Never Underestimate The Influence Of A Florence Wedding And An Amazing Leica Camera

Here's a question ~ Would the Leica SL and a small hand full of M lenses allow the capture of a wedding in this romantic city, and just as importantly allow the photographer to not only enjoy the moments a wedding brings but to enjoy this process with what is an iconic brand

• Santi Michele e Gaetano.

We know reviewing any product is real work, it is time-consuming. For a photographer to produce a meaningful review is to carry out a set of tests under rigid controls, locking down the camera and lens then providing clinical test targets and test images with statistics for those who wish to use them as a reference, and perhaps influencing their next purchase.

That's not what I do, for me, it's a tactile personal impressions perspective, I want to enjoy what I do it is, after all, my passion.

Let me briefly explain this journey. Started with a Canon AE1 in the mid 80's (oh and that's painful to admit), instantly became the local wizard, the gifted one, that's because I was the only one with a camera amongst my family and friends even the village, we are now all wizards right! 

A Canon champion until about 3 years ago, photographing landscapes, wildlife in Africa, games of Polo and fast cars the cameras served me well. But about six years ago I shifted onto corporate, weddings and started enjoying more the visual storytelling side of photography.

• alter at Santi Michele e Gaetano.

As it turns out along came the Sony A7R and Fuji XT1, I am a techie at heart, and it was not difficult to see the new mirrorless/EVC was for most the way ahead, the question would be would the early adopters move part or all the way across to this technology.

But here's the thing...it was the Sony I went with though I had the Fuji XT1 for about 6 months. 

The journey was not without its ups and downs, my Sony was made (I use that word lightly) I guess late on a Friday afternoon, it was a clunky example. But one thing it did do was allow me to convert a couple of Leica M lenses via an equally poorly machined Metabones E to M adapter, but I could see past the downsides, just.

• the local choir singing "Oh happy days"

You might be wondering what happened to my Canon equipment, well I think I became one of those early adopters, looked at the subject matter I am currently photographing and made the jump. 

One day a courier came and took all my Canon equipment away. I now had a way of funding my next stage, it was back to being entirely manual in an up to date way. 

Nevertheless, for this Italian Job, I decided to only take one camera the Leica SL and left my trusted Sony A7II and Zeiss 135mm f/2 Apo Sonnar T* behind. Oh as a side note if you enjoy manual lens I recommend trying the Zeiss 135mm its really well built and the optics are fantastic, you will not be disappointed.

• the family priest in contemplation prior to the service

So this was my Italian lineup plus one Canon Speedlight, pocket wizards and a stand. I have added 3rd party reviews for those who wish to read the technical bits.

An ex-demo Leica SL Type 601 ~ Review and another one here

3-year-old Super-Elmar 21mm 1:3,4 ASPH ~ Review

4-year-old Summilux 35mm 1:1,4 FLE ASPH ~ Review

19-year-old Summilux 50mm 1:1,4 ~ Review

28-year-old Elmarit 90mm 1:2,8 ~ Review

• family & friends gather

The Leica SL is aimed at the Canon and Nikon pro users, and as more AF native lens are introduced it will gain further traction with professional and enthusiastic photographers alike.

But that's just part of the story, with the available adapters I can extend my choice of Leica lenses to about 150 if I so wished. But my current line up is all I need. 

• the groom awaits

Marco and Michela, both lawyers, were due to be married in the magnificent baroque church of San Gaetano, also known as Santi Michele e Gaetano. The church was built for the Theatine order and its construction took place between 1604 and 1648. The interior of the church has a beautiful collection of 17th-century sculptures by various artists, including Foggini and Novelli.

Meanwhile, I had a 1 1/2 days before the wedding so used the time wisely, though I have had the SL for about two months photographing several corporate events and a classic 1963 Mk1 touring Jaguar after a full rebuild. (I will share this road to restoration in another post), but it was time to reflect on how it felt working with the SL.

• a family reading

This is, without a doubt, superbly well-built weather sealed camera and its minimalist in its form sit well with me, along with the M lenses I use too, it is well balanced. The lack of labelling except for the on/off switch I get, it just makes it feel uncluttered, the menu itself is very intuitive and after a very short while you forget the fact there is no labelling. 

Except for the setup menus, the rest of your interaction is via the touch screen, joystick and click wheel. 

