Mary Canning Photography

Working with my Leica M9

A few months ago I was incredibly fortunate to be in a position to buy a Leica M9 - and a 35mm Summarit lens.  It will be a while before I can add to this lens as people who know these cameras know they are NOT cheap.

I usually work with a Nikon D3s.  How I love this camera - I have no need to think when I am using it and I love knowing exactly what lens to use and when to use them in a very intuitive way.  

A while ago I was reading Steve Huff's blog - I think I found it through some reading I was doing on Nikon cameras.  I am not one of those photographers who does not look at other people's work (particularly wedding work) for fear of influence. I am constantly looking at other photographers work and admiring what they do and learning all the time from them.  For some reason I clicked onto Steve's writing about the Leica M9 and a bit like Toad of Toad Hall I was smitten!  I read and read and read my way around the internet about the camera and was able to track one down here in Sydney.

The reason for its appeal to me was its portability and the quality of the images I was reading about. My Nikon is a big camera and an obvious one... and over and over again I read how discrete the Leica was - that unless you were familiar with the little red button you would not have a clue as to its value.

The Leica had its first real outing on a road trip my family and I took to Tasmania.  Like Steve I am not about to get all technical about the details of this camera.  My photography comes from a place of instinct and so does this little article!  

I have to admit to an initial degree of frustration with focusing the Leica.  I very rarely use autofocus on the Nikon so I was never concerned about using manual focus on the Leica.  However it did take some getting used to in terms of ensuring I had got the focus right.  I  find I use my feet alot with the Leica - even if it is a gentle rocking to and fro to ensure I have everything lined up correctly.

The other big difference for me is in how I take the photo with the Leica. When I am with the Nikon I see, focus,shoot and move on.  It is a reasonably swift, intuitive process and I am usually confident that I have captured what I have "seen"  without constantly checking the back of the camera.

To me the Leica is all about stillness.  I "see" what I want to photograph. I remain slow at the focusing so I am forced into standing still for much longer than with the Nikon, aside from that gentle rocking I referred to earlier.

It is a camera ideally suited to travel or hiking photography for me.  It allows me to appreciate more fully what I am looking at and to think more about how I am composing my photo.  I cannot be hurried with this camera in my hand!

I haven't taken many portraits with the Leica - yet. Again for me it will be the camera I turn to when my kids or clients are comfortable and still .. or unaware I am taking the photo...

 

We were away for two weeks so it was that long before I could see the results from my little red buttoned camera.  When I saw them big on the computer screen I was blown away.  Of course there were some duds - especially where it was apparent that I was still getting a handle on the focus.. but it was the luminosity of the images that worked that really got my heart beating a little faster.  I am sure many photographers are familiar with this feeling.. you can look at image after image and be generally happy with them but every now and then one will leap out from the screen at you.  And there is certainly some kind of magical extra dimension to the Leica images.

I do need to make a comment about dust in some of my images - it has been more of an issue for me from the Leica than it ever has been with the Nikon.  I had read about this though and forewarned is forearmed.. I clean the Leica exactly as Steve Huff does and a quick click in Lightroom 3 is all I need to do to clean up the images.  Just not an issue for me.

So how will it fit into my work?   For editorial work it will accompany me as a scene setter - a way to capture images of landscape and buildings that set the scene for stories.  It will also go with me to weddings - the Nikon will remain a beloved workhorse for all the action shots and macros but the Leica will be with me for the quiet moments in between. 

So that for me is the Leica M9 - my go to camera for the serene.

What I have been up to

I have had quite a lot of my photos appear in the ABC magazines publication "Organic Gardener."   A couple of covers 

And the opportunity to photograph people like Peter Gilmore, owner and chef at what is regarded by many as Australia's leading restaurant, Quay.  He is absolutely lovely by the way, for those of you familiar with him from Masterchef. 

A yin yang bean from Peter Gilmore's own garden

This was amongst a series of shots at the two hat restaurant Lochiel House for Organic Gardener.

The wedding that I shot out at Orange was accepted by PolkaDotBride and is also featured in the current edition of Madison Magazine. 

The thrill of seeing my work in print like this is amazing.

I am also busy photographing vegetables (!!) for a book which has been commissioned on growing vegetables (of course) in your backyard.  A very clever friend of mine is writing the text - this work came about through the voluntary work which I do for Hawkesbury Harvest - which just goes to show that doing something for free is not a cardinal sin! 

Autumn is here and is, as it always is in the mountains, outrageously beautiful.

Michael and Jacqueline - 11.12.2010

In the days leading up to Jacqueline (Jac) and Michael's wedding the countryside in and around Orange had been inundated with flooding rains.

