menos I M6 Posted February 12, 2010 Share #61 Posted February 12, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) It's growing on me. Available light…. Cheers B One absolutely wonderful photograph. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 12, 2010 Posted February 12, 2010 Hi menos I M6, Take a look here Struggling to fall in love with the M9. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
wilfredo Posted February 12, 2010 Share #62 Posted February 12, 2010 It's growing on me. Available light.... Cheers B I enjoyed your honesty and your photography. For those on the fence who want to jump into rangefinder photography cold turkey with the purchase of an M9, you've given them lots to think about. I love what my M8 produces, and the feel of the rangefinder, small size, and for some idiotic reason, I just feel like a better photographer with it, but I won't part with my Canon 5D II. I shoot a variety of genres and like Chris and others, I find that having both systems is very useful to me. However, having said that, I was already in love with the rangefinder when I purchased my brand new M8. Good luck. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
diogenis Posted February 12, 2010 Share #63 Posted February 12, 2010 WoW! nice shot!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TacTZilla Posted February 12, 2010 Author Share #64 Posted February 12, 2010 Many thanks folks. I'm sure it's just Molly's stunning beauty that is captivating you ;^) I never thought I'd have a dog, let alone love one sooooooo much. Of course I hope to have both systems one day, but that will involve earning some money, so, the next question has to be..... How the hell do you make money out of photography????? That seems harder than learning the skill itself. Perhaps that needs to be another thread in another section of this forum. Regards Bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
too old to care Posted February 12, 2010 Share #65 Posted February 12, 2010 How the hell do you make money out of photography????? That seems harder than learning the skill itself. Perhaps that needs to be another thread in another section of this forum. Regards Bob Love your shot; glad you are letting the Leica grow on you. I let myself turn a wonderful hobby into a profession and ruined the hobby. I grew a successful wedding photography business out of “just shooting a few” weddings for friends. This was a mistake, even though it put food on the table and bought cameras for 10 years. However, one day I realized that I now hated photography and would not even take a camera on vacation. I let my business go and went back to school to become an engineer, now retired. That was over 30 years ago and it took me another 10 years before I would even pick up a camera. I now enjoy photography again after letting my cameras sit idle for those years. Making money is great and helps pay for new toys, but be careful. I still shoot weddings for friends, but never for money and that is alright. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotografr Posted February 12, 2010 Share #66 Posted February 12, 2010 How the hell do you make money out of photography????? By photographing pets of very wealthy people. You might think I'm just joking, but some photographers get huge fees for doing this. A couple of years ago I read about a new York photographer who was getting $10,000 for pet portraits. They were works of art, but still...that's a good commission. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlbertoDeRoma Posted February 12, 2010 Share #67 Posted February 12, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) By photographing pets of very wealthy people. You might think I'm just joking, but some photographers get huge fees for doing this. A couple of years ago I read about a new York photographer who was getting $10,000 for pet portraits. They were works of art, but still...that's a good commission. Not a bad suggestion at all. If I was a wealthy pet owner, that one TacTZilla photo would definitely work for me. My first impression was that it was very painting-like and definitely artistic; and the more I look at it the more I like it. However, I have also hear many times that "going commercial" can turn the hobby/passion into a business and kill the hobby aspects of it. Wedding photographers seem to the ones who complain the most about this. Alberto Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
too old to care Posted February 12, 2010 Share #68 Posted February 12, 2010 You know, shooting pets is a good idea; it is something you like and are very good at. My negative experience with shooting weddings was something that I not like, but did to make a living. Here is an example of how people are crazy about their animals. Many years ago I was contracted to shoot a county fair. Of course there were the normal events, beauty contest, best pig, etc. And a mule pull, where they hooked up Ole Betsy and to see how far it could pull a sled. I sold a lot of photos to the pig and mule owners, but hardly any to the fathers of the beauty contestants. Go figure. Good luck. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TacTZilla Posted February 13, 2010 Author Share #69 Posted February 13, 2010 Thanks once again for the tips. I think 'Posh & Becks' have pets. I'll have to see if they need any portraits doing. I've had a reasonable time with the M9 today and I have to say a 'love/hate' relationship is developing. When things come together I love it, but hate the fact that it shows me up as the impostor I am. The more I use it the more it's showing me how little I know. You simply have to be much more involved in the whole process. That can only be a good thing. I must admit I have always felt I'm working backwards with my learning. I should have learned all this stuff first. Today my copy of LFI landed and there was a good article 'Tech Talk - The Digital Image' which went into some detail about the differences between the way a sensor is exposed compared with film. I'm finding the centre weighted metering in the M9 fiddly to use, especially as I like the soft/discreet setting. I think I was spoiled with the Nikon as I could take a shot, view it in great quality very quickly and use the exposure compensation in a fraction of a second and then take the shot again. The matrix metering made this a very consistent process. I'm thinking about getting a cheap light meter like the Weston Master. Might that be a good idea? I feel like I'm missing lots of shots at the moment, but I'm starting to enjoy the ride. Cheers B PS. Is there anything you can do to stop touching the RF windows on the front of the camera. This drives me nuts!!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
too old to care Posted February 14, 2010 Share #70 Posted February 14, 2010 Love your dog, and hour shots. After using a Leica for 13 years I still put my finger in front of the little window sometimes. This usually happens after not using it for awhile. I would say once hooked on Leica rangefinders, it will be hard to throw that hook. While waiting for my M9 to arrive I have been using my M6 more than I have in the past few years. I put aside my DSLRs and realize that I was missing something in photography, being part of the decision on how to take the photo (exposure, ISO, f-stop, shutter speed, focus, etc). I had gotten lazy and let the computer in the DSLR make those decisions, now I am doing it again. Keep taking those wonderful shots. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
