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who the fuck uses flashes nowdays?
i am a old school photographer that pretty much stopped using flash units as todays cameras almost shoot in great photos in total darkness because of great technology. i used to flash all the time, when shooting film but mainly because i could not see the outcome until after i processed the film. today you shoot and push play to see the outcome, which is great but also made me lazy regarding some things i used to do, like using flash.
there is nothing wong with that but after i saw some awsome flash photos and also saw how greg williams uses his leica q2 and flash i kinda wanted one - and i got one. i posted on facebook that i wanted a flash unit and a friend of mine had one and it was the perfect one, the sf 24d which for some reason leica has stopped making. leica sells a big flash unit that is focused on sl users and perhaps us small camera nerds should not be using artificial light at all, like henri cartier-bresson said, “it ruins pictures to use artificial lights” - but who cares!
i have been trying out the flash on the q2 and it is great, it makes you think and it makes you learn. trial and error. great!
why am i preaching this? simple reason, todays cameras are so fucking great that you just have to point and shoot to get a great photo. but it is also how the camera sees the world and it uses its “vision” to have everything as perfect as possible - but that is not really how life is. i used to hate shadows, always trying to get rid of them. but accepted later that light must have shadows! and we all cast shadows that can be creative, dramatic and have a given right to be there - so embrace them.
i will experiment with my q2 and my small flash to create new visions and images, i hope you will to! always try new things or photography will become boring.
below is a photo of my daughter, audur, where i used this harsh and unforgiving artificial light to capture her great and terrific beauty - long live the flash unit!
audur isold / 2021
the perfect companion?
i have loved my canon cameras since i began photographing. using all types from t90 to 5d m4 and most of the high end lenses. it was normal since i was a photojournalist for 15 years at a newspaper in iceland and have also worked for companies and all kinds of clients for the last 30 years - which is a long time.
all the time i have loved and hated leica cameras. i really wanted a m6 but it did not work for the fast pace photojournalism, that said i actually bought the contax g2 and lenses since they have autofocus. i have never the less always wanted a leica - it is something you need to have at some point in your life and of course i did.
the first leica i got was a d-lux 4. actually it is an overstatement to call it a leica since it is a panasonic camera that leica put it´s name on and panasonic sold it as panasonic and leica as leica. the difference was that the firmware was diiferent. so i really never had a "real" leica, i had a panasonic clone.
that´s why i wanted the leica q2. i really love the idea to have a camera that is great quality and has a build on lens. my adhd has problems to make decisions regarding what lens to use and what to carry around with. i tried other brands but i was actually loosing interest in photography and was selling stuff. that´s when i got an oppertunity to buy a used leica q2 - and i never looked back.
leica q2 is the perfect companion for the adhd, cannot make decisions, who wants a great camera, guy (me). i love to walk with it and take street photos and i actually am starting to enjoy photography again. the q2 is easy to use, simple and the mission is to take great pictures - not to overthink lenses, to many buttons, to many settings. and that is perfect for me.
i will post more about the q2 later on - especially the ease of use and how great it feels to have it on my neck or preferably in my hands shooting.
selfie / 2021