December 11th 2010, however, dawned blue and bright - and the air at Mayfield Vineyard was crystal pure. I have visited and documented this vineyard often and have seen it at its best but this day was exceptional in its beauty.

The white marquee was gorgeous - all long tables dressed in white and linen/hessian runners with pots of white hydrangeas and tall candles decorating their lengths.  

Rows of white chairs had been set up in the garden near the old homestead and this is where the ceremony took place - and five friends chosen by Michael and Jac, including Michael's beloved grandmother, spoke of what marriage meant to them.

After the ceremony, where we heard two people exchange the most loving of vows, we took advantage of the golden light and photographed Jac and Michael at a variety of lovely places around the property.

Old trees, a lake, vineyards.  A white marquee filled with laughter and music and candlelight. The most wonderful memories.

Michael and Jac (and the little one ) - wishing you many years of joy and dreams fulfilled.

Thank you for letting me be a part of your day.

 

 

Jacqui and Michael - pre wedding shoot

I met Jacqui and Michael at Clovelly beach - my first time meeting Michael. We wandered around the path by the beach and although the beach was busy with nippers in training, the three of us might have been in a world of our own.  Or rather the four of us, since Jacqui's belly is softly rounded with their child.

After the photos were done we drank coffee by the sea and I heard about the wedding day plans.

It promises to be very beautiful.

As are Jacqui and Michael both.

 

Kara and Geoff - 20.10.2010

On a sunlit morning filled with birdsong, I arrived at the cottage where Kara and Geoff were staying with Kara's daughter Theo and Kara's best friend Jess.  After admiring the extraordinary views from the verandah of the  cottage, we settled into a relaxed morning of chat and cups of tea and getting ready for the 11.00am ceremony.

On the arrival of the celebrant Kara slipped into her wonderful vintage inspired dress and Jess grabbed her hand and led her and Theo up to the dappled shade of an old tree where Geoff and the celebrant were waiting.

There followed the most simple, beautiful and loving ceremony. There was laughter and moments of intimate seriousness as Kara and Geoff pledged themselves to each other.  The music was provided by the birds, and otherwise the lovely mountain quiet was broken only by the voices of the celebrant and Kara and Geoff confirming their love for each other.

It was a privilege to be their photographer.  It was even more of a privilege to be a witness, with Jess, to the ceremony.

Kara and Geoff - thank you.

I wish you all the joy in the world.

Gina and Pinocchio

 

 

 

Gina needed some portraits done for use on the web and also for a book she has been interviewed for. She is a student of forensic psychology and was very nervous about having her photo taken.

I get the nerves - I loathe having my own photograph taken - but look how beautiful she is!!

As for Pinocchio, Gina's special interest is in the psychology of lying - and who better to represent that!

    
 

 

Spring is coming

It is such a perfect Spring (or almost Spring) day here in the Mountains that I could not resist posting some photos from my walk today.  These photos also show I love to add textures to photos to give added depth to them - not always but definitely sometimes!    

 

Jessica, Janek and Maple

 

On a glorious winter's afternoon in Blackheath I met with Jessica, Janek and little Maple and spent a lovely time following them around the park with my camera. Capturing the informal moments that I so love.

 

    

    

 

Thank you, you three, for a great afternoon in the sunshine !

            

 

Portrait Session

Four beautiful - and in the case of three of them - very active children.  Add a red balloon and some wonderful gum trees and the session was amazing!

 

 

   
     

  

 

A new(ish) venture!

For several years now I have been documenting passions - the passions of farmers, artists, gardeners, vignerons.  Check out www.marycanning.com    and you will see what I mean.

 

Increasingly I have been getting requests to undertake portrait and wedding photography. These requests initially made me nervous.  Then I decided to be brave!  What could be more wonderful than capturing the ultimate passion - the love in a family, the love between a couple? I am not a weekend photographer - I am someone who is out with her camera every single day, meeting with fantastic people and working in the most beautiful landscapes.

Documenting the joy!  That is how I want to work in this new field.  My website is being updated by the lovely Kara Smith.  Right now it would be misleading of me to have loads of photos of weddings that I have not shot!  The portraits I will include are genuine. We all have to start somewhere and hopefully this blog and my website will be filled with joyous moments!

I am so excited though to report that I had my first meeting with Jacqui yesterday - who will not be my first bride - that bride is someone who is secretly eloping but has booked me to record her day!  Jacqui and I have a lot in common - being former lawyers is one thing!  We both got out of the law for similar reasons too.  She has very clear ideas on how she and her fiance want the day to be and I can't wait to be a part of it.  What makes the day very special to me is that the wedding is to be held at Mayfield Vineyard, which I have been documenting for the past year.

 

 
 Welcome!