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Remote Tuition
I continue to offer Zoom call support / tuition / consulting for those that can’t attend workshop days. Great value and learn from the comfort of your own home! No experience needed. I teach all levels of photography from beginners to experts.
Buy a block of 5x 30min Zoom calls and save over 20% on the total cost. Normal price 5x £25/30mins = £125, Now only £99! (Offer open to multiple bookings).
Pay now and enjoy the saving on workshop days between December 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022. (Offer open to multiple bookings)(Most photographers attend more than one workshop day). (See the Workshop tab for full details).
4 Hour Workshop, £280, On sale at £249 (SAVE £31 per booking!)
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Hi friends! Here is the new monthly MrLeica.com newsletter – A summary of posts you may have missed, upcoming events, useful information and anything else I can think of!
Flickr photo of the month (most liked photo) Caitlyn
Features
September- Recap
September 2021 YouTube Videos
UK Workshops
Overseas Workshops
Patreon – Zoom Calls & More
October – Coming up!
September – Recap
After slacking off earlier in the summer with YouTube video posts I focused all my available time towards making more videos. I set myself a 4 day challenge mid-month and locked my self away so that I could release 4 full length mass lens reviews. (Links below if you missed those). What I found is most normal people don’t have the time (or interest) to watch YouTube videos 4 days in a row. View count was down after the first video post so at least I know for future reference.
How many videos would you ideally like from me each week? 2..3? ..and do you have a favourite day to sit down to watch you favourite YouTubers? I’d love to hear so feel free to comment below!
September 2021 YouTube Videos Catch-up:
Below is a catch up of all the full length YouTube videos if you missed them:
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Nice camera or a rich life?
Talking about the idea that perhaps it is more rewarding to spend a larger propotion of your available income on travel than on an expensive camera or lens (once you have a camera and lens to use). It was perhaps a note to myself but hopefully you can relate to it too if in a similiar situation.
Best 50mm Lens? Shoot Out!
I was interested to compare the Leica Summicron M vs Leica Summicron R..but then I tested a few more 50s too! Don’t under estimate a Nikon lens!
Best FAST 50mm Lens? Shoot Out!
I realised I needed to test my fast 50mm lenses, f1.4 and f1.5 but then I sneaked in a few Contax RF lenses too as I wanted to see how they compared to Leica M mount and LTM mount lenses.
Best 90mm Lens? Shoot Out!
Now I have the 90mm Leica R lenses I was interested to see how it compared to Leica M mount 90mm lenses. A surprising test result!
Best 40mm Lens? Shoot Out!
I was interested in particular with Leica M mount Voigtlander lenses verses Nikon F mount Voigtlander lens performance. Are rangefinder lenses always “better”?
Best 35mm Lens? Shoot Out!
More of the same, this time for 35mm lens! Some strong performers in this group and from a broad range of brands.
Voigtlander Ultron 28mm f2 VM lens
I am happy to get this lens tested and the results shared. It was my top performing video of the month in the first 48hrs of release and includes Leica vs. Voigtlander 28mm lenses.
If you live in the UK you can get 5% off the list price of all Voigtlander lenses using the discount code “MRLEICA” at https://www.robertwhite.co.uk/
Best 28mm Lens? Shoot Out!
Back again, this time comparing multiple Leica and Nikon F mount 28mm lenses. I’m really glad I did the test! (Some surprising results!)
Shooting 120 film in 4×5 cameras
I wanted to help raise awareness on this topic as personally I really enjoy shooting 120 film backs on large format cameras, when shooting 4×5 cameras.
Workshop Dates + Travel Updates
> UK workshop dates – some spaces still available so please get in touch for more information
September 2021 – London 1:1 workshop – Complete
October 2021 – London & Birmingham 1:1 workshops – 1 Space remaining
November 2021 – London 1:1 workshop – 1 Space remaining
> Overseas workshop dates – there is a growing interest in overseas workshops as travel restrictions are easing. Please let me know what countries and cities you are in if you’d like to meet up.
