Leica M8

I finally got my first Leica camera and it happen to be a M8. With the M9 being the flagship of the M series, the used market has been flooded with the M8/M8.2. I found a very good condition used M8 at a reasonable so I could not resist myself, so I grabbed it. I am so happy with the purchase. I never thought I would have the chance to own one. But now I do, the M9 is still overly priced for what it is at the moment and the M8 is every bit capable of creating excellent image quality with the correct lens, besides 10 megapixel is enough as I never print anything bigger than an 8 x 10. Noise levels are accepted up to ISO 640 only, but no worries because I can take much lower shutter speeds compared to a DSLR.

The M8 is not good at everything and bad at certain things but it is PERFECT for certain things. It is not for professionals and a DSLR is still here to stay at least for me to do macro, telephoto and action photography.

I am getting the Leica 35 summicron f2.0 ASPH soon to complement the M8. But for now, here are some initial picture with the M8 and the Carl Zeiss 28mm Biogon f2.8. Once all the accessories for the M8 arrive, I will post an image the camera.

























Oh, by the way, I have created a portfolio for all my pictures. Please check it out at jboey239.zenfolio.com

Visual Journey: Cataract Gorge

The Cataract Gorge is only 10 minutes away from Launceston and I have visited the place many times. It was one of the places where I practice photography a lot. It was quite a challenge because, the scene has a lot of contrast, so preferably the scene should be taken late in the evening or in the early mornings. I never liked much of the photos I have taken of that place, but recently, I get much better results, the light was right as it was a bit cloudy. I have also been shooting RAW now, so now I know the benefits of RAW.

































Before this trip, I photographed the gorge with my rangefinder with HP5 film. Check back soon.

Photographing Kids

Photographing kids can sometimes be difficult using a rangefinder because by the time you get the focus right, they would probably start moving again. It is not impossible just more difficult. This is where autofocus plays a better role for the job in the digital era. The kids that I have encountered today did not move around too much, so I managed to capture them with relative ease...

Back in action

I am sorry... I know I have not updated my blog recently. I was busy with something else. But it doesn't mean I have not been taking photos. By the way, my Plustek scanner is no longer functioning so these are scans from my Epson v300 flatbed scanner so the quality is not great =( So here's a few of what I have shot on film...















I will try to update my blog weekly so stay tuned....

Visual Journey: Sabah

I have recently visited Sabah, Malaysia with my family during the short mid-year school break. It is a paradise for scuba divers as the world beneath the water is literally untouched. On land, there is the Mount Kinabalu which is the tallest mountain in South East Asia. Sabah is famous for the Orang Utan and Swallows that produces bird nest. Unfortunately I did not manage to get to these places... The trip was short and unplanned but I did get some interesting pictures while I was there, predominantly street photographs and architecture. The hotels we were staying were very nice indeed.

Fisrt of all we stayed at Tanjung Aru Resort. The architecture here is very rustic and warm with the clever use of materials and structural elements that also become part of the aesthetics.


Refreshments from Tanjung Aru reception





Then we headed to the Sunday Street Market. There are interesting things sold here.








Locals petting stranger's dog


Local handicrafts from Sabah


Local beggars. They don't look very poor, do they?


Interesting that a broken chair can be used as leg rest...


Massage service by the visually impaired. A very good idea actually...



Then we headed to the local market...



Then we decided to viist the local zoo...






Ahem, ass licking?





Back at the hotel, we were greeted with local music...




Scenery from the hotel window...

On the last night we stayed at Sutera Harbour Pacific...








Clean waters with colourful fishes at the marina...


A HDR attempt of the marina...


Sutera Harbour Magellan, our neighbour hotel...




Interesting play of natural light...




Huge lobby with high ceilings makes the whole entrance grand with only natural ventilation...



Then we headed to the Sabah Heritage Museum




Sabah Long House



The Sabah Museum is just nearby, no cameras were allowed though...


Very interesting cantilever...


The Sabah skyline...

Hope you enjoy my pictures....