Tuesday 4 August 2015

Colin O'Brien at Leica Mayfair.

Colin O'Brien with his original Leica 111a from the 1930's at Leica HQ in Bruton Place book signing last week.The camera is now undergoing a shutter service. Interesting to note that a photograph appears in various places of a young Colin with a can of '3 in 1' oil alongside the camera which is not fully explained? However the lubricant seems to have had no adverse effect on the superb quality of photographs produced! Technical Note: Lubricants in Leica cameras are diverse and complex-Don't try it!

This was taken with a Leica 111f and a coated Summitar f2.0 lens. Exposure was 1/60 at f4 which was the reading on the Metraphot meter, attached to the 111f. Film was Kodak T-Max 400 and developer D76 1:1 for  12.5 mins at 20 degrees.

This is the first scanned negative that I have posted on this blog, rather than working via a paper print.

22nd August 2016  Sad news indeed,Colin passed away suddenly at the age of 73 on Friday last. For a full appreciation of his life please see the site 'Spitalfields Life' which contains much of his work and a full appreciation by 'The Gentle Author'.