I rarely shoot in what is considered “good light”. I am not a morning person by any stretch of imagination, and I am usually working when the sun is golden. Tonight I got away from drafting a dry electric power supply agreement – not exactly fun but interesting to toy with – and it’s fitting that in part I captured Rhode Island’s primary electric generation plant. I stopped to shoot this scene for the beautiful clouds. And slowly the golden light meandered from place to place from the clouds’ brush strokes. Again I used the wonderful Voigtlander 21mm, F 1.8 lens (Leica M mount) that Domenico Dodaro gushed over during his visit from Italy last summer. I am so glad to have the lens. In two of the images, the colors are a bit flat. They were taken before the golden moment occurred. The images have a dark tone. They mirror my fears from the abounding madness.
For camera geeks, I had the white balance in my M10 set from an earlier night with different light and didn’t think to change it. All these images needed was the eye dropper being set on a gray point to set the colors as they were. As the gold flitted in and out, I suppose the light temperature was in flux anyway.
I own and enjoy many beautiful cameras. The Leica M10 is at the top of my heap. Using it comes very naturally to me from years of using this and other Leicas. With Leica lenses, the imagery takes on a filmic quality that is unique. The Voigtlander renders differently, with more acute sharpness.
My plan is to shoot some film this weekend, especially after receiving a roll of Ferrania P30 in the mail from James Tocchio. I subscribe to Casual Photophile’s film of the month club to support this wonderful site and encourage other film shooters to do so too.
Good night, good light, and wishes of safety to all.
