Is there a right way or wrong way to use the Leica Monochrom

[Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS]

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Having said all of this, I posted my dirty laundry (which did take some courage but did so in the spirit of trying to be helpful) simply to illustrate the power of the shadow detail and how far one can push the limits with files that start out the way mine did.

Your pictures certainly helped me Mr. Miller .......thanks for posting them

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[A miller]

Thanks, Neil.  I can't say the same for the other many MM owners who have pontificated on this thread w/o sharing any examples. 

[Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS]

Adding pictures rather than big words would also help

I did ask for pictures right off the get go

 

Thanks, Neil.  I can't say the same for the other many MM owners who have pontificated on this thread w/o sharing any examples. 

Adam, I really appreciate your pictures, it was like a light going on...........I think I have got it now, I just need to get the hell out of Nigeria and start shooting again

[Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS]

One last thing.

My picture of my wife sitting in our car in Kuantan Malaysia................ to me anyway, it just goes to show how subjective photography is. I really appreciate the time some of you took to have a play with that picture and come up with your own version but at the end of the day I personally still prefer my original picture............................funny old world we live in!! 

Safe travels to everyone

[Jeff S]

No offense taken, Jeff.  All of the photos that I shared have an HDR look that is not for everyone.  It's not even for me, hence the sale of my MM and shift to film.  I find that film grounds me much better in terms of the dodging and burning, and doesn't let me get carried away with an over-the-top rendering and keeps me true to the traditional aesthetics of photography.

 

 

So I guess you avoid grade 5 paper.     

 

I've seen some very harsh tones in the film/print world as well.  No right or wrong….and not much new under the sun (e.g., sandwiching negs, etc.)...whatever works.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Jeff

[A miller]

So I guess you avoid grade 5 paper.      

 

Jeff

Jeff - I was actually coming at it from a different direction.  My B&W film workflow involves scanning negatives in my coolscan 9000 and getting 120'ish MB tiff files that I process and then give to my lab for an instruction manual as to how I want the darkroom print to look.  I find that my processing of the scanned file requires very little work as the file already has the particular film emulsion incorporated.  Provided that I have the exposure reasonably correct, I do some simple and burn tweaks in LR and then I have my instruction manual for the lab.  Not the kind of ideal total creativity, but it is practical and works for me.

[asiafish]

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Anyone else want to have a go at this picture.........DNG file here it will be interesting to see what can be done

 

Here is what I came up with after one preset and one setting in SE2 (High Contrast Smooth, Lens Falloff 2) and two clicks in LR (exposure and black point sliders).

 

Neil's_Photography_April 03-Edit.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

[asiafish]

Here are a few of mine.  Minimal post processing (mostly pushing exposure a stop, pulling black point -20, occasionally a SE2 vignette or contrast/structure preset).  The last shot is straight out-of-camera with no post.  I actually like that shot without processing and while I've processed it a few different ways, I LOVE the unprocessed original.

 

L1000738.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

L1000154.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

L1000146.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

L1005080 by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

L1004152-Edit.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

UNPROCESSED DNG - STRAIGHT EXPORT FROM LR6

 

L1003267.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

[Geoffrey James]

I think a lot of people create problems by doing everything on automatic pilot, albeit with exposure compensation, to try to avoid the dreaded highlight clipping. You can end up with a lot of muddy looking photographs this way. I find it much better to work manually, adjusting the shutter speed in response to the diode in the viewfinder, the idea being not to match the centre spot that would seem to indicate the correct exposure. The meter in the camera is biased to over-expose when seeing a dark wall, or under-exposing with a large white sky. I adjust the exposure to correct these biases, and can always check the histogram to see how I am doing. It's nice to have instant feedback instead of a latent image and working in the dark. I just spent 8 days shooting in Philadelphia and was able within 24 hours to make a two dozen exhibition prints for the foundation I am working with. It is a lot easier than it used to be.

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[Jon]

Hello Neil,

 

Not sure if this is what you are looking for but when I first got my MM I was pretty unhappy with how my shots looked. One of the things that helped me tremendously was a tutorial by Ming Thein just for the MM. http://mingtheinstore.outthink.us/photoshop-videos/9-photoshop-workflow-for-the-leica-m-monochrom.html. Hope this helps.

