canlogic Posted January 22, 2007 Share #41  Posted January 22, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Thanks for sharing the photographs. Nice to see some real life shots with the M8!  But - no harm meant - I don´t like the pictures much. The people don´t connect to the viewer. They don´t tell a story. You tend to get these pictures on those days when you are shy to communicate or if you don´t invest much time (or sometimes courage) for a more intimate scene. No keepers here IMHO when everyone walks away with the back to the viewer. I like the sad donkey though.  Jochen  Really! Please next time get the subjects to all smile and wave at the camera. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 22, 2007 Posted January 22, 2007 Hi canlogic, Take a look here Luminous-Landscape M8 in the field: Morocco. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
nemeng Posted January 22, 2007 Share #42 Â Posted January 22, 2007 ... I'm surprised a seasoned photographer-reviewer did not shoot from his hip or chest to avoid the locals' almost aggressive camera hatred... Â Â I agree. Very surprising. MR needs to get himself an accessory shoe mountable waist-level finder. Â In my case I've been using an old Leica "AUFSU" for years. Hold the camera at chest height, set the lens focus to (say) 2.5m, walk up to the subject (or let them approach you), a quick glance at the AUFSU and click - you're done. Next shot. Heck some of us even use a Hasselblad this way :?) Â The beauty of using Leicas is that the lens doesn't "wink" at the moment of exposure, so even if the subject is staring straight at the camera, they'll never be sure when/if you took the shot. Â FWIW here's the FAQ topic on WLF's: Â Leica FAQ - M Waist level finders? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Roberts Posted January 22, 2007 Share #43 Â Posted January 22, 2007 Michael-- Â The shots are gorgeous and evocative. Personally, I don't see how some of those shots might really be improved! Â In any case, I don't use the M8 in the same way, or haven't to date, so I haven't had any problem with the switch at all. But I'll be on the lookout for it. Â I have "shot from the hip" quite a lot, but without the waist-level finder...I'll look into that for sure (thanks for the pointer, Andrew!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrycioni Posted January 22, 2007 Share #44  Posted January 22, 2007 Hi Michael, I think the grip actually might make a big difference because of the way it will reposition of your hand.  Cheers,  Sean  Sean/Micheal,  Recently, I have been spending some time with Tom Abrahamson and the prototype of his M8 grip design will be ready today - given what I have seen so far I think it will help with the switch situation. That said I would not hesitate to contact him at http://www.rapidwinder.com for more details then I can provide.  Cheers. Terry. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dent Posted January 22, 2007 Share #45 Â Posted January 22, 2007 Really! Please next time get the subjects to all smile and wave at the camera. Â To put it in other words: If these photos had not been taken with an M8 they would have trouble to get noticed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrc Posted January 22, 2007 Share #46 Â Posted January 22, 2007 When my camera went to Solms for the the Fixes, the selector switch could be moved simply by brushing it. When I got it back, the switch firmly clicked into each selection. I don't know if it'll stay like this, but right now, it's about perfect. Â For those who don't like Reichmann's photos, your comments on aesthetics, composition, technique, etc., would be more interesting and understandable if you would post a link your website so we can see your photographic position. I understand that it is possible for two excellent photographers not to like each other's work, but for the rest of is, it's hard to completely understand the commentary unless we can see both sets of photos. Â JC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesphoto99 Posted January 22, 2007 Share #47  Posted January 22, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Maybe taping a little bump on the top plate to keep the switch from moving to far is a temporary solution.  I agree the pics underwhelming. It's not about making the subject smile and wave, or even having a "subject" at all. But it looks as if he didn't really connect, and everything was caught a second too late, or not at all. Maybe if wasn't for that damn power switch... Sometimes it's just a matter of slowing down - sometimes it just doesn't happen. I'm just back from two and half weeks in Thailand. Out of 15 rolls with M7 can't say I'm real happy with anything. It was really about spending some beach time with the girlfriend and having fun. And I'm not against cropping, but I always feel a format works better left as that format, even if cropped within.  Here's a couple pics from Marakesh and one from the Draa valley. Color with Mamiya 6; bw with Rollei TLR (negs scanned on Imacon). Btw, it gets much easier as one gets into the mountains to photograph people, and buying a trinket or spending a bit to have a guide goes a long way if one is serious about coming away with good photos. The Casbah photo was the best 5 bucks i ever spent because our young self appointed guide had access to the key! Otherwise we would never have known it existed. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/14092-luminous-landscape-m8-in-the-field-morocco/?do=findComment&comment=149492'>More sharing options...