> Travel – I am hoping to travel for the first time since Covid soon. I will believe it when it happens but hopefully new videos to come both for YouTube and extra BTS (behind the scenes) for Patreons.
Great speaking to some of you on Zoom in September. For October I will change the format so that the £3 tier seminar call is now being replaced with a live Q&A.
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October – Coming Up
For October, I hope to mix it up a bit on YouTube with my release of my walkabout video in Brighton shooting with the Leicaflex SL. I have some new medium format camera videos to come and I hope to share more thoughts on the digital Leica SL over a series of videos. On top of all that, as mentioned, I am excited to hopefully fly for the first time in ages so that will be focused on photography ..as you’d expect! 🙂
YouTube video – spotlight (1 of the videos coming soon!)
Have you ever wanted a Hasselblad camera but could not justify buying one? Stay tuned as I have a video coming to introduce the “Hasselbladski”, aka. the Kiev 88 (Mine is a modified Kiev 88 called an “ARAX-CM”). One of my most well travelled film cameras. Coming soon!
Now lockdowns have eased in the UK it has been full steam ahead for teaching 1-to-1 photography workshops again. I teach basic to advanced level photography to anyone with a camera. That said, students are often either Leica photographers and trying to get more from their cameras, film photographers trying to master their latest film camera/ film or anyone wanting to try model photography. We sometimes do street photography too so I tailor it to your needs.
I’m very aware many of you are overseas and quite a few in both Germany and the US that I speak to. If I can get enough people from one country looking for 1:1 workshops I can look to fly to your country and do a mini road trip to see as many of you as I can. If you are interested in me flying to you please get in touch so I have an idea of numbers. (I’ve had a request to teach in Istanbul and the Netherlands so those might be happening!)
The other option is do as some others do and fly into London and I’ll meet you there. The advantage of meeting you in your city is (1) you don’t need to travel (2) I will give you model contacts in your city that you can keep in touch with after I leave. This has worked well for photographers in the past. The flipside of that is if you rather come to London you get the excuse for a holiday!
I’m starting to do more 1:1 Zoom calls as people pro-actively ask for my assistance. I help fellow photographers around the world with camera and lens purchases (especially) but also help with other topics such as film developing, lighting, film camera issues. Get in touch via Patreon if you need my assistance.
On the Patreon platform £5+ tier members now meet for a monthly call to chat all things photography and to learn from each other. Dates are announced on Patreon, normally a Wednesday evening UK time. Join us! We also have our own private Facebook group that you can be part of.
– NEW! Monthly Zoom Call Q&A~30mins
On the Patreon platform £3+ tier members can now dial in for a live Q&A session with me. It might be chaos but we can see how it goes in October! Dates are announced on Patreon, normally a Wednesday evening, UK time.
For access to 150+ additional post, 18+ images, photobooks and more sign up to Patreon.
> Can You Help Me
Have you Subscribed to my YouTube yet and turned on your notifications!? I know you must get really sick of hearing every YouTuber mention it constantly but sadly it’s a necessary evil as it turns the cogs of the YouTube algorithm. It makes the difference between a video getting shown to more people or not. YouTube tells us publishers the data and after August it said “video view as normal but subscribers down 25% verses previous months”.
While I have my pathetic begging bowl out, if you can click the “LIKE” button on any videos you enjoyed watching that helps more than you could ever imagine! (Now I understand quite how important likes and subs are to the success of a YouTube channel I always leave likes on videos I enjoy watching from others).
Why does this matter to you? The idea is, if I can grow the channel I can attract bigger brands and more opportunities resulting in more new camera and lens reviews, comparison testing so you then know what gear you may want to buy.
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One new perk for signing up is you now get a free copy of my YouTube video search tool. No more struggling to find a video or wondering if I have made a video on a particular lens or camera. The tool lets you search through my 190+ videos by lens manufacturer, lens mount, focal length, film format and more!
Despite loving small 35mm Leica film cameras, I also enjoy large format photography. In this beginner’s guide I cover my three large format cameras that I purchased between 2014 and 2018. Intrepid 4×5, Sinar F2 and Pacemaker Speed Graphic. See my kit list below for getting started with large format photography and you can see a visual of the cameras and how they work on the YouTube video embedded below.
