A year and a half ago I found a used Leica M6, in perfect condition, on KEH. This was the holy grail of film cameras for me. Since then I have been playing with different lenses. I’m not in a position to purchase a Leica lens so looked for something that worked for my budget. I started with the TTartisan 50mm. I discovered that the lens isn’t calibrated out of the box and the only way to calibrate it is with a digital Leica. There are other ways but it involves manipulating a film camera in a way I wasn’t comfortable with. So I moved on to Voigtlander. I discovered the Voigtlander 35mm F1.4 Nokton and have been shooting with that for the last year. I love that lens but there was something missing. In the 80’s I bought a Nikon FE2 and it was paired with the Nikkor 50mm F1.8. I have been shooting with that combination for over 38 years. After some research and looking at my financial situation, the Voigtlander 50mm F1.5 Vintage MC lens made the most sense.
The images below are from my first roll shooting with the Voigtlander 50mm. It is more of a test roll. I prefer a more crisp, sharp and contrasty image. This is why I opted for the multi coated version instead of the single coated. Most of my life I have shot Kodak TriX and continue to do so. I love the look and feel of this film and am glad that it still exists. This first roll didn’t disappoint.
This last image is my favorite. The layers, chain link, tracks and bridge. Framed by the trees. This image and a few others from this roll have inspired a new project, shooting through chain link. While this is the first roll, I couldn’t be happier. I’m looking forward to more rolls and deeper projects with this setup.
Till next time,
John