"Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life," Oscar Wilde, 1889

My career as a professional photographer has spanned over 40 years, which could be classed as over exposure. The same principal can be said in my silver-based film photography where I over-expose my black and white, Ilford HP5 film.

Recently, my teaching career has ended after only four years, which includes the one year of PGCE training, which can be classed as under-developed. Again, this mirrors the next stage of my silver-based practice whereby I would under-develop the roll of HP5.

Therefore, at the age of 60, my life is on hold, or stop, for the time being. This, once again, mirrors the next stage in my silver-based workflow whereby the film is placed in a Stop bath to arrest the development.

So, what happens next? I’m sure all my photographic industry friends will correctly be saying the word ‘fix’! Yes, I need to find a fix to my situation, in the same way I would need to put my roll of HP5 into a fixing bath to stabilize the images and make them permanent.

As to what the fix will be, my life is still imitating my art, and just like my roll of film, I will be keeping you in the dark until after the fix has progressed.

Is the Leica 35mm Summilux-M ASPH f/1.4 lens good for landscapes?

This is one of my two, go-to lenses when I shoot landscape photography. It offers amazing edge to edge clarity and micro contrast that’s second to none. Having the option to shoot wide open at f/1.4 also gives you the creative landscape option of adding some fantastic bokeh to some scenes

Yes, it is an expensive lens to invest in but from my perspective, it’s a one-off purchase that will last me a lifetime. Therefore the answer is a big YES, but only if the 35mm angle fits with your style of landscape photography. If I want to show a wider perspective, the second of my go-to lenses is the Leica 21mm Super-Elmar-M ASPH f/3.4 which I will detail in a later blog.

STOP

Leica M Lenses

Is the Leica 35mm Summilux-M ASPH f/1.4 lens good for landscapes?