[Leica] The "problem" with the M9

[George Lottermoser]

> On Jan 2, 2017, at 11:04 AM, John McMaster <john at mcmaster.fr> wrote:
> 
> You know the obvious answer Gerry........ I usually leave the house with a Monochrom as well as my M(240) ;-)  I agree with what you say and rarely take the same shot with both cameras as each have their strengths.
> 
> john
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> 
> I am sorry to come back on this, but I believe that the photographer should make a decision by pre-visualisation of how the final image should look. Although this may may be a split-second decision based on intuition and experience that decision is important. If you shoot in b&w you shoot for the composition of light and dark, highlights and shadows whereas if you shoot in colour you shoot for the interplay of the colours of the image and the way the balance together. This is a decision that cannot be realistically made afterwards as the two images/decisions are different. If you make the dcision afterwards it will never be as good as the pre-visualisation that should have been done before.
> 
> Gerry
> 
>> On 2 Jan 2017, at 13:46, Gerry Walden <gerry.walden at icloud.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Ever since I switched to digital I have had problems with some images deciding whether it is a ‘colour’ image or a ‘mono’ image. It was easier in my opinion when you carried two cameras, and you made the decision at the point of pressing the button, and then you had decided. It was a decision made at that moment, in that mood, at (to quote HC-B) the point when the heart, the eye and the mind come together. There is no better time to decide because never again will those three factors coincide. I am afraid that the decision on which of these two images is purely yours to make because neither is better or worse than the other.
>> 
>> I wish you luck with your decision,
>> 
>> Gerry
>> 
>>> On 2 Jan 2017, at 01:51, lluisripollphotography <lluisripollphotography at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> The Day I went to shoot “Giving Smiles” I’ve carried the M9, it poses sometimes a problem to decide if color or B&W….
>>> 
>>> Evening in La Rambla
>>> 
>>> Leica M9, Summilux 75 wide open
>>> 
>>> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/luisrq/La+Rambla/20161221_L1013236+1.jpg.html>
>>> 
>>> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/luisrq/La+Rambla/20161221_L1013236.jpg.html>

Ever since acquiring the M Monochrom, I too carry both the color camera and B&W camera.
And doing so really feels like returning “home.”
Paraphrasing what Ted said, “That is how we worked for more than few decades.”

The 35 mm Ms meant two bodies.
The Hasselblad had two (or more) backs.
The View camera film case had B&W negative, Color negative, Color transparency and Polaroid at the ready.

And yes, as Gerry said, the scene and previsualization, makes the call as to which camera and/or film holder one reaches for.

Regards,
George Lottermoser 

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