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Getting Started: Large Format Photography Kit List
Large Format Camera
The most popular large format camera size is probably 4×5 followed by 8×10. I bought all 4×5 size as it is easier to process the film afterwards and you don’t need a dark room. Popular 4×5 cameras include those made by Intrepid, Sinar, Toyo, Linhof, Wista and Horseman (I probably missed a few others).
Unlike most nice film cameras, large format cameras can still be found at affordable prices. See the current price of a 4×5 camera on eBay (UK) (US).
4×5 Large Format Lens
Unlike many 35mm film cameras and medium format film cameras, large format cameras usually don’t come with a lens. Once you have a camera the next thing you need is the lens. You need to make sure the lens will fit your camera. The easiest approach is to buy a lens on a lens board designed for your camera dimensions but if not you can buy a lens and a seperate lens board and take that route. (I did it both ways with my lenses).
Large Format lenses all sound like telephotos lenses as the numbers are bigger but this is due to the larger film format. For example, a 4×5 150mm lens equates to a normal or 50mm lens in 35mm film terms. I then use 75mm or 90mm as my wider lens and 240mm as a longer lens. See the price of 4×5 camera lenses on eBay (UK) (US).
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More 4×5 Photography Essential Kit
Once you have your 4×5 camera and lens, before you can start you will also need the following –
4×5Film Holders – You need at least 1 film holder (which gives to 2 photos) but I think the ideal is 3 or 6 holders. Three will give you 6 shots and that is enough to fill the 4×5 MOD 54 insert when you come to develop your film (see below).
Tripod – I use heavy duty and carbon fibre tripods but I find strong heavy duty ones made of aluminium are better for 4×5 film photography. Manfrotto are great and I use a Vanguard too for low level work. Search Amazon (UK) (US)
Tripod Head – It’s personal preference but most people use ball heads or 3-way heads on their tripods. These often come with the tripod legs. Tripod heads with spirit levels are useful to check your horizon is level!
Cable Release – These screw into the lens so that you can fire the shutter without touching the camera.
Dark Cloth – This will help you see to critically focus, especially in bright conditions. To begin with you can just try using a heavy coat as I did or perhaps a blanket to block the light.
Magnifying Loop – I use a plastic 8x loop – See options on Amazon (UK) (US)
Spot Light Meter – I use a Sekonic L-758 light meter for large format photography. The current version is the Sekonic L-858 – See Amazon (UK) (US)
4×5 Film – You will of course need some film! Black and white film is much more affordable thn colour and easy to develop. I use 4×5 Fomapan 100 sheet film.
Film Developing for 4×5 Photography
Film Changing Bag – Also known as darkroom bag. These are very useful for daylight film loading–See Amazon(UK)(US)
Paterson Developing Tank – The easiest way to develop your film at home and it means you don’t need a dark room. You need a 3 reel developing tank for 4×5 photography and then your need the MOD 54 insert – See Amazon(UK)(US)
4×5 MOD 54 insert – Amazing piece of kit. Fits inside a Paterson tank and lets you develop 6 sheets of 4×5 film without a darkroom –See Amazon(UK)(US)
B&W film developer – I use Kodak Xtol developer – See Amazon(UK) D-76 (US)
Colour film developer – I use Tetenal Colortec C-41 kit – See Amazon(UK)(US)
Film Scanner – I use an Epson Perfection v800 flatbed scanner for 4×5 film negatives (+ 35mm and 120 film) – See Amazon(UK)(US)
I think that is everything! If I forgot something please let me know!
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Large Format Photography YouTube Videos
I plan to do more large format photography YouTube videos soon as this is a topic less covered by most photographers.
If you buy your first large format camera but then struggle to get started we can cover large format photography during my photography workshops. I often teach 35mm photography as that is the most popular format (or digital), but i’m happy to bring a large format camera to the workshop instead of a Leica if that is your preference!
