been around the city himself. So, we went out exploring together. And I took my camera with me, obviously. One of the sites we visited is the 'Cimitero Monumentale', not far from the Garibaldi train station. A beautiful site, grotesquely eclectic at times, but all in all very refined. I am not religious myself, but I do like the quietness of a beautiful cemetery. Even one as 'grand' as this one makes my mind ponder. I'd like to share some pictures with you that portray this special place. They were taken with an M9 and 35mm Summicron. There are more photos on my blog: here. All comments are welcome. Thank you for watching.

Next shot from the streets of Hoi An, this time with artificial light. M9 + 50mm Summilux @ 1250 ISO

Folks, After much reading and comparison to similar models and knowing how much I love my D-Lux5, I am planning to buy an X1 next week. Now, I have taken my D-Lux5 around the world and it's been flawless for the past 9 months of use. No issues. Should I be worried about the reliability of the X1? I have heard some reports of flash sticking. Are there other issues? Any major concerns? Planning to take it on a trip to London in few weeks... Thanks for the thoughts!

'Artisans d'Angkor' is a workshop in Siem Reap, the city nearby the historical site of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The workers there make Khmer art in a traditional way. The artworks are sold to tourists, but not at rip-off prices. It may not seem that way because in comparison to many other workshops these artworks are actually quite expensive. But that is because the workers are given a decent wage, and the materials are of the best quality. The organisation are also socially engaged: they educate and employ those who are having difficulties finding a job, like deaf people. At least, that's what we were told. It's always hard to discern the real socially engaged organizations from the fake ones. You never know for sure. But I guess that's just as true in the Western world, or even more so. And I tend to believe Artisans d'Angkor's story because they were founded with the help of the French government and several NGO's and have plenty of solid references. So, we took a quick tour around the workshop and I shot these pictures with my M9 and 50mm summilux. Thank you for watching. Feel free to comment. And follow my blog if you like these pictures. Cedric Verhelst

Binario 21 M9 + 35mm 'cron IV

Rummaging through some photos, knowing that some of them need a little time to grow on me, I found this one. Getting a little better at DPP helps. M8

Last years camping trip through Mosamik brings nice Memories. All pictures with Leica Vlux-3

I am about to buy an M9 and will be traveling internationally with it extensively. I want to make sure I find insurance that will cover theft/loss and a warranty that will cover accidental damage (e.g. drops, etc.). What kind of insurance have people bought (in the US) and what was your experience? How about extended warranties? Thanks in advance! I'll have some other questions I'll post separately but I wanted to get this one out of the way so I can place my order ASAP. Cheers, Matt

I was fortunate to spend three days in Havana, Cuba. I took with me a Leica M9 and a 35mm summilux. In the following link, you can see my Havana documentary photography and a personal account of this experience. As I mentioned before, I fell in love with the angle of view of this lens in the full frame M9. I truly think this can be my lens for 90% of my uses. Feedback welcome, as always.

I have just returned from a week's photography trip up into northwest China. Just took the M9 with 35, 21 and 75 lens and a small Gitzo tripod. The M9 performed perfectly. Firstly and foremost, it achieved my goal of portability. Some days I walked non-stop for 4 or 5 hours, twice a day and, on one day, walked a very mountainous trail. Never once did I find the camera bag / tripod to be a burden. I could not have done that if I had taken my Hasselblad in its backpack. Secondly, the M9 took some excellent photos. I was able to get it into action quickly and capture the image fast and accurately. I am almost at the place when I can call the focal distance, the shutter speed and f-stop first time, every time. Sometimes I manually bracketed with the shutter speed but that was more of an insurance than a necessity. About the only thing that I screwed up was two or three times I forgot to switch the camera on* and once I forgot to take off the lens cap and missed a great shot of the train curving around a mountain. Doh! * I only had 2 batteries with me because Leica seems to now have a supply problem with batteries. On a couple of days I was shooting from early morning to late evening without an opportunity to recharge the battery. On the 2 days with overnight train journeys there was no chance to charge the battery. So, to preserve the battery, I was turning the camera off every time i put it back in my bag. With a 3rd battery I would have left the camera in sleep mode while out and about. The M9 captured some great people images. Sometimes I was able to employ stealth mode* so as not to disturb or distract the subject from whatever they were doing that I found interesting, often taking 3 or 4 photos without the subject being aware that I was photographing them. I also did some "handheld overhead shots" in crowds that would be impossible with a larger camera. No other camera that I know of could have captured those type of images so effectively. * Stealth mode is useful when you know that a subject is going to stop what they are doing or change their facial expression if they know they are being photographed. In stealth mode I: - face my body at 90 degrees to the subject so they don't feel me looking at them, - watch the subject in my peripheral vision, - hold the camera at wasit level and look down at it as if I am trying to change a setting or solve a technical problem, - frown at the camera as if the camera is absorbing my attention, not the subject, - judge the distance and set the focal length, - use a larger f-stop to compensate for any errors is distance estimation (e.g. 35mm lens at f8), - point the camera sideways so that the lens points at the subject, - press the shutter with my thumb. Would I have been happier with a new 39 megapixel Hasselblad CFV? For a couple of the shots, yes. I am sure that the larger sensor of the 'blad would capture finer detail. But, for many of the people shots, the size and presence of the 'blad would have freaked out the subject, whereas the M9 is almost invisible. And, there is no way I could have walked the distances that I did with that kind of weight. Just getting the camera out of the backpack and getting ready to shoot adds a delay that can make you miss "the moment". The M9, in its easily opened Billingham-Leica shoulder bag can be out and shooting in seconds. The quality of the images is great. I can zoom into them and see very sharp details. I have not printed any yet but I am sure they'll hold up well to at least 30x40cm (A3) which the largest that I ever print. So, yep, quite happy with the M9. Now just gotta figure out how to take it underwater... Regards Peter