Giulio Zanni Posted January 22, 2007 Share #48  Posted January 22, 2007 By shooting from the hip you can steel a picture, not tell a story. In order to tell a story you need to gain the confidence of your subject....  My 2 cents, Giulio Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/14092-luminous-landscape-m8-in-the-field-morocco/?do=findComment&comment=149497'>More sharing options...
Jamie Roberts Posted January 22, 2007 Share #49 Â Posted January 22, 2007 To put it in other words: If these photos had not been taken with an M8 they would have trouble to get noticed. Â You're entitled to your aesthetic opinion, of course, but I personally find your comments border on the ridiculous. Â If you want to look at Steve McCurry's work, then do it. They're very beautiful too, but here are many other ways to shoot things, including finding and representing the sense of mystery the article speaks about. Â We don't all have to have "family of man" photography here. Â Michael's shots, here, are different from that aesthetic, and IMO beautifully different: the lack of personal connection here *is* the point under which the exotic is approached without being appropriated. Â That the M8 helped him get the shots where other cameras might have been impossible is almost incidental; the shots themselves are a cautious and respectful approach to a truly different place. Besides, journalistically speaking there are numerous reasons, not the least of which are aesthetic, for leaving environments exactly the way one finds them. Since Michael was a tourist, this is what he found, and that is the story. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dent Posted January 22, 2007 Share #50  Posted January 22, 2007 For those who don't like Reichmann's photos, your comments on aesthetics, composition, technique, etc., would be more interesting and understandable if you would post a link your website so we can see your photographic position. I understand that it is possible for two excellent photographers not to like each other's work, but for the rest of is, it's hard to completely understand the commentary unless we can see both sets of photos.  JC  I did not meant to step on anyone feet. Please don´t get me wrong! Reichmann´s photographic work and journalistic work is phantastic and I admire it a lot- I just don´t like the photos at the link above.  JRC, I don´t have a web site, and I don´t want to enter any photo contest here. I work on slide film and stay within the limits of projection (without scanning). I´m far from beeing a professional photographer but I enjoy photograpy and travel in remote countries and (as an MD) get close to people and their living condidions. I followed this thread because the next (eight month mountaineering) trip in the North West Himalaya will have to be shot with digital equipment (300 Films are to much to carry) and the M8 would be my natural option. I´m concerned about weather/dust sealing though. Also I´m looking forward to a solution for the switch, because I like to carry my Ms dagling from a climbing sling under my arm.  Sorry again! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted January 22, 2007 Share #51  Posted January 22, 2007 Sean/Micheal, Recently, I have been spending some time with Tom Abrahamson and the prototype of his M8 grip design will be ready today - given what I have seen so far I think it will help with the switch situation. That said I would not hesitate to contact him at RapidWinder.com Home for more details then I can provide.  Cheers. Terry.   Terri I would love to see a image of the grip on the M8. Anything you can do to get a image to post would be nice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giulio Zanni Posted January 22, 2007 Share #52 Â Posted January 22, 2007 Â If you want to look at Steve McCurry's work, then do it. They're very beautiful too, but here are many other ways to shoot things, including finding and representing the sense of mystery the article speaks about. Â Â By the way, McCurry's pictures are totally fake: there was never a railway close to the Taj Mahal, he paints villages in order to have a wall matching the color of his subject etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter41951 Posted January 22, 2007 Share #53 Â Posted January 22, 2007 Thanks Michael, Charles and Giulio. Great photographs all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peggers Posted January 22, 2007 Share #54  Posted January 22, 2007 Hi - my first posting here where I thought I could reasonably contribute.  I spend a lot of my time trying to photograph people - I just can't get hills and valleys to pose for me! Last year I spent a week in Morocco, and yes the people were challenging, but with a combination of smiling, sometimes asking, and yes sometimes paying I was quite happy with the results. Have a look:  http://www.pegden.co.uk/portfolio_pages/moroccans/moroccans_lightbox.html  For interest these were shot with an M6TLL - mostly on 50mm, a few on 75. I'm waiting for my M8 to turn up...just itching to get shooting in it.  Phil  btw - this is the most friendly and helpful forum around, really appreciate the knowledge I've gained. