First on Emotions behind the Lens we have
39 EastPhotography photographer Mr Kuang On why Leica.
With his essay he sent 11 pictures. I looked over them and decided to post these 2 pictures. They were not the ones I first picked out but on viewing them a few rounds these 2 really stuck.
He captured silence. The silence that comes with the sanctity of marriage.
His Non Wedding Picture
This picture good for its realism. Look at the smiles. Look at the contrast between the motivated protestor holding the the sign "Not school" versus the protestor "Cutting education hurts " who seem lost as one would feel in such a event. Look at the way protestors are are looking at different directions which make your eyes dart back and forth within the frame. His Reply :
“Why don’t you get a real camera?” yelled one of the guests as I raised my Leica MP to my eye. I smiled a secret smile as the cloth shutter made a muffled click. The moment captured. For many of the guests at the weddings I photograph, my choice of equipment seems like an oddity. In an age where equipment is everything, the megapixel count reigns supreme and bigger is better, sometimes I question my choice of Leica rangefinders as a tool as well.
After all, aren’t modern cameras from Nikon and Canon supposed to make my life, as a professional wedding photographer, easier? With an endless supply of shots on a card, instant review, ISO limits that was only imaginable on film, countless lenses to choose from, lightning fast autofocus, machine gun fast motor drives…
Ironically, as a professional photographer, I have found that the latest greatest digital cameras have in fact made my life as a photographer more difficult. The choices digital cameras offer in shooting modes create the onset of the “paralysis of analysis.” Continuous motor drives encourages me to shoot without going through a thought process behind each and every image. Autofocus for some never seems to lock onto exactly the point I want it. Half the time, I’m battling the brains of these cameras and trying to understand the camera.
Whenever I pick up my Leica rangefinders, there is a certain serenity I feel as a photographer. With no automated modes to choose from and only 3 variables to really think about, aperture, shutter speed, and focus, there is a clarity to the picture taking process. In fact with my exposure preset for the lighting conditions, all I think about is my focus, composition and timing… Photography in its purest form.
Over the year, many of my digital cameras have come and gone. I’ve been through just about every canon and Nikon digital slr, but after all these years, my leica MPs are still the cameras I have by my side, ready to capture moments on short notice or in my case every weekend when I’m out shooting a wedding.
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