Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Exactly, diffraction actually starts at f11 with this lens.

The whole reason for the price of this lens is that its very sharp at f1.4 more sharp than some respected lenses at f8. which means during the film days one could shoot with Kodachrome 64 at 'golden light' hours... And with M9 keeping that ISO low.

And I'm not talking out of my behind here, go to any Leica forum and ask the owners of this lens.

+1. Eric is actually extremely self-depricating about his images as well as his gear. Aside from expensive gear, he also happens to shoot with gear that costs $100 or less.

Who cares about gear! Go out and shoot already!

There are so many different schools of thought on what is street and what is not. HCB would have hated Bruce Gilden. Yet, they are both street shooters, both are respected photographers and both are Magnum Photographers.

Some people like to stage things on the streets directing their subjects and some like discrete candid shots. Some say Doisneau staged his shots. I don't know if he did ... I wasn't there. Yet, his photograph is perhaps one of the most recognized shots. Some say Joe Rosenthal staged his shot, I don't know ... I wasn't there. Yet, it won a Pulitzer and is perhaps the most recognizable war photograph. Steve McCurry likes to talk to his subjects before taking the shot. Great! His shots are also some of the most recognizable shots gracing the covers of National Geographic.

Bartimus is is dead on! Photography is about results! Does it matter if it was taken with a Limited Edition Hermes M9 with Noctilux or a $500 Canon S100? The only thing that matters is getting the shot and the only thing viewers care about is is it a great photograph?

Gear is a matter of preference. If you like SLRs, great! If you like rangefinders great! Some like mid-engine Ferraris some like rear-engine Porsches. Some like Japanese 2.0L turbo charged engines, some like American V8 muscle. At the end of the day can you win the race?

And for those hating on Leica and rangefinders, have you used one? Try it out and use it before you shit on it. To love/hate something you must understand it. If you do not understand Leica or rangefinder or Nikon or Canon, how can you hate or love it? Haters will be haters. What can I say?

The first thing that comes into your mind.

What is mind?

Are you a Kurosawa fan?

Who is that? Is he or she a photographer?

He was a full-time camera collector and part-time amateur photographer, specializing in photos of the back of people's heads, fire hydrants, B&W photos of cats - usually the cat in the center of the frame with a funny look as if saying, look at this stupid human... And on weekends he went to his local Starbucks with some cameras for the weekly show-n-tell meet with other like-minded people... He also used to be a fan of Ken Rockwell, but now Eric Kim has taken Rockwell's position and probably pushed Rockwell's family into poverty, but he does not care, at least Eric Kim admits to being a hack while Ken Rockwell actually thought he was a photographer... Yeah... that's 'Kurosawa' for you.

Btw, the obligatory smiley:

oh...I thought you were talking about this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_Kurosawa

Hmmm ... sounds like this Kurosawa guy is the definitive wanker. I think I could be best friends with him. We would totally dominate internet forums and post about gear we don't have and telling the rest of the world how sharp a certain lens is and how amazing it scored on MTF charts!

Why did you have to disrespect Ken Rockwell? He is an angel sent down by the photography gods to bless us minions, to educate and tell us how a certain camera or lens is the best in the world. Oh and that Steve Huff guy is another patron saint of photography. Where would we be without Rockwell and Huff? After all both of them run workshops and Huff shoots with the world famous Seal. Perhaps he was able to cop a feel on Heidi Klum's inner thighs when Seal wasn't looking. Who knows? She is smoking hot. I'd pay to kiss her feet ... LOL ...

Eric Kim? The world famous international street photographer from Los Angeles? I heard of him. Hasn't he been in Toronto? That kid is definitely making a killing. Good for him, those Asian kids are smart man.

Who the hell is that? He calls himself a director? Please! Get over yourself man.

I am telling you man, the best movies come from Hollywood! If it's not from Hollywood, it's garbage!

Gigli starring J.Lo and Ben Affleck is the best film, yes, film not movie I have ever seen because that was pure art! You have eye candy for the guys and eye candy for the girls! It is the very best film, a cinematic masterpiece!

Akira who?

God Bless America

Eric Kim has probably taken quite a few hits and likes from TPMG members recently.

{whistle}

Any other street shooters people love to hate?

Still photography is dead.

That is the sad truth, we're all camera and lens enthusiasts. All this bickering is a denial of the truth that what we're doing is inconsequential and in the larger scheme of things - a waste of time.

Peace.

I guess we all better sell our cameras and find "real" hobbies.

I had that guy in mind but the discussion has a life of its own...

You got an old curmudgeon like me beat with your anti-blogger-pretending-to-be-photographer rant.

Now lets see some of your work.

Or better, we should all get "real".

There is nothing wrong with J.Lo, at least you don't have to photoshop her butt, its all real 100% human fat goodness.

Speaking of photoshop, long live HDR, because our 'Kurosawa' being a long time fan of video games, likes to make his images look like videogame screen shots... This is one of way of showing that his avant-garde and on the cutting edge of photography... Its ok if his images look like videogame screen shots from a low-res CRT monitor, but still, those images look 'different' and that's all that matters...

Gotta love Kurosawa, hes da man!

O say can you "SEE"?

Photography is all about seeing ... that's why only Americans can be photographers. It's in their anthem.

It's true! Nikon was first to say it:" we are only as good as our equipment". Unfortunately wankers overreacted and Nikon quickly retracted and pulled their insightful look on photography off air.

By talking about gear and debating about which manufacturer is better and what you shoot with, we already are the best photography salesmen there is - word of mouth is the best marketing ...

I have over $250,000 in photography gear.

Some of the equipment I own includes :

Hasselblad H4D-60

Leica M9 Titanium

Leica M9 Hermes Edition

Mamiya Leaf Credo 80

Leica S2

My equipment speaks for itself. I am a real photographer. The photographs I take doesn't matter, it's all about equipment. It impresses other wannabe photographers, gets me in to the press boxes, photographer pits, behind police lines and so on.

Oh, son! I am for real.

Watch. Observe. And Learn. : http://www.petapixel.com/2012/06/01/cam ... y-culture/

Oh yes! Got to look different and stand out from the crowd! That's why I always put some Instagram filters on my photos and always put in that fake vignetting effect. It's stuff that only professionals like me do.

Now the question is, with all those gear do you have to pay for those cheap models at VolgaGirl, or hot women take off their shirts so you can capture their 'essence'?

I say that because Kurosawa uses his camera as a means for meeting gullible nice chicks and let them fiddle his equipment while he looks on with a look that is a mixture of contentment and desire...

You should see all the videos I have hanging on my walls!

Open any newspaper, magazine, advertising material, book....trillions of dollars being sold a year...all packed with f#cking video! There isn't a single photo on the internet either!!

Any other photographer you love to hate? Thanks for the Kim lead!

You know, the funny thing is those with flat screen TVs, already have video hanging on their walls - watching Euro 2012.

Sorry, try again. lol

That's called tv....video and the internet killed that too.

Right after radio.

If tv is killing photography it's a really, really, really, slow death...like a 70 years plus...Oh god the carnage!!


You know what people do now? They wear gopro's to games and you get professional quality live feeds from the top of their popcorn!

Video killed photojournalism.

Photoshop killed fashion photography.

HDR killed landscape photography.

Eric Kim killed street photography.


Its the end of photography as we know it.......