Hm, two cat pictures in a row. Do I have a theme going on? Not yet  This was taken on our way to the grocery store this morning. Initially, there was a second cat as well, but it strolled off when I approached.
Lr 3 + Color Efex Pro 3 @ Kodak Elitechrome 100. I chose that film preset since it has a nicely balanced look with medium contrast and rather neutral colours. Both Fujichrome Sensia and Kodachrome 64 were too contrasty and vivid for this particular scene.
 PAD #37 | "Cat, waiting" | Leica M8 + Planar 50/2 @ f/2, 1/1500 sec, ISO 160
I decided to give up on my original plan of sticking to one camera+lens-combo each week, for now at least, and instead take that combo with me each day that I feel like shooting. Today, it was the M8 with Zeiss 50/2 Planar ZM.
When I left work today, I stumbled across this scene: the castle of Marburg framed by trees and branches, backlit by the evening sun. The final picture didn’t quite turn out how I originally perceived the scene — I think it’s a bit too contrasty. Lr 3 + Color Efex 3 @ Kodachrome 64.
 PAD #36 | "Castle at sunset" | Leica M8 + Planar 50/2 @ f/8, 1/8000 sec, ISO 160
And another week is over! As I mentooned already yesterday, I deviated a bit from my original plan to use only one camera-lens-combo each week, as I found out that the E-P1 isn’t much fun during these days with very strong sunlight. So I switched back to the M8, which I enjoy using much more.
Today’s PAD-picture was taken at Emil’s step-great-grandmother’s (does that term even exist?) place, whom we visited this afternoon after luriking into rehearsals of my old drama group from back when I still lived in the Frankfurt area. Nik Silver Efex with Ilford Pan F 50 b&w preset.
 PAD #35 | "Cat, looking out the window" | Leica M8 + Biogon 28/2.8 @ f/2.8, 1/500 sec, ISO 160 Recently, I’ve been experimenting with completely manual operation on the M8. I.e. I will meter once for a given lighting situation, and compensate shutter speed / ISO / aperture depending on how light levels change. It worked well yesterday at the fair, and it worked quite well indoors today. Much less over- or underexposed shots than before
Prospect for the next PAD-week: I won’t constrain myself to one camera+lens-combo, but just take that camera and lens with me which I’d like to shoot that day. Which will probably be the M8 and 50 Planar most of the time … 😉
I’m sorry, I deviated from my original plan. During this week, I found out that I just don’t enjoy the E-P1 as much anymore as I did. Especially now that light is getting stronger, the E-P1 is getting to its limits. On the other hand, the M8 is just a very enjoyable camera, in use and in quality of its output. This is not to say the E-P1 isn’t a good camera — it certainly is, and it is capable of delivering great results. But if you can choose between a Beetle and a Porsche …
Today’s PAD is from the “Dippemess” in Frankfurt, Germany — a traditional fair that’s being held several times during the year. I hadn’t been there for years, and it was fun exploring all the things with Emil Developed in LR 3 and Color Efex Pro, using the wondeful Fujichrome Sensia 100 simulation again.
 PAD #34 | "Willenborg" | Leica M8 + SWH 15/4.5 @ f/4.5, 1/1500 sec, ISO 160
The sun is back, and plantlife is blooming. Full of enjoyment, I am taking redundant pictures of flowers all the time. Here are some more for your enjoyment
 Leica M8 + Planar 50/2 @ f/2, 1/6000 sec, ISO 160 Continue reading Some more recent flower shots
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April 19th, 2011, 8:14 pm | 