When you start up the SL its ready to go and looking through the bright 4.4 Mp EVF (electronic viewfinder) you are presented with a sharp, bright view of the subject, in normal light there is no lag, and to a degree, you forget it's electronic. However, with all EVF's the challenge does come in very low light with image lag and graininess. However, when I find myself in those very low light conditions I will be zone focusing with off camera flash, so there is no need to try and focus on the subject merely keep an eye on the proceedings.

• a proud mother gives me a fleeting glance

The M-Adapter T/SL for the M lenses is a precision machined adaptor, a very accurate fit which allows the accurate reading of the distant scale crucial when zone focusing. 

I also had the dual SD card slots setup for backup, though SD card failure rate is much lower than a few years ago it's not worth the risk especially with the nature of the assignment.

I had the church to myself for about an hour, so I decided to test the auto white balance alongside the grey card and colour checker. 

I was certainly happy with the results and used both auto white balance along with custom white balance as the church was lit simultaneously by warm coloured fluorescent tubes, light bulbs, natural light as well as candle light.

• a horse and carriage to the Palace Gondi

I visited the Palazzo Gondi, the location for the wedding breakfast and reception. The building is an excellent example of a Florentine palace, designed in 1489 by the architect Giuliano da Sangallo for the banker Giuliano Gondi. The only way I can describe it, it is a sublime lived in art gallery over four floors with every room full of art pieces, the main hall had a grand fireplace designed by Giuliano da Sangallo. 

• through the busy streets of Florence

However... the first challenge came when I asked if I could take some test shots and get a feel for the place I was told under no certain circumstances that photographing could only take place within the building on the day of the wedding. 

• local weddings always draw attention

I could not publish any pictures showing individual rooms and artwork from the palace this included the great stateroom where the wedding breakfast was to take part, blimey that was nearly every room. I also had to sign what was I guess the Italian equivalent of a non-disclosure agreement.

Here I was not alone, the Florentine fashion house Stefano Ricci, had been in the same boat, so I did not feel left out.

• dance as if nobody is looking

Theatre Palazzo Gondi today is one of the few Florentine palaces still belonging to the descendants of the family that built it.

• family friends

The second challenge was lighting, luckily I had my Speedlight on a stand, something else I have done for many years just using off camera flash on manual, I really like the results you can get.

• family fun

The battery life was good, but this was helped as I had switched off the GPS and set power saving modes to minimum settings I don't actually use the rear screen that much, I am not one for looking into the rear screen, using it to access my programme shortcuts, with that said the top LCD panel gives me the extra information I need, works really well in bright light too. 

• father of the bride in conversation

I check the first couple of images when I move from one lighting situation to another just to get confirmation. I don't have a high shooting rate, so on this occasion a little over 800 images this was achieved just short of two batteries.

• family member prepares to give a speech

These are just a few observations... but if I could suggest a couple, well three nice to haves, in all probability, they have been raised with the folks at Leica already but here goes:

• Live view display toggles on/off via the stop down/function button.
• A type of auto review through the EVF after an image has been taken would be great, allowing instant feedback and negate the reason to check your image on the rear screen.
• On live view options, it would be a nice touch, for me at least to have Grid + Horizon paired with Focus Peaking 

• proud father of the groom

Overall for me, the images straight out of the camera have a rich, organic, warm tone and sharpness I believe is the combination of the sensor and lenses used. But I can see and feel the difference. 

• really dance as if nobody is watching

No doubt about it... Leica is a brand that is understood by some and perhaps misunderstood by many.

Best of all.... for me that is using the SL in the manual configuration with M lenses is a treat to use in part to the fantastic EVF. Personally, I find the camera works with you rather than against you, that's good in anybody's book.

So was the purchase of this Leica in the above configuration worth it? Did it reconnect me with why I became a photographer? Yes, it did.

But wait there’s more... following on with my next post is my ongoing project i-Human Community looking at us the Human. 

So while in Rome and Florence, I documented a few local artists, musicians and antique collectors like 80-year-old Mario Prili, an ex Parachutist in the Italien army then a priest in the Vatican now runs his antique shop on Via Dei Banchi Nuovi street in Rome

• Mario Prili glances out of his antique shop

Stay curious

Regards

Adrian