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Reichmann Posted January 22, 2007 Share #55  Posted January 22, 2007  Now my question: any experience with the WATE?  Danni  I used the wide angle Tri-Elmar on my Morocco trip and will have my report online next week. I'll also have a report on the Zeiss 15mm f/2.8 Distagon.  The TE is an excellent lens.  Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted January 22, 2007 Share #56 Â Posted January 22, 2007 Well my tuppence worth is that 90% of hip shots look crap and 90% of 'street' shots done with a telephoto lens look crap. Personally I'd rather take up macro photography than use those techniques all the time. Â My take tend to be that if someone doesn't want their photograph taking that's their right. I do photography for pleasure not money, I don't _have_ to take an image to put food on the table. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesphoto99 Posted January 22, 2007 Share #57  Posted January 22, 2007 Yeah, I don't believe in "stealing" shots either. I will take some discreetly, but if I at all feel that I am "stealing" the subject picks up on your intention and it usually turns bad. I prefer to think of myself as "working." I'm an artist, not a thief.  I welcome Reichmann's reviews, etc. but I just don't see the "M" in these particular shots. It's not being mean, just critical. They could have been taken with anything, imho, from point and shoot on up. My girlfriend, a software localiser, blows me away sometimes with what she does with her C2 p&s (gifted to her by me). And she doesn't know an fstop from a pixel.  I caught a show by Magnum photographer Jonas Bendiksen the other night, and what blew me away was his form and content over any sort of technical concerns. Noise, fringing, etc. galore, and it didn't matter a bit. The photos were just stunning. Very refeshing and inspiring. Also check out the Constatine manos piece on the M8 at Magnum:  http://inmotion.magnumphotos.com/essays/color.aspx  Another from my Marrakesh hotel room. Sometimes it's in the details. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/14092-luminous-landscape-m8-in-the-field-morocco/?do=findComment&comment=149535'>More sharing options...
abrewer Posted January 22, 2007 Share #58 Â Posted January 22, 2007 Now come on some of you... Â Michael Reichmann has more to do than sit around here and listen to photo critique. Â He was nice enough to drop in and comment on something he did that we can benefit from. Â Giving him a ration of ish because he didn't take what you would have taken is not what we're going to do tonight. Â Remember the old saw about one to take the photo and nine to describe how to do it better? Â Â Thanks. Â Allan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruewell Posted January 22, 2007 Share #59  Posted January 22, 2007 Thanks for sharing the photographs. Nice to see some real life shots with the M8!  But - no harm meant - I don´t like the pictures much. The people don´t connect to the viewer. They don´t tell a story. You tend to get these pictures on those days when you are shy to communicate or if you don´t invest much time (or sometimes courage) for a more intimate scene. No keepers here IMHO when everyone walks away with the back to the viewer. I like the sad donkey though.  Jochen  Actually they do tell a story, one you can relate to if you have been to Morocco and tried to shoot passers by. You could develop a whole series of pictures on a theme like "rejection" after shooting in Marrakech. Courage or politeness won't do it, I tried both and people became extremely aggressive for Western standards. It's more a question of either wits or bribery.  Some people in this forum mention their ideas for teaching photography. I'd send the students over to Marrakech and ask them to come back with 20 close up portraits of Moroccans shot with a 35 mm lens. But then maybe I'd have an empty class and a lot of MIA letters to write to their parents  The more I see those pics the more I relate to them: they remind me of my own shoots when my wife comes along and won't wait for me; all of my shots of her pushing our baby's cart ("carrito" in Spanish, Wilfredo lend a hand here?) show her back turned on me while she walks away, hopefully only in temporary rejection. <there should be a big smile here, but I alredy used too many images>  I know, I should never teach photography and should definetely get a different wife.  I think Michael Reichman dropping by to throw in some comments says a lot about the excellent quality of this forum!  If it's of some help to those planning on going to Morocco, when I travelled there this is the kind of shot I got no problem:   This is what I got often (shots from the waist were done by trial and error, since did not have any device to be able to see the image from above):   And this is what I was trying to get and seldom achieved:  Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrycioni Posted January 22, 2007 Share #60 Â Posted January 22, 2007 Terri I would love to see a image of the grip on the M8. Anything you can do to get a image to post would be nice. Â I will give that a good try Guy... Â Cheers. Terry. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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