Time for a change?

As we all do at times, I have been considering my approach to photography and the tools and processes that I use. I shoot a mixture of digital and film but jumping back and forth between mediums is starting to affect the consistency of my images. I have found it very educational learning to shoot film and it has no doubt allowed me to take a more considered approach to my digital photography. 

I have been obsessed with making prints from the first time I picked up a camera. In my opinion, producing a print is the most important part of photography. It is, as Ansel Adams said, “The Performance”.  It is the culmination of all efforts from the pre-visualisation of the print before pressing the shutter, Careful editing of the captured image and finally choosing how it Is printed.

Refining my printing, initially digital inkjet and then moving on to learning the techniques needed to produce silver gelatin prints, has taken me just as long as it has to learn to use a camera properly and I am still learning each time I make a print. 

One of the reasons that I started shooting film was so that I was able to produce traditional darkroom prints. It became a bit of an obsession of mine after seeing so many beautiful prints in exhibitions. These prints seemed to have a unique beauty that made them stand out. I wanted to see if I could produce images that had the same impact, this led to me purchasing an enlarger and setting up a small but functional darkroom at home. After a while I managed to refine a technique that allowed me to produce these prints from my digital files. This was obviously quite exciting. All of the convenience of digital, combined with the fun of producing beautiful darkroom prints. 

I’m now at a point where I want my photography to be consistent. This has meant that I have been giving a lot of thought to the camera I want to use. For a while now I have used the Fujifilm GFX 50s for my digital landscape photography and until recently, I would use the X-Pro2 for street or family photos. For film I use a Leica MA, Hasselblad 500cm and Chamonix 045H-1.  

I’m now putting some serious thought into moving to a single system. Or at least using a single system for the majority of my photography. 

The X-Pro2 was very nearly the camera that did everything that I wanted it to. Great image quality and a very flexible camera for a range of situations. The prints were good, but they were slightly lacking in comparison to those I made from the GFX. Another reason I’m considering a change that may seem trivial to many people but is important to me is what a camera is like to use. The X-Pro2 was nice to use but was never a real pleasure to use. Ever since shooting a Leica M3 for the first time I fell in love with its complex simplicity. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s the engineer within me that appreciated the precision workmanship and all manual controls. Whatever it was, I felt a great deal of pleasure using the camera.

I have looked at Leica digital in the past, but their premium price tag meant it was never really a realistic choice to purchase a complete system. Over the last few years though I have picked up a few lenses to use with my M3 and MA so the addition of a digital body is something that I am now giving some serious thought.

The Leica M10 and M10 Monochrom are the two camera body choices that I am considering. From what I have read so far, the Monochrom is probably more suited to my style of photography considering that I shoot almost exclusively monochromatic images. Its high resolution and exceptional tonality would suit my landscape photography and the cameras small size would make it a perfect everyday camera.

Combine this with the fact that I thoroughly enjoy using Leica M system cameras and it could prove to be my ideal photographic partner.

I want to try both the standard M10 and M10 Monochrom as the latter is considerably more expensive. There would have to be a considerable difference between the two to warrant the additional expense. I predict that this may be more apparent when printing but until I actually prove this for myself I will reserve judgement.

MPB have recently agreed to support me during a trip to the Scottish Highlands in early March by lending me an M10 and 35mm lens. I will be using the camera for at least 3 days so should have time to make plenty of images and get to grips with the camera.

As soon as I’m back from Scotland, I will put together a quick blog to show how I got on and will hopefully have plenty of images to share. There won’t be any mention of technical specification or pixel peeping of images as I don’t see any of that as being important. Simply a report on whether or not the Leica system is suited for my landscape photography and if it’s a system that will enable me to use a single camera moving forwards. 

Even if I do switch to a digital Leica system I certainly won’t stop shooting film. I will continue to do so on particular occasions as I really enjoy it. However for the sake of consistency and more predictable results I need to look at a one size fits all digital system that I enjoy using.

It’s not about finding a better camera as nearly all digital cameras on the market are capable of producing great results. It’s more a case of finding what suits me.  

Matt.