Middle Gray • org

Well, I’ve gone digital sooner than expected. I have a new Leica M8.2 and an Elmarit 28/2.8 lens to play with. So far so good. It handles exactly like my M3 and M7 but with the benefits of digital. The biggest trouble I have so far is that everything is in color, which I’m not good with. I will try some B&W conversions with it too. I’ll post some impressions and pics in the coming weeks.

I saw the Robert Frank exhibit over the weekend while I was in DC. I agree that some of the analysis was over-analyzing, and it seems that Mr. Frank himself would agree. Some of the viewers also enjoy discussing the geometry or symbolism, etc. Everyone has their way of looking at things I guess.

The contact sheets were amazing to me. You see the grease pencil circles around shots that made the cut and all the rejects, many of which were really good photos.

Looking at these pics on the wall of the National Gallery of Art struck a couple notes. Many of the shots were not level, out of focus, lacking tonal range, blurry. But they were great. I don’t believe he meant to take such photos, but he wanted to get the shot. Getting the shot, even if it was a little out of focus, appears to be the important thing here.