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You Say Kolkata, I Say Calcutta: Leica M9 in India

Posted in calcutta, Color Skopar, Heliar, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, ian taylor, india, Jodhpur, kolkata, Leica, M9, Nokton, Osian, voigtlander on April 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »

So, I did something I had never really considered doing, I bought a Leica. A lightly used M9. After snickering at the Leica-heads for years, I now am one. I did however avoid acquiring the subsequent Leica Lens Fever that can kill savings accounts.
Instead I bought a few very reasonably priced Voigtlander lenses. This glass comes in at around 20% of what similar Leica lenses would cost. Sure, Leica lenses are the best, but these Japanese lenses are just fine for my needs. Voila, my new travel kit.
To kick the tires on my modest little rangefinder package, I went off to India for a few weeks. For the first couple of weeks I wandered aimlessly around Calcutta, shooting portraits and drinking tea. Then I headed to Jodhpur, Rajasthan to take part in conducting a workshop on travel photography. This gave me plenty of time to find out what would and would not work with the rangefinder.
Obviously I love this camera. It’s amazing to use, it makes me slow down, and best of all, the files are beautiful. Warm and more ‘filmy’ than the Canon files I am used to. (It’s the CCD sensor I’m told.)
Here are a few samples of images I made with the Leica, and my cheapo Voigtlander lenses.
You can check out a larger gallery of these recent images on my FB page and my website.