Madrid, Spain. 2010

New Orleans

 

 

 

 

 

Downtown Lima

San Antonio, port city

 

Policeman

Beach shoots

I took some holidays and I just came back with some pics shoot at the beach. I did a fast edition, no post processing, images are just as how they came from the camera. In this particular mood and light I felt more inclined for color rather than BW.

Overcast

Shooting in a overcast day is usually a bad idea or at least should be avoided…unless you don’t have another choice. That was mi case yesterday. The main problem with an overcast day is that you can’t play with the shadows and light. Everything is flat an dull. Still i got away with some pics.

Parade

While wondering through downtown, I got in the middle of a massive christmas parade in Santiago. Here are some pics:

Lima from the cab

I travel almost every week to Lima for business reasons. Lima is a very nice city in fact, but it has an infamous traffic. You can get in a traffic jam easily at any hour of the day. Since I usually don’t   have much free time, I’ve been photographing from the cab during traffic jams. As an ongoing series. Will see what we get…

Camera review

I’m not a camera review guy, nor I’m really interest in, nor I have the funds or sponsors to do it so far. I just want to make some comments regarding the Leica X type 113 I’m using, a camera I traded. Those comments, I hope, will be based on a photographer’s experience rather than from a camera tester, from which we can read a lot this days, with not much useful information.

So, I’ve been trying the Leica X type 113. This camera attracted me because of its size, fast fixed lens, and image output. Prior to this camera I used for several years and with great joy, the Leica M8, a camera with a bad reputation from camera testers, but with a fair one from real photographers, despite its old technology. I had to sold the camera unfortunately some years ago. Then, I’ve been working with the fuji X100S, a wonderful camera for street photography. So the bar is high. The fuji fastened my photography aproach thanks to its autofocus and excelent viewfinder.

My fist concern with the Leica was its lack of built-in viewfinder. You can buy a Visoflex but I can’t afford it right now. So I’ve been force to use the camera as a cellphone or at best,  as tourist camera. Well, let me tell you despite of my concerns, it has been a no issue experience so far. I think the need for viewfinders is overrated now that I had experience the opposite. I lets you approach gently to people as one of the main benefits. Don’t get me wrong. It doesn’t mean I will stop using the viewfinder after so much years using it. But i wonder if new generations of photographers, like my kinds, will use the viewfinder later in their life after so many years using the phone as a camera.

Of course when photographing in a sunny mid day, using the LCD es a problem. Fortunately enough, I shoot in the morning or the afternoon. So, no big problem.

Now the camera focuses fast enough, just like the Fuji. So no issues here too. I don’t remember loosing any shoot in fact from a slow focus.

So far, so good. The weight of the camera is really marvelous. Despite its solid built, is very light and comfortable to carry and hold.

Now talking about the bad things I don’t like about this camera, first would be the buffer. I think it’s small and won’t handle more than 5 dng+jpg shoots in a row, without slowing the camera. So that’s something that should be improved.

The other issue that one has to be careful, is the tendency to burn highlights. This is something that I experienced with the M8, an i have read somewhere that happens to the monochrome as well. One must be carefull.

Other than that, It’s a pleasure to use, image quality is great, and it really works as a street camera (one of the most demanding styles for cameras). The lack of viewfinder I insist, turned out to be something desirable, challenging, and from the people I photograph, almost a tourist with an amateur camera, the perfect look to go and work withouth much attention from the public.

I will keep rolling with this review. Stay tuned. Here are some images from the Leica.