I just cant get it right

[businessasusual]

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Another one from yesterday at ISO 160 but again not popping. Will head out again this afternoon and give it another bash:)

 

What are you telling us with this image? (I think your are telling us what you saw. Try telling us what you feel)

 

I can see you know how to use your M9, so it's not technical hitch. Let your brain take the photograph, let your soul make it.

 

"Photography is nothing - it's life that interests me." Henri Cartier-Bresson.

[lm_user]

Don't be too hard on yourself. I used Leica rangefinders in my youth and recently returned to photography after a long hiatus and several years with a point and shoot. I still miss a lot of focus especially if:

 

1) Subject is far away and in low light without an obvious vertical line for focusing

 

2) Wide apertures - usually in low light - imagine that! (My fastest lenses are Summicrons. I have never tried a Summilux, but I imagine my success rate would plummet)

 

3) Camera shake with longer lenses. Wider focal lengths are easier to hand hold. Interestingly, I have noticed that I can hold the heavier lenses at longer exposures without shake. I imagine the inertia of the lens must help. It is important to establish a baseline for what you can repeatably hold steady with each lens. A general rule of thumb is 1/focal length.

 

4) Smudges on the rangefinder windows. There really isn't a lot of room for error in picking up one of these cameras without putting your fingers where they don't belong. Especially if trying to avoid the screen as well.

 

Tip from my father (and the reason I had access to a Leica in my youth): Use the strap to steady the camera. Loop the strap under the left arm and adjust the length of the strap so that the strap is in tension when the camera is brought to eye level. Camera shake will be greatly reduced.

[Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS]

[quote name=Michael

 

You might also try sitting & working all parts of your camera/lens in your spare time when you are not photographing until you are comfortable w/ the controls, etc.

 

More keepers that way.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael[/quote]I would love to its just trying to find one in Asia

[Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS]

 

Tip from my father (and the reason I had access to a Leica in my youth): Use the strap to steady the camera. Loop the strap under the left arm and adjust the length of the strap so that the strap is in tension when the camera is brought to eye level. Camera shake will be greatly reduced.

I will try that thanks

[bpalme]

My first M9 arrived with the rangefinder out of adjustment. Had to send it back.

I would do a focus test just to make sure. Use different lenses.

Just a thought... that is.. if you think there is a focus issue.

[wda]

Here are two examples of where I messed up yesterday......

2/. After taking some more shots inside and switching to ISO400 I went back outside on the street and shot this artist painting and completely unaware of taking this shot at ISO 400 when it should have been 160 I started shooting again got a great exposure and the framing was ok but when I uploaded the shot I then noticed all this grain and then saw the mistake...frustrating

http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/5716/melaka250820120100.jpg

Why not set Auto ISO for the time being? When the light is good you will get 160 anyway. Indoors, it will select a higher speed to suit the lighting conditions.

[SiMPLiFY]

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My first M9 arrived with the rangefinder out of adjustment. Had to send it back.

I would do a focus test just to make sure. Use different lenses.

Just a thought... that is.. if you think there is a focus issue.

 

I agree with doing a test especially if the camera has a warranty. I put my camera on a tripod and ran it through it's paces. I also practice with no film in it a lot. It seems silly but I do this while I am at home so it can become more automatic like driving a car or riding a bicycle. I still feel wobbly so I just keep practicing.

 

There is a test I learned here on this forum:

 

Tape a newspaper to a wall with a line drawn down the middle with a thick marker.

Put your camera on a tripod.

Stop down to f/8 or f/11

Angle the camera 45º from the line drawn and focus on it.

The line and the text should be in focus.

 

I eliminated any camera issues so I am sure that any problem is one I can only blame myself for and not my camera.

 

I think you have to get the technique to become so rote that when an accidental masterpiece presents itself (punctum - punctuated) you're seeing it and not fiddling with dials and focus.

[honcho]

I am starting to get peeved off with my ability to take anything decent with my M-9.....

Any tips advice would be much appreciated

One peeded off Leica owner:(

 

Stop trying to be a great photographer and begin again by learning to be a photographer who knows how to use his camera and integrates his pp seamlessly. Both need time and effort.