menos I M6 Posted February 14, 2010 Share #71 Posted February 14, 2010 I don't think the additional meter will help you further Bob. What you get is a spot meter reading and therefore more precise information on certain light values. It will add hassle, slowness of use and more headache (if you are not a slow shooting photographer). What is situated in front of you now is, to let loose of relying on the D3 Matrix meter and read/ judge the light by yourself. I shoot not with precise exposure with center weighted metering. Most of the time, I fine adjust exposure in the raw converter. I always try to land my exposure on the right side before blowing highlights. I would hate a light meter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
diogenis Posted February 14, 2010 Share #72 Posted February 14, 2010 PS. Is there anything you can do to stop touching the RF windows on the front of the camera. This drives me nuts!!!! Give it a week or less, it will eventually go away.. Don't forget to check your sensor for dirt as well: many threads of newcomers that don't know how to clean it up.. As for the photo... wow - again! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box Brownie Posted February 14, 2010 Share #73 Posted February 14, 2010 These are terrific animal shots. And the winter landscape on your website is pretty stunning too. You are a very good photographer and it seems you are learning the M9 now. It can never replace the DSLR's for action shots, but you knew that anyway I suspect. Great work. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
llorenz Posted February 14, 2010 Share #74 Posted February 14, 2010 Sensacional!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJP Posted February 14, 2010 Share #75 Posted February 14, 2010 It appears that your dog has fallen in love with the M9 already - resistance is futile you will be assimilated:D Great pictures on your site! I look forward seeing what you can achieve with your M9. Edit: re. exposure, manual exposure helps to get a beter feeling for what is going on but it took me a long time to fully appreciate as A and auto-iso etc. seemed so much more convenient. The main thing to bear in mind that the digital M's have more room at the bottom of the DR scale than at the top, especially if you use DNG compression, so try to avoid blowing highlights too severely as they are completely unrecoverable. Inspection of the histogram is very helpful to fine tune the manual settings and from then on you can forget aperture and shutter speed, just frame & click. Of course when the light changes you need to readjust. Don't forget to use a fixed ISO value when using manual exposure, otherwise it gets very confusing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffp Posted February 14, 2010 Share #76 Posted February 14, 2010 How about using an Expodisc to turn the camera into an incident light meter? You could note the shutter speed the camera chooses for your selected aperture while pointing the camera towards the light source and dial that speed in as a manual setting. I am thinking of trying this approach when the scene is difficult to meter and/or there is a great extreme in light levels between the highlights and shadows. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivo_Afrikanac Posted February 14, 2010 Share #77 Posted February 14, 2010 Love your shot; glad you are letting the Leica grow on you. I let myself turn a wonderful hobby into a profession and ruined the hobby. I grew a successful wedding photography business out of “just shooting a few” weddings for friends. This was a mistake, even though it put food on the table and bought cameras for 10 years. However, one day I realized that I now hated photography and would not even take a camera on vacation. I let my business go and went back to school to become an engineer, now retired. That was over 30 years ago and it took me another 10 years before I would even pick up a camera. I now enjoy photography again after letting my cameras sit idle for those years. Making money is great and helps pay for new toys, but be careful. I still shoot weddings for friends, but never for money and that is alright. Thank you very much for this... A lot of my friends are trying to persuade me to start publishing and earn money from photography (I actually do not think I'm on that level anyway)... and my argument is exactly what you have stated, I do not want to ruin an excellent hobby. If someday out of the blue someone wants to pay me for some old work... that is fine, money is welcomed, but I will never make a photo with a though how much is it worth or can I sell it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbonadam Posted February 15, 2010 Share #78 Posted February 15, 2010 Why give up one in favor of the other? SLR is for fast, professional, MUST BE PERFECT work that is usually less artistic. The rangefinder is for S L O W E R more intimate and thoughtful artistic work. I shot a magazine cover recently with my 5D M2 and last night I took my M9 to my friends house to shoot intimate shots of us at dinner. Best of both worlds. Go get your SLR back and keep em both. Grab a film body and a point and shoot too while you are at it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotium Posted February 15, 2010 Share #79 Posted February 15, 2010 I too have had a look at your site. Excellent photographs, and many that would be hard to get with a rangefinder. I have a clear favorite, however, and after looking closer it turns out to be an M9 shot - the couple in the snow. You may find that you open a new avenue into a new style, or to a greater understanding of your work. That is what has happened to me since using a rangefinder. Even though I can't yet afford a digital rangefinder, I find that I prefer working with my new Ikon over my older DSLR. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TacTZilla Posted February 15, 2010 Author Share #80 Posted February 15, 2010 Why give up one in favor of the other? SLR is for fast, professional, MUST BE PERFECT work that is usually less artistic. The rangefinder is for S L O W E R more intimate and thoughtful artistic work. I shot a magazine cover recently with my 5D M2 and last night I took my M9 to my friends house to shoot intimate shots of us at dinner. Best of both worlds. Go get your SLR back and keep em both. Grab a film body and a point and shoot too while you are at it. Thanks for the advice, but there's just one thing you aren't considering. MONEY. I haven't got any. I spent every last bean on getting the M9 and a few more beans besides. Therefore I can't have anything else at the same time. Not that I'm grumbling. I feel very privileged. Cheers Bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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