Keeping this one simple. The Noctilux f/0.95 is the KING of the night in the photo world. Yea it is close to $11,000, but damn, it IS one piece of magical glass that has been blessed and given the treatment by the Leica gods.
I took it out in the dark last night and came away with all of the following images. It’s ability to suck in and use up all of the available light is astounding. It’s what it does and it does it well.
Seal, the band, and myself went out for a stroll near the hotel and then headed to dinner to meet up with the entire crew from the tour. Seal was shooting with his Titanium Leica M7 and Titanium 50 Lux ASPH. I had his Nocti on my M9 and was amazed at what I was able to get at such low light levels and high ISO and using in camera JPEGS. Awesome!
Enjoy the images and if you want a Noctilux and are ready to shell out $11k for one, you are out of luck as NO ONE has one in stock! From what I hear there is a 3-6 month wait for one. Crazy huh?
Anyway, this is a typical day off for Seal, the band, and the crew. Food, drink and fun!
Enjoy!
ALL images are at ISO 2500 with the Leica M9 and all wide open! Enjoy!
Steve and Phay in the hotel lobby before we went out for the night.
–
In the town Square there were dancers entertaining the locals…
–
as we walked many of the people recognized Seal and asked for photos and autographs. Here he poses with a fan for a picture…
–
After the market in the square we walked down the coast and I saw this couple and fired away…
–
Mark Summerlin and Steve Sidelnyk from the band…
–
Seal orders a coconut water (which tastes amazing)…the coconuts are cut fresh as you order…
–
Steve on the beach…
–
Gus on the beach…
–
–
Steve…
–
On the bus heading to the restaurant…
–
Seals Titanium M7 that he has been shooting with every single day…
–
pick your own crab for dinner 🙂
–
The waiters…
–
Georgina from the Horn Section enjoying her food and drink…
–
–
Marcus Brown and Steve McDonald
–
–
Catching a moment…
–
We saw a roach at the end of our table and Georgina who was 50 feet away hopped up on her chair in fear. She thought it was a mouse we were all trying to stomp…
–
A look from across the room…
–
–
After dinner we all went to the beach and these girls were there playing guitar and wanted their picture taken. Everyone in Racife seems so happy and friendly…
–
Then these guys wanted their pic taken and wanted me to email it to them (which I did)..
The M9 and Nocti at ISO 2500 and f/0.95 can do just about anything…love it!
[ad#Adsense Blog Sq Embed Image]
Steve, great photos. I have a Leica 0.95 Noct and I absolutely love it. The pics are everything that a person can want in a lens and more. It’s a beast!!!
What was Seal doing with the iPhone?
Um. Making phone calls, perhaps?
I know, I know… I saw the picture. I’d call it an ultimate self-reportage.
Greg
He was taking a shot of himself with his titanium M7… which is a gorgeous camera!
That`s it guys! When I see Steves photos I want to throw away in shame my cam and forget all about photography. Forget magnum boys, forget seven, forget all those stupid agences peddling their hyped stuff. I love and die for Steve and his great shots. These exquisite out of focus blurs, that fantastic framing, these sharp image picking instinct, it`s all so overwhelming that if I ever hear a hint of sour or critical attidude toward Steve, I`ll get mad and aggressive. Thank you Elaine, thank you Ashvin, thank you Marco and all others for supporting the real Leica style. All others can drop dead!
Stanis, I guess you were again in one of those not-totally-happy moods.
Steve is a good photographer. He’s got good pictures and he’s got bad pictures just like everybody else, even the greatest of the great. And why on Earth do you compare him to some great masters of the past, anyway? I mean, you can dismiss just about anybody on that ground. And if everyone will follow your idea then photography as a craft will be finished. And as an Art, too, because most great artists were once mere students and craftsmen.
Another thing is: you are at Steve’s blog here. You are older than I, so I can’t say here what I really want to say. But I am sure I personally wouldn’t be overwhelmed with joy if someone came to my house and started ridiculing me in front of my friends and family…
And one more thing that surprised, or rather, shocked me in your earlier post was about your take on the idea of Seal’s becoming Leica’s ambassador and your view on Avedon. What is so wrong with Seal promoting Leica, may I ask you? I understand your notion: you think Seal and Avedon are about to destroy the Leica of Cartier-Bresson et al. What I don’t understand is how you arrived at this idea. And why do you have such a negative opinion on Avedon? What did he do to you personally to deserve that? I am very sorry but it just doesn’t click in my brain. Well, you may say that I haven’t got much brain, so that’s why it doesn’t click…
I have nothing more to say. I am not going to defend Avedon from you. I don’t think he is in any danger. Seal will also manage without my advocacy. I am thinking and standing for myself and I don’t agree with you.
Greg
P.S. I want to bring to your attention that Leica and Magnum had signed a collaboration agreement just recently. Strange, isn’t it? Not very much in tune with Seal being the company’s ambassador and Avedon’s spirit hovering over Seal’s head, telling him what to do… Or maybe, just maybe, it’s an elaborate attempt to destroy Magnum and Leica with one stone.
Thanks guys for all of the great comments and for looking at the photos 🙂
Great write up steve.
It’s not only the Leica, you are a great photographer. The points of view are just fantastic.
I like that you are also capturing the crew walking about on the streets enjoying themselves after a hard night’s work. It’s also nice to see the community of people, Seal and crew, and you all interacting with the locals. It makes for great pictures. It’s also a cool thing to get to know the people in the community. I think that’s my favorite way to photograph, as part of the experience. Steve, you also need to get yourself in more photos. You’re on the trip/assignment too. Maybe Seal should take a picture of you taking a picture of him on stage working? (Maybe during rehearsals? that would be a hoot!) I also like the interaction pictures with the audience. That’s what makes the concert come to life. Looking for new ways to photograph concerts including the audience. We all remember the Woodstock movie. It was so much better to have the audience included with the bands that were playing. It makes the experience have more depth.
I forgot to say. I love the picture with Seal on the bus.
Greg
Wow, Steve! ISO 2500! Ubelievable… This confirms my own observation that lens quality is crucial for high-ISO shooting with Leica. The higher the resolving power of the lens the smoother pictures you are going to get (provided, your exposure is good). I have noticed that with my Zeiss Sonnar 50/1.5. It gives me better images in low light than I used to get with Voigtlander 50.1.1 wide open!
Some lenses merely register images but some actually draw them. Magic!
Cheers,
Greg
Looks like you all had a nice night on the town..great pics!
Thank you Steve, you did it again. Now I have to repeat 100 times: “NO I DON’T NEED A NOCTILUX!”
But the problem is I want one 🙁
Awesome. I wish this lens would be half that price. But as Vincent said, it is not just the lens. You have to know what to do with it. Great set of images. D!RK
Today is the show, and i have two tickets!!
=DD
Darn you Steve. Your low light pictures are so lovely, you’re making me believe I should spend $11K on a noctilux, thinking I could capture what you can. I can’t, but I’d like to dream.
Great casual pics.
Great pics Steve….It´s not only the hardware you know….
Leica Leica Leica!
Leica Leica Leica!
Leica Leica Leica!
Leica Leica Leica!
Leica Leica Leica!
Leica Leica Leica!
Leica Leica Leica!
Leica Leica Leica!
Leica Leica Leica!
Leica Leica Leica!
Leica Leica Leica!
Leica Leica Leica!
Leica Leica Leica!
Leica Leica Leica!
Leica Leica Leica!
Leica Leica Leica!
Leica Leica Leica!
Leica Leica Leica!
Leica Leica Leica!
Wonderful captures Steve, everyone looks so happy and full of life, thanks for sharing!!