Leica M2

Last year I bought a Canon P rangefinder camera, often referred to as a Japanese Leica. That camera was great and I loved using it; however, more importantly, that camera was also a gateway drug into the world of rangefinders, namely: Leica Rangefinders. At the time of purchasing the Canon P, I had never even held a Leica M2, let alone had I even seen one in person. Last December, I had my best month ever as a full-time photographer, so I decided to treat myself and purchase one of my dream cameras -- the Leica M2.

At the beginning of this year, my significant other was taking a class in Austin, and while in Austin, I happened to find someone selling a Leica M2 online. So, lucky me, I was able to check out the camera in person, and instantly fell in love. When it comes to photography, music, and all of my artistic endeavors, I maintain that a camera or guitar is merely a tool, I typically have a very utilitarian view of tools and what they do. Further, I sincerely believe that if given any camera I could make meaningful images with that tool. However, there are certain times that as an artist you feel you just need that right tool for the job. So, while functionally the Canon P does literally everything that the Leica M2 does, there's just something magical about the Leica M2. If you ever get the chance, hold the Canon P, then hold the Leica M2, you'll see what I mean.

So, other than being blinded by the Leica charm. The M2 does actually have one other thing that the Canon P doesn't, and it's that the M2 opens up a whole other world of lenses for me, albeit, expensive lenses. When purchasing the M2, I could've bought one really nice Leica lens, or 2 highly regarded Zeiss lenses, I opted for the 2 Zeiss lenses; however, if given this choice again, I may have actually purchased 1 Leica lens instead. The Zeiss Lenses are actually extremely sharp and have a modern look to them, but I'm actually entering that stage in my photographic career where I no longer care about using the most modern, clinically sharp lens, in fact, I'm finding myself reaching for the more vintage and full of character lenses more and more. Just for reference, the following images were all shot on the Zeiss 50mm Sonnar F1.5 & the Zeiss 35mm Biogon 2.8. Due to the fact that I shoot mostly at night, I decided to push the film to Iso 1600. Lastly, this roll was self-developed with Ilford DDX.