 

My advice to you would be to go right back to basics for a while with your M9 and use it only in manual mode. Set everything yourself, (including iso - forget about auto iso as suggested by someone else, it is never going to help you to progress) so that the relationships between your subject, light, iso, aperture, shutter and focus are considered methodically. Develop them as second nature to help rid your mind of the bad habits you have accrued. Learn to use your M9 as if it were an MP rather than as if it were an iPhone and you will eventually have more understanding of what decisions you will allow your camera to make for you.

 

You have a huge advantage with a digital camera and processing software in that the detailed feedback you get is almost instant, as long as you take the time to analyse your images from capture to output. If you don't, you won't make much progress.

 

Those great images will come more frequently when you have learnt how to take full control, that's where the real fun of photography is.

[Michael Hiles]

To be unobtrusive and unthreatening while focusing in the street, I sometimes draw a mental circle around me with my intended subject/victim on the circle and me at the center. I then focus on something also on the circle but in a completely different direction from my intended subject. Then when the moment is right, I quietly rotate, quickly point the camera (having prefocused and framed the picture in my mind's eye) and gently press the button. I often then keep rotating, and my subject usually does not know he has been immortalized (or more likely misrepresented).

 

And by the way - read very carefully many times what Karina Klaas said above. That is the essence of making pictures, IMO.

[Michael Hiles]

Let your brain take the photograph, let your soul make it.

 

"Photography is nothing - it's life that interests me." Henri Cartier-Bresson.

 

Precisely. Best thing said here.

 

Quickly get the technicals down - it is very simple and easy. Then use the little box to enable your mind and soul.

[M. Valdemar]

Why are you hell-bent on using a Leica?

 

If the camera is not suitable for you, or you have difficulty operating it, why not get something different with AF and other features?

 

its not in my genes to slooooooooooooow down like many members have stated but I guess I will just have to if I am ever going to get this thing right......time for a beer I think:):)

[philipus]

1/. Keep forgetting to focus

(...)

3/. Covering the sensors with my fingers

 

(...)

One of my mates who also has a M-9 just bought a D800e and told me the M-9 is going to spend at least the next 12 months in the dry box as the D800e kicks ass.

 

I don’t want to quit and I won't quit but come on 3% success rate sucks.

 

Neil,

 

Too bad about your friend. Can I have his M9?

 

But how can you forget to focus? With respect, I don't understand that. Because my M6TTL is much less conspicuous than my 5D2 (even with its small and excellent 50/1.4) I find that I can spend time focusing properly without the subject noticing. I virtually never pre- or scale focus.

 

And how can you cover the "sensors" with your fingers? Apologies for not understanding this.

 

You will have to define what you consider to be "keepers". For me it is situation-dependent. I just returned from a drinks party with friends I haven't seen for long and shot about one roll. "Keepers" in that context will for me mean having captured my friends interacting with each other. I can accept a less perfect sharpness, focus and exposure provided I have captured the moment.

 

For street and candid photography, it's all about practice. It's simple statistics, really. The more photos you take the better you get at it. With digital you have the benefit of instant feedback so just continue. The time you've spend with your gear is, by all standards, very short.

 

The one rule never to be forgotten (well apart from all the other ones about removing the lens cap etc) is always to bring your camera and keep your eyes open.

 

Philip

[thighslapper]

Well.... to get a bit of self confidence back I would suggest the opposite to a lot of posters here.... set it on auto with a decent minimum shutter speed to suit the lens in use stick to apertures that give you a decent depth of field .....

 

I good lighting conditions you will not get much noticeable grain even at 1250.... and at least you will have images that are in focus and without camera shake....

 

If they are all crap then it is down to uninspiring subject matter in front, or lack of inspiration behind the viewfinder.... with a new camera there is a tendency to photograph everything so it's not surprising that most of the shots lack the 'magnum' factor.

 

Focussing with rangefinder takes that little bit of extra care and rushing a shot usually results in poor results, as does lack of consideration of the centre weighted metering, particularly with wide lenses.

 

Slow down, think more, shoot less.......

[IkarusJohn]

I'm with Thighslapper - you need to abandon your expectations and rethink what you're doing.

