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21 Dec 2016

A photo for the times

I came upon this photo in my Lightoom archive yesterday and I find myself thinking that it really is a rather special photo. It was taken in a very small remote village accessible only by river. We were travelling down the river on a small riverboat and tied up on the riverbank to visit the village late in the afternoon.
Some children came out of the poor village school to greet us. The novice monk was curious, his friend was shy and did not want to face my camera.
The innocence and serenity of the photo is such a contrast to the horrors of yesterday in Berlin and the daily horrors unfolding in Aleppo. Let's hope that the lives of these two, materially poor though they may be, remain as serene as they were when the photo was taken.

The photo was taken with my Leica X1. Since then I have acquired two more sophisticated Leicas but I keep coming back to inescapable truth that my best photos seem to be taken with the X1.

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous11 January 2017 at 14:53

    Hi John, your x1 photos are so impressive! What do u think about the difference of x1 and x2? Which one do you prefer?

    Chris

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  2. JohnS11 January 2017 at 16:53

    Chris , thanks for your kind comment re the X1 photos.
    I have never used an X2 but I do understand that the X2 does address most of the shortcomings of the X1 in that it has much better battery life ,faster autofocus and better high ISO performance. It also has provision for an EVF.
    If you have a choice of an X2 or an X1 and your budget is not really tight I would go for the X2 (or the X-E which is basically an X2).
    There are quite a few X1s being offered on eBay etc at quite low prices now and many have had a very quiet life. If you are on a limited budget go for one of these. Ignore all the so called "experts" on the forums-the X1 is a brilliant camera and I have taken many great photos with it. Last year I won an i-shot-it premium competition with a shot taken with the X1 and if you browse through the blog you will see that most of the photos have been taken with my X1.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous11 January 2017 at 17:27

      John,

      Yes, I browsed your post and see so many great x1 photos. Actually I owned the x1 before but sold last year for the x v. I just miss the size and weight of x1. X v is great also but sometimes I really need the compactness of x1. Thanks for your advise anyway.

      Chris

      Delete
    2. JohnS11 January 2017 at 21:02

      chris , as you may have noticed I also have an XV which I purchased nearly three years ago. I am not quite sure now why I bought it because I was taking lots of good photos with the X1. anyway the IQ from the XV is certainly stunning but like you I hound the weight and size of the XV inconvenient. However I did not learn my lesson because when I won the i-shot-it comp I was supposed to receive a cash prize plus an X2 camera however the X2 is out of production and Leica could not supply one so they gave me the whole prize as cash which I immediately went and spent on a Leica Q which is an amazing camera but which is even bigger and heavier than the XV. Much as I love the photos from the Q I still feel that my X1 is a much more useful camera.
      John

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    3. Anonymous11 January 2017 at 22:16

      Hi John, it is so funny to hear the x2 was ultimately became the cash prize!

      I pick the x v is because of the zoom lens, however it is too much bulky. I hope I can get the x1 or x2 asap.

      Chris

      Delete
  3. Anonymous3 June 2017 at 13:38

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