The Leica File: The Jinghu Players Of Chinatown

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

I"m happy to report that the kerfuffle pitting the NYPD against the senior citizens of Columbus Park in Chinatown seems to have been resolved. As you may have read in an earlier post, the NYPD disbanded the amateur Chinese opera bands that played at the park for years, and were filmed apparently using unnecessary force to do so.

But never underestimate the resilience of the Chinese...the cacophonous opera singers and their loyal musicians were back in force and in full form yesterday ...however minus their portable amplifiers. Amps and microphones violated the New York City Noise Control Code, and the NYPD swung into action. However, not only were the musicians back, but I've never seen so many chess, mah jong and card players despite the faint drizzle.

The musicians use a panoply of Chinese traditional musical instruments, such as the yangqin, a sort of dulcimer with a near-squared soundboard, and played with two bamboo sticks, as well as the jinghu, a small two string fiddle, a circular bodied plucked lute called the yueqin and the recognizable gu and ban, a drum and clapper.

As you can tell, I used a 1.4 aperture in those two photographs. I'm currently enamored with extreme shallow depth of field!

The Leica File: The Guitar Man

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Saturday's ideal weather in New York City saw throngs of people in Washington Square Park, and the regular solo and group musical buskers were there as well. However, I noticed an acoustic guitar player I hadn't seen before, and moved in closer to photograph him.

Peter Grudzieh is from Astoria, Queens, and occasionally comes to the park to play his guitar and sing. I didn't recognize the songs he performed; perhaps some vintage Bob Dylan? I introduced myself and promised I'd send him some of the photographs. Although I cover up the Leica logo with black tape, he recognized it, and also knew it was German-made.

One of a kind.

And I'm sure I'll see him in the park again.

(M9/Voigtlander Nokton 1.4 40mm 1/360 iso 160)

The Leica File: The Flag Vendor

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

"Don't Let Me Holler
Buy A Flag For 2 Dollar"

And so many people did. The vendor of United States flags did a brisk trade on May 5 on Church Street in Lower Manhattan...and why shouldn't he? The crowds had come to the area near Ground Zero because President Obama was nearby laying a wreath of flowers to honor the people killed in the September 2001 terrorist attacks, and marking the death of Osama Ben Laden.

Where I was, there were no displays of jingoism or bravado...only a sense of contentment. There were lots of locals and tourists milling about, pointing their cameras at all the flags, as well as television crews filming the crowds.  When the cavalcade of black SUVs with President Obama quickly whizzed through, the cheers were deafening....and when it quietened down, the vendors continued their spiel...Don't Let Me Holler, Buy A Flag For 2 Dollar.

(M9. 1/360 f1.4 Nokton 40mm iso 160)

The Leica File: Voigtlander 40/1.4 Nokton

Having determined that adding a Leica lens such as the Summilux 50mm 1.4 to my Elmarit 28mm would bankrupt me, I started researching alternatives and was happy to find that the Voigtlander 40/1.4 Nokton was well spoken of, and only cost a fraction ($430) of the Summilux.

The Voigtlander 40/1.4 is said to be one the fastest 40mm lens a for full frame 35mm photography. It's available in black Leica M mount, has a 43mm filter size, 7 elements in 6 groups, with a close focus of .7 meter.

I stared for a while at a couple of images on various websites that compared both lenses, and could barely make any difference...unless I read the captions which directed me to squint really really hard to see some distortion in the Voigtlander's image. Would the barely visible (to me) distortion warrant a premium of $3000 to choose the Summilux?

No.

So the Voigtlander 40/1.4 is now my second glass acquisition for my Leica M9, and probably will be my walk-around lens.

I've already shot a few images, and was impressed with the "bokeh" at its widest aperture. I'll post a few over the weekend.

The Leica File: Strawberry Ice Cream

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy -All Rights Reserved

Walking in the Meatpacking area of New York City, I saw the ice cream truck's technicolor paint job, along with the red shirt and white hat worn by the ice-cream eater, and all seemed a perfect juxtaposition of brilliant colors. I know I haven't nailed it from a compositional standpoint, and I'd be happier had I gone lower and a few inches to the left...but it is what it is, and that's what street photography is all about...the scene happens in a second and you either get it or you don't.

Because of the 28mm lens, I was about a foot away from the gentleman and he seemed unaware that he was in my frame, and the integral part of the composition.

I should have used different settings instead of the f2.8 and an iso of 400...it was a brilliant sun, and I could've had better results with an f8 and an iso of 160, but my camera had these settings on already, and I didn't have time to reset them since I was focusing as quickly as I could. I find that accurately focusing the M9 still requires very careful adjustment...even in brightly-lit scenes such as these.

Beyond being sharpened a little bit, the image wasn't post-processed nor cropped.

The Leica File: The Xiangqi Player

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy- All Rights Reserved (Leica M9. 1/250 sec f2.8 Elmarit 28mm)

I 'm starting a new category on The Travel Photographer blog called The Leica File which will have posts/photographs of my efforts with the M9.

When the weather is good during the weekends, Columbus Park in NYC's Chinatown sees large numbers of Chinese playing xiangqi, a two-player board game similar to Western chess, and one of the most popular board games in China. Xiangqi is believed to be descended from the Indian chess game of chaturanga, and may have been played as early as the third century BC.

The majority of Chinatown's inhabitants are from the Guangdong, Toisan and Fujian provinces in China, as well as from Hong Kong. They flock to Columbus Park for socializing, play cards and chess, listen to Chinese street opera and even air their caged birds.

This fellow was so intent on his game that I could've aimed my lens an inch from his face and he wouldn't have noticed. Click the picture to enlarge.

