Alan Frost | alan frost photography

An early Christmas present from Leica – a firmware update (4.0.0) for Q3 and SL3, plus playing with Film Styles and Leica Looks

I don’t know about you, but most emails that arrive in my inbox are rubbish. Without opening them I hit the delete key. Occasionally one will jump out at me and my curiosity is awakened. This was most certainly the case when a couple of days ago I received an email from Leica announcing a major firmware upgrade for their Q3 and SL3 series of cameras. Many updates usually offer minor changes or bug fixes but firmware 4.0.0 was indeed a major upgrade particularly for the Q3.

Leica indicated the update would enhance performance and responsiveness, combined with faster and better autofocus capabilities. But the big change for me was the introduction of the interface and menu system from the SL3. I couldn’t wait to download the update and experience for myself the changes. Providing there are no bugs, these are very worthwhile improvements and will further enhance my enjoyment of the Leica Q3. Most definitely an unexpected and much appreciated Christmas present. Thank you Leica!

I always enjoy ‘playing’ and having reconnected the Q3 to the Leica Photos App, I thought it might be fun to download some of the ‘Leica Look’ JPEG only styles. I rarely if ever shoot JPEG, my default is always RAW so that I have the maximum possible control over image processing. However I thought I would compare the various JPEG options. Would any appeal to me?

Film Styles are already built into the camera menu, and the Leica Looks are downloadable from the Leica Photos App. There are a number to choose from but there are only six available slots in the camera.

I decided to visit a nearby church and took a series of external and interior images having selected each Film Style or Leica Look in turn – 11 baked in styles for JPEGs only. If I shot RAW as well this would not be affected. In all cases I used exactly the same settings and all the results can be viewed below.

Given my love for black and white I was particularly interested in the monochrome styles and I have to say of all of them I really like the ‘Greg Williams Leica Look’. It isn’t too contrasty, and the fairly subtle warm tone appeals to me. In the past I have used the Monochrome High Contrast film style to preview the look I am after but still shot RAW. I doubt I will ever use Selenium and the Sepia look is for me a little overdone but you can reduce the intensity of the style in camera prior to shooting so this may work.

Although I don’t normally work in colour I was interested to see how the various styles compared. Over to the colour workers reading this post to come to their own conclusions. Personal choice as always and some of the styles will work well for certain types of subject and lighting conditions and not for others.

And now for a set of interior shots using the same 11 film styles and looks.

Once again the ‘Greg Williams’ look works for me and this particular subject matter.

And here are the colour versions.

I think it’s fair to say that I have enjoyed this exercise. Whether or not I will start shooting RAW plus JPEG, coupled with one of the styles, I don’t know. At least I now have useful reference which will serve as a reminder of the looks available.

For anyone who is fortunate to own a Leica Q3 (28, 43 or Monochrom) or SL3 or SL3S, I can highly recommend the latest 4.0.0 firmware update. But before taking my word for it I would strongly suggest you check out the support section of the Leica website. I would also recommend viewing a couple of videos on YouTube on the Leica channel which will give you much more information.

I doubt I will post anything more before the 25th December so wherever you in the world and whatever your beliefs, may I wish you a very happy Festive Season and peaceful New Year.

(A quick aside – given the size of the images I would suggest viewing this post on a tablet or better still a desktop as opposed to a mobile device)

Capturing the light ….. nothing more, nothing less

It’s quite rare that I only include a single image in a post.

My photographs are often defined by location or subject.

In this particular case these points are of no interest to me.

This image is all about the light and it’s polar opposite – the dark.

When I saw how the low penetrating sunlight pierced through the grasses and lit the paling fence, I just knew it was a photograph crying out to be made ….. so I did.

Nothing more and nothing less ….. just capturing the light ….. in black and white.

Driving through time at the Haynes Motor Museum

When photographing any subject it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of framing the picture to capture the whole thing. Nothing is omitted and a ‘bumper to bumper’ picture of a car can in truth be nothing more than a record shot. From a purely visual point of view the composition ends up being far too busy. Add a distracting background can only add to the confusion. This is particularly true in a museum where the four wheeled exhibits are displayed in close proximity to one another. There is little or no separation and the resultant photograph is almost invariably a disappointment. In a phrase it lacks viewer engagement.

Abstraction and knowing what to leave out, can I believe make for a much more interesting and pleasing image.

I recently made a second visit to the Haynes Motor Museum in Somerset, England. My photographic intentions were very clear.

I set out with the specific aim of making photographs which told a story and would in my view capture the essence of both the place and the wide range of cars on display. I wanted to make positive use of the artificial lighting. To work with what could be distracting sources of light and reflections. To embrace out of focus areas, to enhance the image, and adding a further layer of interest whenever possible.

I thoroughly enjoyed combining two of my passions in life – motor cars and photography. There are a huge variety of cars at the museum spanning all eras. With my camera and a selection of lenses I experimented with various settings in the hope of making some interesting black and white compositions.

You can be the judge of whether or not my approach was successful.

The Isles of Mull and Iona – Part Three ….. It’s bath time!

By way of something different I couldn’t help but notice the number of old baths dumped on land or outside a property. I guess some are repurposed, cattle troughs for example, but there is probably another explanation. From Fionnphort at the western tip of the Ross of Mull it’s a four hour round trip to the nearest recycling centre just outside the town of Tobermory in the north east corner of the isle!

Here are links to Parts One and Two in this series.

The Isles of Iona and Mull – Part One ….. Iona Abbey

The Isles of Mull and Iona – Part two ….. Capturing the spirit of place

***White Strand of the Monks, Isle of Iona***

There are so many facets to these isles, to the point that trying to capture the spirit of the place with just a handful of images can’t possibly do it justice.

My wife and I have visited the Scottish Isles and in particular the Isle of Mull for over thirty years. However living on the South coast of England and travelling by car, means a minimum of two days on motorways, other stretches of tarmac and ferry crossings to reach our final destination. We take pleasure in the journey but we would probably visit more often if it wasn’t so far away. However being the distance it is does make it that much more special.

Admittedly accessibility is arguably the same for many people which does help to keep the number of visitors down. As a consequence places like Mull and Iona remain wild, beautiful and peaceful in equal measure.

In Part One of this short series I featured Iona Abbey. In this entry I will share a series of images captured during our week long stay back in the Spring. Apart from location they have little else in common but I hope they help to convey why and how much we love coming to this part of the world.