 

If you're making silly mistakes all the time, you need to re-examine your workflow (I don't mean processing workflow). Try a bit of discipline - this is what I do (if it helps):

 

(1) select one lens for your outing (second choice in your pocket if you're unsure)

 

(2) set the best likely ISO

 

(3) for a given scene (lighting), set the WhiteBalance, using a WhiBal card and watch to see if the light changes

 

(4) if you can see photo unfolding, make sure the lens cap is off, the camera turned on, set your aperture to the depth of field you're going to want and check that the shutter speed will suit the image you want

 

(5) frame, focus and take - try changing your angle of view, get close, move back, think about what is in the background, exposure bracket? focus bracket? Think about what it is that you're actually taking a picture of.

 

When I used to take a lot of pictures in manual (a Nikon FM), I was always assessing the scene. ISO didn't change (I leave my M9 on ISO 160), so I was always thinking - is speed an issue? what aperture do I want? How do I want to frame the image so that it has a subject and how do I want the subject presented? how far away is the subject?

 

Once you get a workflow, the silly mistakes will become less. I've had my M9 for 2 years, and I'm still coming to grips with it - I have a demanding job and young(isn) family so time is an issue.

 

My father used to say to me, when you get a new camera, just get out and take lots of pictures - get used to the controls and how they work, and get the feel of the camera in your hands. Build up a workflow, and the rest will follow.

 

It's worth the effort.

 

Cheers

John

[250swb]

Too much is made of the idea of 'keepers'. If you took 160 photographs in a day and all were perfectly exposed and focused would they all be keepers!? I think for even a great photographer (using any 'miniature' camera) to get one true keeper out of 160 would be good going. So you need to do two things, stop being so critical of not getting keepers, but be more critical about what you call a keeper. Relax and aim for one great photograph from a day out.

 

Steve

[Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS]

Why are you hell-bent on using a Leica?

 

If the camera is not suitable for you, or you have difficulty operating it, why not get something different with AF and other features?

It's kind of tough to spend 10k on a camera/lens and quit after two months, saying that I have just ordered a D800e and 3 primes so that might be my next toy:D

[bpalme]

Too much is made of the idea of 'keepers'. If you took 160 photographs in a day and all were perfectly exposed and focused would they all be keepers!? I think for even a great photographer (using any 'miniature' camera) to get one true keeper out of 160 would be good going. So you need to do two things, stop being so critical of not getting keepers, but be more critical about what you call a keeper. Relax and aim for one great photograph from a day out.

 

Steve

I agree. That's why I mentioned while looking for street photos I can spend a day and not get any "keepers".

I may have a few that look good but nothing that I feel like would be a "great photo".

[microview]

Agree with James from Croydon. Set SO at 160 and use the 'A' for exposure for a while. This will show you underexposed areas/blown highlights with non-intervention with exposure value. Then do a few shots using the manual lightmetering arrows to see the effect of shifting one way or the other from the 'optimal' red circle.

[microview]

Another one from yesterday at ISO 160 but again not popping. Will head out again this afternoon and give it another bash:)

 

With post-processing to lighten dark areas, the lilac umbrella will seem to belong to your picture, I think.

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Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[kdriceman]

You might consider reducing the number of variables until you get comfortable with the camera. For example, spend a few days concentrating on composition by putting your widest angle lens on (a 35 or wider?), setting aperture to f/8 or f/11, Iso to, say 800 or 1000 ( maybe higher) and a high shutter speed which eliminates motion blur and gives you a good exposure. You will have a depth of field that gives you a reasonably sharp image from a few meters to infinity. Then shoot away, don't worry about focusing, just look for your shots and take them.. Then go home and look at the images. Don't stress about the noise and grain, just critique your composition and exposures and practice processing them for exposure, color, sharpness and noise. Look at them and ask yourself what you like and dislike about each one and what would you do differently next time.

 

There are a lot of damn good photos that are grainy, but spectacularly composed and there are very few good photos that are sharp and clean, but are poorly composed or have crap content.

 

The next times you go out, use the same lens and open it up a bit, drop the ISO some if you want, but keep shutter speed high. You'll be more comfortable with your compositions and this time you'll need to tweak your focus some because you'll have less DOF. Keep evolving this process... I would suggest with the same lens until you are very comfortable with the lens, camera, compositions, post processing, etc... before long you'll be quite comfortable with all the variables.

 

It seems that right now, you have so many variables, you can't effectively evaluate what you're doing or even what you want.

 

Just some thoughts....