Keith Rowell Photography Weblog

Blue Green

keith — Fri Mar 12 08:51:23 +1000 2010

Today's image was pretty crappy so I'm uploading another one.

This is some kind of grass like plant in the Tasmanian highlands, I have no idea what it's called. It could be a small Pandani tree but I'm not sure.

Traffic Jam

keith — Fri Mar 12 07:55:00 +1000 2010

Traffic Jam. Wellington, 2009.

Marlon Brandos got Nuthin

keith — Thu Mar 11 07:55:00 +1000 2010

So debonair and suave, he could be the new James Bond.

Seagull

keith — Wed Mar 10 09:09:15 +1000 2010

Seagull. Rotnest Island, 2009.

Sammy and Gracie Calendar 2010

keith — Tue Mar 09 10:38:01 +1000 2010

As is customary each year, I have produced a Sammy and Gracie calendar. I very much look forward to seeing the printed copies when they arrive.

Click on the image to see the whole calendar.

Learning to Fly

keith — Tue Mar 09 07:55:00 +1000 2010

Learning to Fly. Wellington, 2009.

First Roll with my Leica M6

keith — Mon Mar 08 10:02:42 +1000 2010

Since I have been shooting with my Leica M6, I only have one roll back from processing. I have shot another couple of rolls but I am still waiting for them to come back. It can be up to a week turnaround with developing and scanning. Black and white processing is done by hand so there's no 1 hour service for that. But I'd rather wait and have the quality.

Here are some shots from the first roll.

I had 100 ISO film in the M6 and with the bad weather (read: low light) I was limited to very slow shutter speeds. Usually 1/8th of a second. That worked out well for depicting some motion in the images.

Dean and Madonna

keith — Mon Mar 08 09:22:59 +1000 2010

Dean and Madonna. Perth, 2009.

RedDog

keith — Sun Mar 07 16:36:43 +1000 2010

RedDog. Tambo, 2009.

Rockin

keith — Sat Mar 06 07:55:00 +1000 2010

Rockin. Brisbane, 2009.

Pelicans

keith — Fri Mar 05 07:55:00 +1000 2010

Pelicans. Rotnest Island, 2009.

Johno at Caloundra

keith — Thu Mar 04 07:55:00 +1000 2010

Johno at Caloundra. Sunshine Coast, 2008.

Happy Fucken New Year

keith — Wed Mar 03 07:55:00 +1000 2010

New year's day. Brisbane, 2010.

Leica M6

keith — Tue Mar 02 10:55:00 +1000 2010

I have added a Leica M6 to my camera collection. The only thing I would swap it for would be a Hasselblad that's been on the moon.

Leica is legendary in the photography world. They popularised the 35mm film format for stills photography by making one of the very first 35mm cameras, the Ur Leica. Then followed the iconic M series of Leica rangefinders.

The heritage of Leica cameras goes back 80 - 90 years. Having a Leica, for me, is a connection to that photographic heritage and history.

Unlike the M7, which has an electronically controlled shutter for all speeds except 1/60 and 1/125, the M6 has mechanical shutter speeds. The M6 operates at all shutter speeds without batteries, but does require batteries to operate the light metre should one choose to use that. Apart from the light metre, which shows a couple of LED triangles in the view finder, the camera is all manual. That's the way many Leica shooters like it, including me.

The M6 shutter is extremely quiet. Barely audible in, say, a café where there's some ambient noise. That's a welcome change from the noise of a modern day DSLR. This is due to the M6 not having a mirror that needs to be flapped up before the shutter opens, and the shutter itself being constructed mostly of cloth. This shutter mechanism allows much slower hand-held shutter speeds than an SLR camera as there is much less movement when the shutter is opened. This simple shutter mechanism is why so many Leica M3 cameras from the 1950s are still in good working order.

My Leica M6 was manufactured in 1995 and was first purchased in Geneva, Switzerland in 1996. Until I bought it, the camera had just one owner who cared for it like the special object it is.

I bought my Leica M6 in Alsace, France which I think is pretty neat since my favourite wines are from the Alsace wine region. Many thanks to Fabienne in France for taking such good care of the camera and for selling it to me. Fabienne, I hope the photos I make with your camera will do it justice.

As I write this, I am still on my very first roll of film, but I expect there'll be many shots from my Leica M6 posted here in the future.

Legends of photography who have used or are using a Leica:

Of course there are numerous others, but those are a few who come to mind.

And another shot with a couple of bottles of the best Alsace Gewürztraminer I have ever tasted.

Asahi

keith — Tue Mar 02 07:55:00 +1000 2010

Asahi. Kangaroo Point, 2009.

Chancho most Beautiful Man in the World

keith — Mon Mar 01 07:55:00 +1000 2010

Chancho, most beautiful man in the world. Gold Coast, 2010.

Shaw at Greens and Cock

keith — Sun Feb 28 07:55:00 +1000 2010

Shaw at Greens & Cock. Perth, 2009.

Stradbroke Sunrise

keith — Sat Feb 27 07:55:00 +1000 2010

Stradbroke Sunrise. Strabroke Island, 2009

Tote

keith — Fri Feb 26 07:55:00 +1000 2010

Tote. Magic Millions, Gold Coast, 2010.

Good Boy

keith — Thu Feb 25 07:55:00 +1000 2010

Good Boy. Brisbane, 2010.