GHEN Posted February 27, 2011 Share #1 Posted February 27, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hello everyone, 1st post after a bit of lurking. Here is my situation. I know almost nothing about photography, but several years ago I was taken with an urge to buy a great film camera and learn how to use it (maybe I realized that film might soon give way to digital). I found a used Leica M4 body that was in need of repair, and after throwing in a cross country move, then another one back to Ohio, and having the camera sit at DAG being repaired for almost 2 years I finally have it back. I just this week got a lens, budget demanded a Voigtlander (35/1.4), none of which I'll be able to use until I get back home this summer (I'm in Afghanistan). I will try and find a photography class when I get home, but until then if there is any advice you can give, any helpful hints or books you can steer me towards I appreciate it. I figured I could learn one my Voigtlander while saving for a better lens, I am considering a 50mm Summicron. Here are some pictures from Afghanistan, taken with a Sony compact camera..so don't expect much :-) The first picture is the end of the Hindu Kush, right above the Tora Bora valley. Really enjoying this Forum, thanks to all of you, GHEN Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 27, 2011 Posted February 27, 2011 Hi GHEN, Take a look here Any advice appreciated. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
cbretteville Posted February 27, 2011 Share #2 Posted February 27, 2011 Welcome to the forum! Use the M4 with your 35. If you don't have a handheld exposure meter, get one. Something like a Gossen Digisix or Sekonic L308S will do fine and will grow with your skills. Use the kit a lot and stick with the one lens for a while. Take notes while you shoot so you can go back and see what you did and try different things. Only by shooting and studying your results can you learn to be better. Shooting two rolls a year will not get you there. You need to invest in some money in film and its processing. Decode upon one type of film and stick to it for a while. Set a shooting goal, something like one roll every two weeks. And most importantly take the camera with you, everywhere you go bring the camera. If the M4 is on the shelf at home in your den, not many shots will be taken. Here is a shooting tip: Find a place you like to go to and can get to easily, close to home or your place of work preferably and go there to shoot often. Shoot the same scenes in all sorts of light, weather and seasons and look at the shots as they come back to you. This is a good way to learn how to judge light and how what you see with the eyes is rendered by the lens onto film. Good luck and most of all: remember to have fun while you learn. Carl Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aesop Posted February 27, 2011 Share #3 Posted February 27, 2011 ...welcome to the forum, Ghen. Get to know your equipment by using it as much as possible - I am pretty sure there is ample opportunity for photography within your current environment. I also fully agree with Carl and look forward to further input from you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kivis Posted February 27, 2011 Share #4 Posted February 27, 2011 A great book on how to be a "real" photographer: Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson plus the above advise. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
myshkine Posted March 5, 2011 Share #5 Posted March 5, 2011 Hi, BTW, I used to have a Voigtlander 40/1.4 and sold it for a Summicron 50. Know what, I'll probably buy it again, it's a great lens, don't underestimate it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted March 6, 2011 Share #6 Posted March 6, 2011 Hi, As Carl says you'll need a light meter, but if your Sony displays the aperture/shutter speed it can double up as a light meter as well! Also, google 'sunny 16' and read up on how to judge exposure by eye. Stick to your Voigtlander lens for a while, get competent with it before adding to your collection. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted March 6, 2011 Share #7 Posted March 6, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi Ghen, It's a real shame your don't have the camera in Afghanistan - it would be a great place to fire off lots of film, and come to grips with your new camera. When I was a kid, my father stuck a piece of sticking plaster to the back of my range finder, with the following written on it: - sunny day f/8 - cloudy day f/5.6 - indoors & low light f/4 All shots were taken at 1/125. Obviously, you have more choice in both shutter speed and aperture, but if you take with a reasonably forgiving film (black & white like Kodak TX400), you will develop a feel for the light - that is what it's all about. If you're unsure what to expose at, bracket your shots. Take 4 pictures at apertures which straddle what you think the correct aperture might be - eg f/2.8, 4 & 5.6. You can get very lost with light meters, ISO ratings, EV readings