What should I name her?
This is my new baby. It is a monochrome rangefinder. That means it only creates pictures in black and white, there is no autofocus, no zoom lenses.
Today's modern cameras are like Ferraris. You can take more photos per second then you'll ever want to look at. They catch the action in ways that are great for advertisements — models on the go, high energy, life in the fast lane. You can try to work slowly with these cameras, you can also try to drive slowly in a Ferrari ;)
A rangefinder has a stillness. There's a calm. It's timeless. A session's photos out of a rangefinder will never look like the photos out of a Ferrari fast camera. These cameras beg to be used differently. The rangefinder implores you to slow down.
A color filter was never put on the sensor of this rangefinder. There is no color recorded in the photos, only light and shadows. Leaving the color filter off the sensor increases sharpness and gives a more dimensional look. The Leica M Monochrom's look has been compared to that of a field camera.
Color is ideal for advertisements and fashion editorials. How do you sell clothing and apparel without color? Color sells. Those same fashion photos are meant to be gone in a season. I have piles of magazine and catalog work I've done, it all gets sent to the recycle bin, and I don't even notice it's gone. A monochrome rangefinder does not take photos that are used for only one season, it takes photos that are cherished for more than one generation.
Color is ideal for advertisements and fashion editorials. How do you sell clothing and apparel without color? Color sells. Those same fashion photos are meant to be gone in a season. I have piles of magazine and catalog work I've done, it all gets sent to the recycle bin, and I don't even notice it's gone. A monochrome rangefinder does not take photos that are used for only one season, it takes photos that are cherished for more than one generation.
So here she is. I'm thrilled to be getting to know her. What should I name her?