[dant]

OP, if your not going to be up to the PP the MM requires I suggest you use the M240. It has the advantage of color filters that can be adjusted in PP to perfect the photo.

 

https://danielteolijr.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/de-wallen-artists-book-no-15-copyright-daniel-d-teoli-jr-mrmr.jpg

 

https://danielteolijr.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/amsterdam-copyright-2014-daniel-d-teoli-jr-mr.jpg

 

As far as right and wrong?

 

nsfw

 

https://danielteolijr.wordpress.com/2015/03/26/423/

[asiafish]

Here you go. 30 seconds in camera raw.

 

Thats some seriously splotchy sky

[Lenshacker]

I would say the only wrong way to shoot the M Monochrom is when you get shots that YOU don't like.

 

For myself, I have some lenses and filter combinations that give results that I like.

 

The 50/1.5 C-Sonnar with a Orange filter;

Nikkor 10.5cm F2.5 with a Nikkor Y52 deep yellow filter;

Jupiter-3 5cm F1.5 with a Red (25) filter.

Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm F1.5 with Orange filter.

 

Lenses that I found unusable- the uncoated 9cm F4 Elmar, no matter what filter. Too much veiling flare. But the uncoated 5cm F1.5 Xenon with an orange filter, worked out for me after disassembling and cleaning it.

 

Anyway- the Nikkor 10.5cm F2.5 with Y52 filter, straight export to JPEG using LR6 with sharpening turned off.

 

Spring 2015 by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

 

There are a few pixels with blown highlights on this next one, but you need to look for them with 100% crop.

 

Spring 2015 by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

 

I expose as far to the Right as I can.

 

C-Sonnar with Orange filter, bottom of the dials are blown out. Looking at them, "they were very, very white and shiny"...The camera sees them as I did.

 

Manassas by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

 

Manassas by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

 

Again, straight exports out of the camera.

[Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS]

I would say the only wrong way to shoot the M Monochrom is when you get shots that YOU don't like.

 

For myself, I have some lenses and filter combinations that give results that I like.

 

The 50/1.5 C-Sonnar with a Orange filter;

Nikkor 10.5cm F2.5 with a Nikkor Y52 deep yellow filter;

Jupiter-3 5cm F1.5 with a Red (25) filter.

Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm F1.5 with Orange filter.

 

Lenses that I found unusable- the uncoated 9cm F4 Elmar, no matter what filter. Too much veiling flare. But the uncoated 5cm F1.5 Xenon with an orange filter, worked out for me after disassembling and cleaning it.

 

Anyway- the Nikkor 10.5cm F2.5 with Y52 filter, straight export to JPEG using LR6 with sharpening turned off.

 

Spring 2015 by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

 

There are a few pixels with blown highlights on this next one, but you need to look for them with 100% crop.

 

Spring 2015 by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

 

I expose as far to the Right as I can.

 

C-Sonnar with Orange filter, bottom of the dials are blown out. Looking at them, "they were very, very white and shiny"...The camera sees them as I did.

 

Manassas by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

 

Manassas by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

 

Again, straight exports out of the camera.

Fantastic.......love those flowers

 

[Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS]

Heres one of the old lady shot with the Leica MM 1950's f2.8 Collapsible Elmar 50 mm and a yellow/Orange filter........love these filters

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[Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS]

Made a book http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/245364-new-book-黒と白で日本-japan-in-black-white/  check it out

[fotografr]

You've got more than enough advice in this thread to digest so I'll just keep it very short.
--underexpose about 2/3 stop.
--SE Pro 2 is an excellent match for MM files, but don't rely on presets. You mentioned that you use High Structure 9 out of 10 times. I'd suggest dialing down the effect and creating your own presets, concentrating mainly on the midtones structure slider.
--red and orange filters are both effective.
--as with any camera, time of day shooting is very important. The MM is splendid in cloudy conditions and early or late sunlight. I've never liked my results shooting mid-day in bright light.

 

 

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