etc, and I doubt very much it will help. What you need to understand is the quality of light, the relationship of aperture to shutter and timing and composoition. So I'd say, shoot lots of ilm - a roll a week is a reasonable amount if you're traveling, but also make the most of those shots - look at the light, look at the scene unfolding and where and when you might take your picture from, and get a feel for shutter speed and expsoure. Write down what you're doing as well - it will help. What you should be aiming for is assessing the aperture you want to take the shot at (this has the single biggest impact on the picture), then you work out the shutter speed. Practice will help - so, with the two kids you caught above (lovely shot, by the way), you might think, they're slightly in shadow, and I want then to be sharply focused. This would suggest a more open aperture of, say, f/2. For that to work, you'd want to be thinking of a fast shutter speed like 1/1000 (not sure if the M4 is that fast). Anyway, you get the picture - a higher aperture number (eg f/16) means less light, which in turn usually means a slower shutter speed. A lower aperture number (eg f/1.4) means more light, and a correspondingly faster shutter speed. These things are directly linked, so on a given day, one stop wider in aperture means one stop faster shutter speed. Once you have this iin your mind, you need to understand what this means to depth of field. Lots written on this topic, but the simple concept is wider the aperturenarrower the depth of field. The smaller the aperture (higher f-stop) then the greater depth of field - so more is in focus. I hope this helps - there's really not a great deal more to understand. Cheers John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted March 7, 2011 Share #8 Posted March 7, 2011 Hello GHEN, Welcome to the Forum. It is understandable you might be in a situation in Afghanistan where it is not possible to do photography in a manner in which you might want to because you may have time as well as other constraints on your opportunities to do so. The pictures of the girl & boy & of the sky are very nice. You may find using a photographic reference book from the time period of the M-4 to be useful in terms of learning the ins & outs of photography w/ it. An example might be: The Ameteur photographer's Handbook by Aaron Sussman. It deals w/ equipment from the period of the M-4 & spends a lot of time dealing w/ general photographic theory, history, optics, etc, as well as technique for many cameras, etc not just Leitz/Leica. Jams's idea of using your other camera as a meter is a good one for now if it is small enough & you can read film/sensor speed, aperture & shutter speed individually in some form. It may be a good idea after some experimentation to standardize on one of each film type per category you are interested in: Color negative, color transparency, B&W silver based, monochrome chromogenic, until you understand them & decide which of them you do or do not want to proceed w/ for now. Best Regards, Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHEN Posted March 7, 2011 Author Share #9 Posted March 7, 2011 Everyone, Thanks so much for the excellent advice. I have to admit that as I became more & more aware of the vast selection of lenses out there I was starting to think I wouldn't be doing it right if I didn't try and get my hands on several different lenses, it is good to hear the advice to "stick with one" for awhile to learn on. It is rather unfortunate that, unlike my last rotation over here I am now stuck in a drab place without much access to the local populace, and not much worth photographing. Along with that there are horror stories of mail going missing for months on end, so I will be keeping my M4 back home and out of the mail stream...too bad really I wish I had had it when I was down South near the city of Spin Boldak, or in Nangrahar Province, lots more to photograph there. Afghanistan has a lot of beauty, hopefully someday it will be peaceful enough for people to travel to just to take photographs. Anyway thanks again, I WILL be taking the advice I have received here; and I appreciate the kind words about my photos. Warmest regards, GHEN Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xmas Posted March 7, 2011 Share #10 Posted March 7, 2011 Hi GHEN Some of the camera repair persons turn around kit real fast some are slow. An exposure meter is desirable but for C41 color is optional unless you want difficult shots without bracketing, e.g. sun sets/sun rises, smokey opium dens etc., .... google - sunny side f16 The CV f/1.4 35mm lens is ok my norm is a CV f/2.5 35mm LTM with M adapter. If you are gonna take a lot of available darkness you need a /1.4 or /1.2, otherwise there is more risk of flare. If you want a Leica lens the summarit f/2.5 35mm is best, you need to order a Leica 35mm lux now to have one when you want it. Good luck out there. Noel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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