It's Maria !!!

Naaah.... She just reminds me of Maria Sharapova.

Down a lonely alley...

Leica T

Special thanks to the people at CameraWest-Walnut Creek, Leica San Francisco and Leica Northern California for getting this camera into my hands just in time for a special day!

Please excuse the Voigtlander optical viewfinder.  The Leica Visoflex is on it's way.

This is not your typical review about the product.  You can find many articles on the web.

This post is more about a journey and coming back to Leica.

You may have read the articles I wrote on Steve Huff's or Eric Kim's site about migrating to a Leica M rangefinder years ago.

Truth be told, I have been away from Leica for almost two years. 

I've been shooting many different cameras and formats lately.  My acquisition of the Carl Zeiss Otus lens changed things for me once again.  The Otus is an OUTSTANDING lens.  Yet when attached to a DSLR,... the package is big and very heavy.

I found myself wanting similar or close to Otus like results from a smaller package.  This desire drove me back to Leica.  Leica glass is still class leading.  Period.  End of Story.  Images that come from a Leica is just very special.   A combination of depth, color, sharpness, etc... that no one except for Zeiss Otus have come to.

What started me on Leica years ago was the humble X1.  From there the migration to the M's and virtually every Leica lens came to be.

This go around, it started with the X Vario.  

However, it only took 5 days before I knew I needed a removable lens solution.  It was either going to be the new M type 240 or an Monochrom.  The internal debate began on deciding what to do and how my bank account was going to absorb this when a good friend at Leica told me that the new Black Leica T's have arrived.  I asked, "how does it look", since I've already played with the new Leica T on and off for over a month.

The reply was, "damn sexy".  That was it.  Wheels in motion and the great people at CameraWest and Leica San Francisco got one for me.

It's only been about 24 hours since I fired up the Leica T.  Looked at all the YouTube videos and read all I can on the Leica T.  Also rejoined all the Leica forums on the web.  The verdict... How could I have ever left Leica in the first place.

Only boring test shots around the house so far.  Results.... WOW.

I'm now contemplating which lenses and which Leica to get next.

"Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in".

Goes together...

Henri Cartier Bresson and a Leica Monochrom.

Just when I thought I was out...

... they pull be back in.

A Sunny day...

... brings out the smiles!

Get the Point...Got the Point...

Dogs with heart...

During a graduation ceremony (this is where the trainer hands over the dog to their new owner) for service dogs at Early Alert Canines, this gentleman started to read a speech, broke down and cried because he was saying goodbye to a dog he raised as a puppy.  The dog sensed sadness, pulled him down and started to lick all his tears away.

Enough...

Lucky lamp post...

Headshot...

Flash mob...

 

Red...

She at least had a sense of her own style.

A Slice of Heaven...

Learning new things...

There is formal and there is informal education.  All it takes is a few minutes of time to introduce new things to growing minds.

Memorial Day 2014...

Take time to remember those who gave the most and paid the highest price.

See...

Coit Tower...

Water Rescue...

The San Francisco Fire Department practicing how to save people in the water.

Big Tree Saves...

When it's 90 degrees outside... big tree shade to the rescue

Red Towers...

Bird Story part 3 - What Nerve !!!

Talk about angry birds... by the way.... you lookin' at me?

Bird Story part 2 - Huh?

Who was that black bird anyway?

Bird Story - You took my space...

Never can be too safe...

Golden Gate Bridge Worker Safety Harnesses

Hey.... Hey...

Dark Maiden...

Of all the images of maidens at the Palace of Fine Arts, this one stood out.  Perhaps it's just a recent touch up or maybe....

Holding the umbrella...

Line of Focus...

The mundane become beautiful.

Cutaways...

Fellow gear heads will know the name David Kimble.  He's known for many things automotive but mostly for his outstanding cutaway drawings in Road&Track and Car&Driver Magazines.

To this day, seeing anything that is cutaway to show the inner workings is just fascinating.  Taking a look at these outstanding Leica field glasses, you can see why they are not your garden variety mass market field glasses.

Thinking among the rocks...

Monuments...

Who ever said monuments had to be made out of steel.

You talk... I dig...

Happiness is...

or I caught a rock.

St.John's...

At one time San Francisco had a lot of neighborhood churches.  This one is 103 years old and is about to be demolished to construct some ugly square box expensive condos.  Progress huh?

Take driving seriously...

So you'll not end up like this.

Flyin' high...

Eyes...

Enough said...

Still perhaps one of the finest cameras around.

One Wheeled Transportation...