Its been a while since my last post.
Heres one from the archives.
Tag Archives: Leica M6
“Drinking The Fix”, PhotoIreland Festival 2014 Exhibition.
Three of my images have been selected to show at Drinking The Fix Exhibition, which is part of the PhotoIreland Festival 2014. The show takes place at In-Spire Galerie, 56 Lower Gardiner Street, Dublin, and runs from 10th – 25th July.
Delighted to be – once again – part of the wonderful PhotoIreland Festival.
The photos are part of a body of work made during a two year period in central Finland. These three were taken during the final throes of Winter, April/May, 2010.
Family Hike up Mount Leinster
I love the great outdoors, and, despite living in the sunny South East of Ireland, we still get a lot of rain. So when the weekend comes and the weather is good, its time to get out and do something that involves a bit of adventure.
Mount Leinster is 796m high and lies about 15km west of Bunclody, a small picturesque town in County Wexford. We – wife and two kids – drove for an hour to reach the foot of the mountain, parked the car, and then set out on foot.
Our kids (10, 5) do athletics twice a week, even so, the hike to the top is a long walk with a steep incline so we took our time. The kids were mainly motivated by promises of chocolate and sugar at the summit.
The locals were very friendly.
Hanna takes a self portrait!
Views along the way were spectacular. We were blessed with great visibility and good weather.
Finally, we reach the summit. A cold wind was blowing and the jackets were zipped up. We sat down and took in the amazing views while eating snacks. I was so proud of my kids. We are now planning our next hike/climb – despite the kids protests. 🙂
Onwards and upwards.
Vernacular Unspectacular
I recently started documenting the rural vernacular buildings of my locality. The long-term plan is to record these important records of our architectural and social heritage before they crumble, and merge with the landscape. Of course many of these are still in use, and it is great to see that people still find these worthy of preservation.
Many of these buildings are hundreds of years old, and are a testament to the coming together of communities of skilled people.
I have started taking thse pictures on a Leica M6 with 35mm Summicron lens in with black and white film. It seemed the logical thing to do. However, I will also be experimenting with digital colour, and medium format, before deciding on the most appropriate method of this documenting process.
Tall Ships Waterford 2011
I am fascinated with all things martime: I grew up by the sea, and am a direct descendent of the Pirate Queen, Grainne Mhaol. So when the Tall Ships race came to Waterford in July 2011 it was top of my to-do list.
“Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest, …Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!
Drink and the devil had done for the rest–…Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!”
Assignment #2 street photography
Its two weeks since we received the brief for the street photography/moment assignment. here are some things I have learned so far:
#1. Not much happens in Wexford during February.
#2. Street photography is best suited to spaces/places where there is a reasonable amount of people coming and going. This is not the case in Wexford town during February.
#3. A brass neck is required. street shooting is definitely not for wallflowers. I heard many muttered swearwords as I clicked away on the street. mothers with buggies gave the most evil-eyes. As a parent with young children, I empathise.
#4. I used some techniques used by Garry Winogrand. He used to play the role of silly tourist type; the hapless kind of character, accidentally clicking the shutter while toying with his camera; pretending to check his gear then… click. I found smiling helped a little. The wife had a good laugh as she watched from the sidelines!
For the assignment I had to borrow a friend’s 18-55mm Sigma lens to go on my 5D. the Sigma lens was made for APS/crop sensors, leaving me with heavy vignetting on anything I have so far shot. Good glass is expensive, and even the modest quality Canon EF 35mm f/2 lens is 300 euro. I have a Leica M6 with a 35mm Summicron but BW processing is slow and expensive here. So, despite the Leica being camera of choice for this assignment, I had to go with my not so inconspicuous 5d. Maybe my lotto numbers will come in and I can get myself a Leica M9. (drool)
Having said all that, I realise there is no ‘silver bullet’ camera or lens. Chase Jarvis once said: “The best camera is the one you have with you”.
Simon Bates Photography 