Daily Inspiration #454 by Perikos Manolis

Hello Steve,

My name is Perikos Manolis (semanticphoto) and I’ve been reading your site since 2009 when I bought my first camera panasonic gf-1. Now I am working with leica m8 with zeiss and voigtlander lens. I am absolutely satisfied with the quality of m8 (ok I’ d be happier if I had one extra iso stop).

I am writing to you to presend my last project with which I participated and won a scholarship for a 7 months seminar in photography. The subject of the project is simply, my friends. I tried to explore mostly the options that the light gives, since it’ s the thing that interests me more, so that’s the reason Ι chose my photographies to be in black and white. For post-process I used the lightroom with alien skin exposure 4 (that Ι love!), no photoshop no extra fake layers. All photos were taken with leica m8 with carl zeiss 35mm c biogon f/2.8 and voigtlander 28mm f/2.0 (picture 4,5 and 7).

I know that you have a limit of three photos but Ι wanted to presend the whole project with all 9 photos. If there is a problem with the number, you can choose the photos that you prefer.

You can find me in: semanticphoto.tumblr.com and 500px.com/semantic

Thank you for your time!

Semantic

2.sofia

3.tso

1.kostas

7.eva

4.athina

5.brak

28 Comments

  1. Yes, the M8 without IR/UV filters gives a better B&W glow and tone gradation than the later M models. You should try some older Leica glass to see more of that too, try Capture One too, it reads the M8 DNG files much better than other software. Good work, keep it up.

  2. fantastic! i love how you processed these b&w 🙂 like the b&w tone and the feel! my personal favorite, 1, 4 and 5 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

    I have not use M8 myself but I heard it creates better tone (when come to portrait) than M9, is it true? I can be wrong tho…

    • hello scott, thanks a lot!
      i don’t know for m9 because i don’t have it. I want one for sure.
      Generally i believe that the magic is the ccd technology.

  3. Really good photos Perikos, I’m only surprised there aren’t more comments to be honest?!?

    Especially like the 1st shot, it makes you think & there is mystery in the photograph with the face not being fully shown. Excellent! Just goes to show the M8 is still a great camera, I’ve had several and still think about buying one yet again though I will try and hold out for an M9 once the prices drop just a little bit more.

    • hello cidereye!
      thanks a lot, really appreciate it!
      it’s good idea to try m8 and spend your money in a good lens, i want to buy 35mm summicron asph as soon as possible!

  4. I specially like the first and the lady on the sofa.
    Motivates me to do more b&w again. Great images!

  5. Beautiful images, Perikos, specially powerful is the second shot. Thank you for reminding me how damn good and unique that M8 still is for B&W work. For an “old” sensor the M8 will still makes amazing pictures – of course with a talented eye like yours behind it.

    Good shooting
    Jorge

    • The M 8 has by far the best sensor ever used by Leica, made in the Silicon Valley.
      The processor has been developed in Jena, East Germany.
      This is a set-up which differs completely from Japanese mass manufacturers.

      Thanks to the high influx of infrared, the M 8 shots are unique. And will always remain so.

  6. Very nice photos. May I ask why you went with Alien Skin Exposure over Silver Efex Pro 2 especially since you are working with black and white?

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