Me and my Leica

About a year ago I decided I would like to find a camera which was lighter, less bulky and far less obtrusive than my current Nikon kit. It had to be full-frame and top quality in all respects. The obvious choice was a Leica M and so, despite its eye-watering price-tag, I bought one. After a month's use I really hated it. While beautifully-made I found it slow and fiddly to use with an unimpressive ISO range, difficult to focus and generally ergonomically inept. All in all, I found it down-right quirky. However, I persevered and gradually came to realise that, despite my initial misgivings, I was, for the first time in years, really enjoying taking photographs again. Now, not only do I feel more in control of the image-making process but also I am much more involved with my subject. No longer am I peering into a black box with an image in it, I am sharing the space with my subject. The lenses are expensive but their quality is truly spectacular; low distortion, sharp without being coarse and with great colour rendition and they really do stand out when compared to Canon and Nikon. These days the Nikon kit only comes out of the cupboard when really needed.

Trafalgar Square

It was quite moving to see the Belgian flag projected onto the National Gallery last week, in sympathy with those who suffered and continue to suffer as a result of the Brussels bombings.
Here is an image I took some time back. A similar shot worked better in black and white and features in the monochrome section of my new web site www.mikeroles.co.uk But this one just has to be seen in colour too....