B&W picture - M8 - 35mm 1.4 Another pictures : Click --) Patrick Sitbon • Photographe (Désolé pour mon mauvais anglais.)

Just a little post to welcome myself to the Leica forum as I am about to become a brand new Leica owner - well, as soon as Leica deliver my M9, that is. I've been a photographer since the late 1970's. My photography is a combination of travel photography, portrait photography and underwater photography. Most of the last 20 years, I have been shooting medium format, most recently a Hasselblad 205FCC with the digital CFV-16 back. Some proud moments in my photography life include: - Center spread in Hasselblad's Focus magazine - Published 20 images on Singapore and Malaysian heritage sites in ASEAN photo book - Published in several travel and underwater magazines - Set up one of the very earliest web-based photo galleries in 1997, and still going... For travel photography, my technique involves getting up with the sun and wandering the streets of whichever city I happened to be in, mainly around Asia, looking for interesting, unusual or attractive things / people to photograph. I would often walk 5 to 10 kms between 6am and 10am. But I was getting weary of lugging around a big camera, heavy lenses and a big tripod, every time I wanted to photograph something. I figured that, one day, someone would make a smaller camera that could produce images of an acceptable quality to my Hasselblad. It appears to me that the M9 is that camera. Over the next few months, I am going to enjoy trying to prove that hypothesis. I'll keep the Hasselblad for "planned" portrait photography. As for underwater photography, do you think I will ever be brave enough to seal the M9 and a wide-angle lens in a housing and take it under the sea? Watch this space... Regards Peter You can see some of my work at http://www.peterwalker.com

Rue Du Temple in Le Marais Leica M6 35mm Summicron

Just thought I would share a eureka moment I had some time ago! After years of searching endlessly for a simple travel charger and then being disappointed when I upgrade my gear and have to start again I realised that I have been carrying the solution with me all the time! So throw your charger cables from your suitcase... attached is the solution! Enjoy!

I have seen on this landscape and travel forum many good photo's that should have been (IMO) much better by using the right software. Today I watched a movie on processing travel photographs in OnOne software. here is the link to their webpage: Training – onOne Software (I have no connections with the company) Watch how a few simple adjustments can dramatically change a photo. This can of course be done in other software as well.

Private Learjet 45 cruising 500 mph at 51,000 ft altitude

Im curious to know how everyone caries their leicas for everyday commuting, as well as the travlers on the forum how they go abroad with their cameras ? Im traveling to Peru this year an want to brnig my CL and M4-P and am looking for ways to properly bring them without feeling too overemcumbered - as well as new way to carry my M4-P around Thanks!

I already posted some of these in the Film and Mountains thread but I figured they might be worthy of an own thread. Taken on Portra 160 with a Leica M6 + 35mm Summicron IV

Du Temple Cafe, Le Marais, Paris Leica M6, 35mm 2.0 Summicron

Le Marais, Paris Leica M6 35mm Summicron Tri-x

4 photos don't really do the place justice but well... see the rest at: All on Portra 160 film - Leica M6 - 35mm Summicron IV