I must say that the recent Thumbs Up EP 1 purchase has greatly improved my comfort level in handling the M9...it now fits much better, and I have better control. The only inconvenience is that with the EP1 on, the M9 is more difficult to pull out of my jacket pocket...but it shouldn't be in there in the first place, should it?

"Thumbs Up" For Leica M9

I've been slowly getting used to my Leica M9 over the past weeks and I, coming from a line of Canon DSLRs, found its handling to be rather challenging. The Leica M9 is sleek and aesthetically beautiful but it didn't rest in my hand as well as I would've liked. I had to really grasp it well because there's nothing on its body that I could get a grip on...nothing like the hand contour in the Canons for instance.

Poking around the internet, I found that the Leica M9 hand grip was sold at B&H for $250, and poking around even further landed me on Steve Huff's Leica blog and his praise for the ThumbsUp which is a thumbs grip manufactured by Tim Isaac of match Technical Services.

There are a number of styles available for the ThumbsUp thumb grip, and I chose the Thumbs Up EP-1. Receiving a quick response to my inquiry from Tim that he was out of stock but who provided me a list of stockists, I chose PopFlash.Photo in California, and I ordered it on Monday for the grand total of $130.88.

It arrived today! Very well crafted, the Thumbs Up EP-1 fitted perfectly in the Leica's hotshoe, and enormously improved the camera's handling. I feel the M9 is more securely grasped in my hand with it. I look forward to leave it on the M9 as long as I use it.

I have no relationship with either match Technical Services or PopFlash.Photo. I like the EP-1 and its quality, and both companies delivered excellent service.

New York: Hip Hop In Washington Square

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy- Leica M9-1/250 sec f2.8 iso 160 Elmarit 28mm

New York City's Washington Square Park has always something going on, especially when the weather cooperates. This time, it was a group of youngsters from the Academy of Urban Planning (Brooklyn) who provided impromptu entertainment. Hip hop moves were frequently shown off, and they overshadowed many of the regular buskers. Click to enlarge the photograph.

Once again, I was approached by a "peddlar" who asked me if I was "shoppin"...getting a scowl instead of an answer, he clarified his question by asking if I needed a "smoke". I guess I must look like someone who needs one. He's the fellow who asked me the same question last week...he'll probably ask me again next week.

My Work: Washington Square Park Swings

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy- All Rights Reserved. 1/125 sec f2.8 iso 160 Elmarit 28mm

With the weather improving, NYC's Washington Square Park is starting to swing...and is an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon...apart from lurking "peddlers" who may ask you, as they asked me, if you're "shopping" today (is the NYPD off on Sunday?).

The musicians and buskers are entertaining the tourists and locals alike. A band that many enjoy a lot is the Baby Soda Band who play great old-time swing and New Orleans jazz numbers...and proud to tell you they're from Brooklyn.

NYU students came to watch the band, and joined in the dancing. These two were quite good, and might have been dancing school students.

While the Leica M9 is a great tool...it sure ain't an action camera though!

My Work: The NYC Piano Guy & His Fan

M9/Elmarit 28mm-Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

The "Piano Guy" of New York City was giving a performance in Washington Square a few days ago, and I photographed him entertaining a lady fan. She was standing there enjoying the music for perhaps more than 10 minutes, while he was banging away at the keys. No, she's not his mother. Click the picture to enlarge it.

The piano player is quite a fixture in some of New York City's parks and squares. He's been seen in Union Square, Father Demo Square, and now Washington Square. He's been featured in The New York Times in an August 30, 2008 article titled "The Real Piano Man".

His name is Colin Huggins, and he's a classically trained pianist. New Yorkers know him as "the piano guy". He uses four well-used pianos, which he keeps in storage units around the city. Each unit is close to a favored busking spot, and the pianos are moved on dollies. You can read the rest in the linked article.

Only in New York City!

Jeffry Plomley: Havana

Photo © Jeffry Plomley-All Rights Reserved

I caught Jeffry Plomley's work on The Leica Camera Blog, and was immediately drawn to his Havana gallery, which features excellent street scenes that are very nicely toned. A Canadian photographer, he has the ability of traveling to Cuba as freely as he wishes; something that we here in The United States cannot do as freely.

Jeffry tells us in the Leica Camera Blog that he considers Havana to be one of the world’s meccas for street photography. This is not an exaggerated statement, but one that I wholeheartedly endorse since I visited the island and its capital (legally) in 2000. In the first part of Jeffry's post, he also describes his choice of gear, packing two M9s and two M7s, with 21mm Elmarit Aspherical, 28mm Summicron Aspherical, 35mm Summicron Aspherical, 50mm Summicron, and the 75mm Summicron Aspherical. Phew!

There's also a wonderful gallery of Cuban boxing action, which I recall was a huge attraction to the photographers who were attending the workshop I enrolled in.

I suggest you choose the slideshow option, but watch it in full screen. Don't miss the one (#13) of an elderly Cuban patting a dog...grest shot!

My Work: Journey In Style

Leica M9/Elmarit 28mm-Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

It certainly looks like it's a Leica posting day! I'm trying hard to acquire the habit of carrying the M9 wherever I go, and keep an eye for interesting street scenes. New York City is certainly heaven for street photography, and this scene of contrasts presented itself to me on Fifth....just like that. An elderly man (a Santa look-alike) resting on a bench looking exhausted, in front of a hip clothing store, with an advert of an energetic young man in the store's window. I thought the contrast between the young and the old...the real and the posed...but both wearing jeans... to be interesting. (Click to enlarge it).

I had pre-focused the Elmarit 28mm, so it took only a couple of seconds to compose and press the shutter. I tried it in black & white, however it doesn't work as well. I think the orange text adds a lot to the shot.