Washi Film S for sound recording with Leica M6 and Noctilux in Brussels

Film Washi “S” is a film used by motion picture professionals for sound recording, this requires a very fine grain and a very high definition. This sharpness is guaranteed by a special anti-halation layer located between the film’s base and the emulsion layer, while its usually in back layer for ordinary films.
I tried this film for the first time in Brussels in the iconic Grand Place and its neibourhood. The rendering is very original, with a great contrast. The film has a good dynamic range and I could get back a lot of details in the shadows in Lightroom with the shadow slider. I also reduced the highlights sometimes. I didn’t do any other editing, I liked the pictures as they came from the lab.

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Paris Photo 2018 through the Leica Noctilux and Kodak film TMax 3200

Paris Photo is the most prestigious gathering of art galleries in the world of photography . It takes place at the famous museum Le Grand Palais in the heart of Paris. This year, the 22nd edition hosted 166 galeries and 31 publishers, from the 8th to the 11th of November. 68 000 visitors attended the event, 40% of them came from abroad.
Visiting this unique exhibition is very inspiring, considering the diversity of the galeries coming from 30 different countries. The atmosphere is special, this is a place where you can meet people and share your passion for photography.
In order to take original pictures, I choose to document my visit by shooting with film. I tried for the first time the film Kodak TMax 3200 . It is quoted at ISO 800 so in reality, they push it 2 stops when you meter at 3200. You can meter it at 800 or 1600, but you have to tell it to the lab. They have a chart indicating the different requirements of development corresponding to the ISO.
I shot it at 3200 because it was indoor. After a few shots, I realised that there was enough light to shoot at 1600. As you can not change the ISO after starting the shooting, I shot everything at 3200.
I’m very happy with the result. There is some nice grain, expected at such a high ISO, and we have a lot of details in the shadows. It is sharp and clear.
I used my trusted Leica M6 TTL and the lens Noctilux f/0.95 . I shot most of the pictures around F5.6-F8 , in order to keep a descent shutter speed.

Here are the pictures :

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Pretty Cosplay Girls at Thailand Game Show 2018

Thailand Game Show Big Festival 2018 is the most famous and relevant Game Show in South East Asia. The main gaming companies are present to feature their innovations.
The event takes places in November 2018 from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th, at Royal Paragon Hall, 5th Floor of Siam Paragon.
There is a Cosplay Contest so all the cosplayers of Thailand are coming to show their best costumes. You can see below the best pictures from the events.
They are shot with a Sony A7R2, Sony G Master lens 24-70 2.8, and the flash F43M

Enjoy the show!

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Portraits with b&w film and flash : Leica M6 TTL, Flash SF20, Noctilux f/0.95

I shot these pictures with my Leica M6 TTL, the lens Noctilux, the flash Leica SF 20 , and two different films : Kodak Portra 400 and Ilford HP5 400. The great thing about this combo is that the flash is TTL compatible which means that the light meter takes into account the ISO, the shutter speed and the light coming “through the lens” . In the viewfinder a “thunder” symbol appears, that indicates that the flash is well connected. The internal meter of the camera will take everything into account and will guide you to get the perfect exposure. You’ll find it by playing with the aperture until the red dot appears . Just as an external meter would give you the right aperture in a studio when you fire the flash for testing.
The big challenge is the compulsory shutter speed you have to use : 1/45s . Faster than that, the flash doesn’t fire. But finally, I managed to keep my hands steady and the pictures turned out sharp. I think the flash is really necessary when you shoot models indoors, because it lifts the shadows and make the image brighter without pushing the film.
Black and white films are less forgiving with under or overexposure so it’s not easy to get a great picture indoors with flash. sometimes it looks a little bit underexposed and there is two much grain. As much as I love grain for landscapes, building and objects, with portraits it’s not so flattering. However, all is all, I’m really glad that I shot black and white because when it’s well framed and exposed, it’s really beautiful and more special than color. And finally I’m happy with the pictures I got.
The first pictures featured are the Ilford ones and than it’s Kodak .

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Pretty Models : Leica M6 TTL, Flash SF20, Noctilux f/0.95, Kodak Portra

I shot these pictures with my Leica M6 TTL, the lens Noctilux, the flash Leica SF 20 , and film Kodak Portra at speed box. The great thing about this combo is that the flash is TTL compatible which means that the light meter takes into account the ISO, the shutter speed and the light coming “through the lens” . In the viewfinder a “thunder” symbol appears, that indicates that the flash is well connected. The internal meter of the camera will take everything into account and will guide you to get the perfect exposure. You’ll find it by playing with the aperture until the green light is on. Just as an external meter would give you the right aperture in a studio when you fire the flash for testing.
The big challenge is the compulsory shutter speed you have to use : 1/45s . Faster than that, the flash doesn’t fire. But finally, I managed to keep my hands steady and the pictures turned out sharp. I think the flash is really necessary when you shoot models indoors, because it lifts the shadows and make the image brighter without pushing the film. Besides, with color film, you don’t take too much risk with a flash because it can handle overexposure pretty well in case the TTL function doesn’t do its jobs perfectly enough. All in all I’m very happy with the rendering and I think the pictures look really nice.

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Overwatch Cosplay Girls for the World Cup 2018 in Bangkok

The Overwatch World Cup 2018 took place in Siam Paragon, Bangkok, from the 14th to the 16th of September 2018.
Overwatch enthusiasts where here, and some beautiful girls were cosplaying with the costume of their favourite character from the video game.

I shot with a with a Sony A7R2, the lens Sony G 24-70 F2.8 and Flash F43M

Enjoy the pictures!

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Beautiful Models with the Leica Noctilux at f/0.95 with the Techart Pro in Bangkok

I shot the most beautiful girls of Bangkok with the Leica Noctilux wide open at the aperture f/0.95. It was mounted on the Sony A7R2 with the Techart Pro adapter. This adapter makes the lens autofocus. It works with any M mount lens. The face detection works very well.
This pictures were shot during a motor show in Thailand called Big Motor Sale 2018.

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Beautiful asian girls at the Big Motor Sale 2018 in Bangkok

Bangkok International Grand Motor Sale is taking place in BITEC, Bangkok, from the 12th to the 26th of October 2018. The major brands will feature their newest models and the most beautiful hostesses from Thailand will welcome the visitors.
The pictures are shot with a Sony A7R2, the lens Sony G 24-70 F2.8 and Flash F43M .

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