Iran pictures online (Leica M8).

Oh, they have been working on that option for a long time now…

B.

Will Canon help me take photos as beautiful as yours Bruno?

in many senses, they remind me of the some of my favorite poetic novelists…there is a fever-dream at work in these images, as if you’ve been transported…and like a borges story of words, all those faces: a labrynth of faces….

to me, its one of your most profound and rich stories….a book in the making…

make sure you send me some for a story for projection!!…im waiting :)))))))))))))…bb

I thought telex Iran was the work of Gilles Perress. Correct me if I wrong.

Best wishes

Paul

Bob, you are right about this work being slightly ‘away’ from my usual more ‘immediate’ way, the intention being to transmit impressions rather than events…

Paul T., I shot raw + small BW jpgs, I used these BW jpgs to decide what raw pictures to process.

B.

Sorry to be repetitive, but gorgeous images, stark and in the same moment intimate…

Could you just clarify this for me; so these where shot in B&W raw? Not changed to B&W in post.

Cheers,
MK

raw is..raw: that means colour!
However, as I had decided for BW, I was shooting BW in my head, made all selections with the camera generated lorez BW jpgs, then as I opened the selected raws in PS (one at a time), the FIRST thing I always did was to convert to BW. It is an intellectual discipline I guess…

Manuel, thank you.

B.

Congratulations and Namasté

Theo

Robert,

You are completely missing the point. I DO have cameras. Quite a few of them, all paid for by my work. I have shot quite a few pictures with my own cameras in the past as you are probably aware of. ;-)

I wanted to try the M8 in “real life”, and I have known people at Leica for a long time, when I say no financial deal involved it is just that: I was interested to try the M8 in a real assignment situation and Leica was EQUALLY interested to hear what I would find out. It is a non-financial deal that benefits both parties, what is wrong with that? I am not the only or the first photog. to whom Leica or Canon or Nikon or… lends equipment for assessment and improvement. This is the ONLY way to produce cameras that answers the photogs needs, not just R&D engineers in a lab or rich dentists that will shoot 25 pictures in a year…

B.

Regards, Giulio

The AWB is greatly improved with the new firmware (1.10.2), and while still a little erratic at times (much more than on a 5D I agree), much more consistant than before, but to me it really is a minor inconvenience as I ALWAYS shoot raw…

The IR issue is now a thing of the past, I repeat, with the new firmware, lens recognition option ‘on’ and the IR filter, I haven’t had ONE frame where there was ANY visible side-effects, on the contrary, the colour, sharpness and contrast rendition appears better than on the other digital cameras I have used.

B.

I imagine that your Iran trip wasn’t all about camera testing. What strikes me about these pictures is the access you have had and the apparent intimacy of a lot of the images. Perhaps you could tell us a little more about the circumstances in which the pictures were made: was this an assignment (or series of assignments)? Did you work alone or with a journalist? To what extent were the different angles prepared in advance? Were you accompanied by an Iranian during your stay (in some cases it looks as if you were part of the family…)?

With (curious) thanks…

Other peoples experience has always been one of the key elements in human learning, and understanding.

S.A

I will always try and shoot film when I can, the main issue being the physical archive. And I will NEVER part from my M2…

About the Iran trip, well, you will be surprised, but most of the time I was completely on my own, except during my trips outside Teheran, on the Caspian Sea I was with a couple of Iranian friends, both photographers,who very kindly took me there with them and at one point in Isphahan I had a ‘fixer’ (it was the beginning of my trip, but he basically slept in the hotel for 2 days while I was out shooting).

Other than that, I was completely alone, with no apparent control from the autorities, whom I have to add, were extremely cooperative and helpful throughout my trip. I know it will come as a surprise to many, but I didn’t have any surveillance whatsoever on what I was doing.

And finally, the ‘proximity’ effect? Well, it is mainly a consequence of the Iranian insatiable curriosity and never ending hospitality towards foreigners. The fact that I usually have an easy contact with most people and only carried one small camera (there i go again!) might have helped as well…

I went to the Iranian embassy in Brussels 2 days ago, I might be returning to Teheran in a few weeks for more…they confirmed me I shouldn’t get any problem to receive a new visa, after all they extended the last one…twice!

B.

Enjoy your return trip to Tehran, Bruno… my feet are so itchy for a return to that country it’s not funny!

well done!

I didn’t know they had pictures online yet…

Ed, thank you for the compliments and the wishes…but the picture you were referring to was shot in Baghdad in February 2003, just 6 weeks before the war…

B.

I’m wondering Bruno if you think this is a camera system worth taking out some loans for. I’m not heavily invested in any system yet and am about to start a master’s program in photography (photojournalism at ohio university). I feel like I usually make the best photos while I’m by myself with a small dslr and a prime (like my d70 and 50 mm).

Not that it will make or break my decision, but did you like it enough where you would choose it to be your main system and would think it would be worth paying for later?

Again, nice images and thanks for sharing your opinions so far.

Choosing a camera system is a very personal matter…there are so many variables that it is practically pointless even to talk about it…

Shooting with a rangefinder camera is the only way there is for some photographers and an absolute impossibilty for others…so I would suggest you borrow an Leica M film camera and try it out for a while…you are mentioning your D70 and 50mm, you should know that considering the sensor multiplication factor it equates to a 75mm equivalent on a 35mm film camera. This is quite a bit out of the ideal range of use for a rangefinder, ideally suited to a 28 or 35mm lens…the M8 is not different in that matter.

