Leica M6 First Exposures

I finally have the first rolls from my Leica M6 developed and scanned. She’s been on a bit of a trip, to New Mexico and she seems to have thoroughly enjoyed her time in the desert. I shot a few exposures in Copenhagen, but did not really get a chance to use it before leaving for land of magic, New Mexico. Presently I am back in Copenhagen for a short spell to plan the next epic trip, more to come, and I had a chance to get the film developed and scanned. These are the first exposures from my Leica life.

It is a pleasure to use the camera. The .85 viewfinder is huge and bright as day, like reality with a 35mm frameline. Awesome. The build quality is exceptional, the feel of the film advance lever is so lovely. It is a fantastic tool to use. It is possibly only really good for one particular type of images, but for that kind of work it is the best camera in the world. Looking at my first exposures, I seem to have underexposed most frames (and missed focus here and there, to be expected for a rangefinder newbie). Need more power Captain. I am so used to being a half to a full stop under with digital cameras, and I guess I should be the opposite with the Leica and Tri-X. There are many things to like using a Leica. I like carrying it, love using it, love the viewfinder, the feel of using it, the lovely grain. I don’t miss the digital screen at all, have no need to chimp images. I just miss the ability to download images. I feel though also that I should be developing the film myself to get the full experience, the full process. But developing film myself is impossible without a home, shooting film is highly impractical for a nomad. I will keep using the camera but as an addition to my digital Fuji’s. The following are a few of the better images I made on the first journey in my Leica Life.

EDIT: The images, as they in general are a bit underexposed and came out a bit flat from the scanner, have had contrast added, but apart from contrast, they are straight out of the scanner.

Leica Life series 1

Basketball in Copenhagen.

Trinity test site in New Mexico

Socorro Warriors High School Football Team

Mesa Verde landscape, Colorado

Cowboys at Cowboy Symposium, Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico

Big up my mate Michael Birkmose for letting me use his Leica and bringing it around the world.

5 Comments on “Leica M6 First Exposures”

  1. Really great photos FBJ! I love the first and last ones, really nice. Looking forward to seeing more as your journey continues (of course I’m also looking forward to seeing your Fuji images too).

  2. You can indeed process film on the road. Use to do it from hotel bathrooms all the time. Washing film in sink with hose going in between reels or in toilet (25 flushes do well). Just make sure there isn’t a blue cake in the tank. Is it ideal? Not at all. But it can be done. It’s a pain to carry all the chemistry and apparatus needed too, but it can be done. Digital has made us soft.

    Great work.

    Safe travels

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