PAD 111 - Woodland View

[Mike Farley]

Day 111 and the plan was to take pictures of the clouds above the trees. In the event, the clouds did not prove to be that picturesque, but I did find this view which I had not previously seen. The clouds can wait for another day.

Leica M8
Summicron-M 28 f/2
Hoya R72 infrared filter
1/90 sec
f/4
ISO 320

Converted to mono with Silver Efex Pro 2

[davidc]

Just curious, why did you choose f4 for this shot?
And am I right in thinking its your first leica shot of the year?

[Mike Farley]

Just curious, why did you choose f4 for this shot?

The M8 is actually a standard camera, but one which has a significant flaw. When designing it, Leica mistook the amount of filtration required to prevent the sensor from recording infrared light to which it is naturally sensitive. This meant that some colours, especially those of artificial fabrics, were not correctly rendered. The only solution which Leica was able to provide was the use of UV/IR filters in front of the lens to prevent light from the non visible spectrum reaching the sensor.

Leica's error has a bonus as it means that the camera can be used for infrared photography without modification. All that is required is that an infrared filter is placed in front of the lens so that only infrared light passes to the sensor. As there is still some infrared filtration on the sensor, it does mean that exposures are affected. In order to be able to use the camera handheld, wider aperures and/or higher ISOs are required than if the camera was being used conventionally. Larger apertures on Leica lenses are not an issue as they are designed to be used wide open. This particular lens has the additional advantages that the focal length provides good depth of field and is acknowledged to be one of the best which the company produces.

And am I right in thinking its your first leica shot of the year?

No.