B.

I have a question here for you, Bruno. I don’t think these pictures talk about “Iran” or “Iranians” since you titled the story as “IRANIANS”. I recently do focus on titles that photographers give to their stories or essays. Your title is very far away from what you want to say. That’s not the IRAN in your story.

I am not trying to push anyone to change the titles but I think we, as photographers, might be more careful about titles we give.

However, any particular reason on highlighted faces? very interesting style to me.

What would ya think?

Kindly, A

Judging by your name, you could be Iranian…could you elaborate why you say “That’s not the IRAN in your story.”? I have shown the images to iranian friends who were of the opposite opinion, but I would be very interested to hear your comments on that particular issue; as I mentioned earlier, this was my first trip to Iran, so my pictures are reflecting my “discovery” of that fascinating place, not a pre-conceived and “organized” structure.

“Iranians” is one of two working titles for this work (as a far and respectful reference to Frank’s “The Americans”). If these pictures don’t talk about Iran or the Iranians than I probably failed in my endeavour. Obviously I was trying to convey mood, emotions, ambiances, not facts or actions…The important point in these images for me being the people I photographed, highlighting their faces reinforces the intimacy of the viewer with them.

As I said, it is a work in progress.

Best,

B.

A few questions:

You already mentioned that the people were not adverse to having their picture taken and actually quite open and friendly. Anytime I have gotten that close to anyone US or Europe, the person would be very suspicious or even hostile.

On the days that you were alone, did you have a language problem?
(unless of course you speak Arabic)

Technical questions:

- Did you hand meter or use the M8 meter? Lots of black cloth in those shots that could fool the integrated meter, unless you’re careful what you’re aiming at.

- Looks like you were out in the rain and snow. The M8 isn’t weather sealed. Any problems? Can you pitch proper sealing to Leica, if you get a chance? It’s one thing to take an unsealed, mehcanical camera out in the rain, but a $5000 digital is a whole different story… ;-)

- Did you mainly shoot with the 28 (x1.3= 37mm)?

Again, nice work.

thanks,

Feli

I didn’t have any particular language problem, as I know a few words of Farsi; but even so, people were just incredibly friendly, hospitable and curious about the foreigner (me).

- I used exclusively the M8 meter, and mainly used the auto exposure (aperture priority) of the camera, but half-depressing the shutter will memorize the exposure value, so I did that a lot.

- As I reported, there was one short problem with the light-meter not registering under certain EV value for a couple of hours (it seems it is not an M8 specific issue), but other than that, the camera worked flawlessy.

- Yes, as reported, about 80-90% of the pictures were shot with the new 28mm f2,8 Asph., the rest with the new wide angle tri elmar at the 18mm (=24mm) position.

B.

I am not Iranian but do know Iran quite a lot and am interested in west part of Iran where I plan to visit in the future again. I was not trying to judge you as I said. I showed my reaction after reading title and seeing pictures. I was thinking of Frank’s “The Americans” as well. When I first time saw the title I thought I would see something like “long-term” essay not the pictures from a city or two.

Yes, that is not the Iran in your story that’s the part of Iran in your essay, even part of Teheran. I think it is very obvious on this issue. By all means; I think that the title came out little bit early for me, as it is open to public now. However, I believe you will do great photo essay with more trips to Iran and will show the real Iranian society.

No worries, I saw worst titles in past years such as “Bolivia” or “Bolivians” with three days assignment. I am pissed off from the way majority of photographers are on.

You are saying very well so my pictures are reflecting my “discovery” of that fascinating place, not a pre-conceived and “organized” structure.

That’s what I saw and understood from this story. I felt same thing from your “Tuberculosis in Cambodia” story as well. You are reflecting the people’s lives in Cambodia, in this case you are not story teller or talking on behalf of people. I think there is a significant difference between being assignment photographer and story teller.

Bruno, I am working on similar project which is called “We as Canadians”. I am having same dilemma and questions on my project. So I am little excited to seeing similarities with my project recently. This is my second project now I am working on so I haven’t focused on the ideology of this project yet. I am mostly observing the people, my friends, and Canadian society although I have done quite a lot interviews.

BTW, isn’t there any medium format B&W pictures from Iran?

This is certainly not your best essay but might be the best one in a year or two.

Keep up the good work man. I do love to sound strange always. It is good to hear negative things sometimes. No?

I would prefer to talk on this issue with a beer, including Bobbaaa :)))))))

Kindly, Ali

As I explained earlier, after a couple of days I decided to do this in BW, so that is how my mind was set…

But some of the images from the first couple of days actually look half-decent in colour as well, here is one:

Bruno

Best,
Gaël

B.

Congratulations !

I was interested to try the M8 in a real assignment situation and Leica was EQUALLY interested to hear what I would find out. It is a non-financial deal that benefits both parties, what is wrong with that? I am not the only or the first photog. to whom Leica or Canon or Nikon or… lends equipment… – Bruno Stevens

Have you in planning another trip in Teheran on sept/oct 2008? we can meet

bye