Tag: Leica M10

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 20, 20239:51 pm

Are You Feeling Prickly Today?

There are days that I really regret parting with the Leica M10, in October 2018. My eyes were still in a state of recovery—cataract surgery in summer 2016 and regular shots (gulp, yes, needles) for Macular Edema. Fast forward: My retinas are no longer leaky; treatment isn’t necessary; and my eyesight is normal enough that I probably could adequately handle the rangefinder now.

The Featured Image, taken on April 25, 2018, demonstrates what the camera can produce—even in incapable hands. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/4 (guesstimate), ISO 100, 1/1000 sec, 50mm; 12:35 p.m. PDT; composed as shot. Lens: Summarit-M 1:2.4/50. The bokeh is quite pleasing, and I speculate the location is the Madison overlook in San Diego neighborhood University Heights.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 21, 202210:25 pm

A New Vision

We begin a series of posts looking at what was along Park Blvd between El Cajon and Meade in San Diego neighborhood University Heights and what replaces it. On most Friday afternoons, New Vision Christian Fellowship opened its doors to give away food. Long lines formed, with recipients largely making up two disparate demographic groups: The elderly and Hispanic families.

I used Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens to capture the Featured Image and companion on April 27, 2018. Vitals for both: f/5.6 (guess), ISO 100, 1/500 sec, 50mm; 5:06 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 13, 20216:34 pm

I Hate Daylight Saving Time

At 2 a.m. overnight, turn forward one hour your clocks—those that aren’t auto-setting. I start the process early, so the Wilcox household has already moved ahead, unhappily. My circadian rhythm will be off-cycle for at […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 22, 202110:18 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Bello

My short-lived time with Leica M10 started in early April 2018 and ended the first week of October of that year. The days are many that I regret letting go the camera. My consistent inability to precisely manually focus prompted my decision to sell. However, a change in eye glasses later—and addition of prisms to the prescription—and my vision is probably more than satisfactory for the task. Sigh.

On April 26, 2018, I spotted Tink inside her window and stopped to practice portrait focusing with the new camera. The Featured Image is the first of seven shots, with Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens attached to the M10. Vitals, aperture unknown: ISO 100, 1/1500 sec, 50mm; 9:38 a.m. PDT. In post-production, I used DXO ViewPoint 3 to align the perspective of vertical and horizontal lines.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 9, 20219:40 pm

Before Meade’s Traffic Circles

I continue to review past photos of San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood for their personal, nostalgic value. Many were edited around the time captured—like the Featured Image, using Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens—but not published. Until now. Vitals, aperture unknown: ISO 100, 1/2000 sec, 50mm; 5:08 p.m. PDT, May 26, 2018.

The view is from cross-street Georgia; Florida is at the bottom of the hill. Beyond is Alabama, where currently there is a so-called “traffic calming measure” (e.g. circle), supporting the forthcoming regional bikeway. Mississippi follows, then Louisiana (where three years later there is another calming measure). At the stoplight is Texas, where across starts North Park, which name is rudely etched into the two circles on the UH side. That’s but one of the obstructions’ unintended consequences.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 5, 20217:53 pm

Be Blue, Bel Air

Because my days living in San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood may sometime soon come to an end, I am going through older photos for their nostalgia—like this classic Chevy, which location seen is now a […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 11, 202012:11 am

Flickr a Week 11: ‘Havanna Taxis’

Where are the customers? I ask, because why would anyone Uber when they could ride in one of these? Convertibles! Especially, as I understand, ride shares aren’t available—well, at least, for tourists.

Christoph Kilger captured self-titled “Havanna Taxis” on March 21, 2019, using Leica M10 and Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH lens. Vitals: f/1.4, ISO 400, 1/2000 sec, 35mm. The photo takes the week for color, composition, and symmetry. BTW, since when is Havana spelled with two “n”s?

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 18, 20196:05 am

The Cats of University Heights: Monarch

Black kitties are the most difficult to identify, particularly from a distance. Our newest inductee was spotted on Sept. 15, 2018 in the same yard as Skull, the fourth feline to participate in the series (October 2016). Next door, at the Butterfly House, another Halloween cat, Wink, made an appearance nearly a year later (August 2017). Are they all the same, or three different shorthairs? From the various photos, they look distinct enough to me. But who can say?

The Featured Image is one of the last captured with Leica M10, which I sold a few weeks later. Last night, someone bought the other of my two Leica lenses—90mm / f4.0 Macro Elmar—which I used for this portrait. The Blackie earns nickname Monarch, for location seen and timing of this profile; keepers of the butterfly refuge recently relocated to Hawaii. Vitals: f/4, ISO 200, 1/90 sec, 90mm; 6:29 p.m. PDT.

Leica by Joe WilcoxJan 17, 20196:25 pm

Where Did My Leica M10 Go?

I never expected to part with Leica M10 six months after acquiring it. But such was the circumstance on Oct. 5, 2018. So shocking the suddenness, I waited three months to explain. The camera was my dream shooter—a magnificent manual rangefinder that fit my personality. Problem: Too often I couldn’t focus fast enough, or with appropriate precision. Perhaps another six months of use and practice would have made perfect.

But my wife and I were looking at possibly moving from San Diego to Julian, Calif. So serious our intention that we had put down an offer on a house, where we went for formal inspection that fine Fall Friday. Thinking about living in the mountains in nature, I couldn’t imagine using the M10. For the wild woods, autofocus and telephoto lens would be better. So I had posted the camera for sale, with intention of replacing it with a Fujifilm mirrorless.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 29, 20181:06 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Bashful

We celebrate National Cat Day with a feline that I nickname Bashful, for cautiously approaching me during our first meeting but pulling back because of passing cars; good thing for saving any (or all) of the nine lives. I captured the Featured Image, using Google Pixel 2 XL during our first encounter on Oct. 1, 2018. Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 52, 1/1017 sec, 4.459mm; 4:17 p.m. PDT. The companion portrait is second-to-last photo—the other of the same animal—taken with Leica M10. I since sold the camera, which fate will be explained in another post. Vitals: f/4.8, ISO 200, 1/350 sec, 50mm; 4:14 p.m.

Bashful lives in the same cottage complex as Friends, but along another corridor. I have seen the kitty several times since, often in the same vicinity.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 8, 201810:28 am

The Cats of University Heights: Shine

On Aug. 26, 2018, while walking home from the grocery store, my wife and I passed by what is the series‘ thirty-first window watcher looking out on Tyler Street. While I shot several portraits using Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens, Annie urged me to move along. Someone working behind a backyard closed fence on the property poked out several times—and unhappily, she said. Rudely, I held fast until capturing the moment.

Vitals for the Featured Image: f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/180 sec, 50mm; 9:50 a.m. PDT. I nickname the pretty putty Shine for no particular reason other than it feels appropriate.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 7, 201811:05 pm

You’re So Vane

Late afternoon today, I took a purposeful walk around the neighborhood carrying Leica M10 with Macro-Elmar-M 1:4/90 attached. I had hoped to shoot the first portraits from the lens for my “Cats of University Heights” series. I met no felines, sadly, but some of their prey tickled my fancy around the property at Cleveland and Madison.

I captured the Featured Image and its companion at 5:03 p.m. PDT. Vitals for the first: f/11, ISO 200, 1/180 sec, 90mm. The other is same except for 1/250 sec shutter speed. I cropped both, but only really edited the second—seeking to make the birds more lit than silhouette, so to speak.