New Camera West Walnut Creek Workshop

This workshop will fill up fast so please sign up early! Give us a call (925-935-1424) or email us at Camera West in Walnut Creek for more info and to reserve your seat!

You can see Paul Van Allen's work here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pva1964/sets/72157623223062902/

Fast & Furious Pics

Last night, our Camera West Sports Workshop participants gathered for a slideshow to share our favorite images from the Fast & Furious Criterium in downtown Pleasanton.

I was amazed and very pleased with the quality and variety of images everyone made. Take a look.

Photo by Dennis Sasaki
This corner on the race course was a difficult one to photograph. The riders flew by at 35mph just a few feet from the lens. Trying to capture that on top of the difficult lighting conditions was a challenge and Dennis came up with a winner. First of all, he prefocused just a few feet in front of him since his camera's auto focus could not keep up. Dennis also used a rear curtain flash to help expose the riders in the shade and not overexpose the background. He used a perfect shutter speed to provide just enough motion to give the photo a sense of  movement.

Photo by Andrew Barber
I love this image by Andrew. Simple, yet very effective. Andrew chose a long lens to compress the photo and also a large aperture to help blur the background. It is composed beautifully and puts the viewer face to face with the rider. I like the seeing her determination and concentration. Too bad she was wearing sunglasses. The eyes show so much emotion but unfortunately they're hidden behind her sunglasses.

Photo by Bo Mathisen
The best sports photos are not always where you expect them and Bo proved that point here with a tender moment of this kid watching the race on his bike. Great job Bo!

Photo by Conrad Rowling
Conrad captured this trio in beautiful late evening light. A great job of seeing the light and working with it Conrad!

Photo by Richard Westin
Another example of finding the best photos where you least expect them. Richard stayed late after the final race to capture the exuberance of the top 3 riders as they celebrate their win. Hopefully Richard didn't get too soaked for this fun photo!

Taking Risks To Get The Shot

Climber/photographer Jimmy Chin was sent by National Geographic to capture why Yosemite is a climber's paradise. (That's his great cover photo above) Chin was chosen not only for his climbing ability, but for his incredible eye. Check out this beautiful behind the scenes video of Chin at work and be amazed at where he puts himself to get the shot.

http://vimeo.com/27101039

More images from Jimmy Chin : http://www.jimmychin.com

Camera West Sports Workshop

We had a great time at the Camera West Sports Workshop this last Sunday. For some participants, it was their first opportunity to witness bicycle racing up close and personal. We will be having a followup session soon for all the workshop participants to share their work. After that, I'll post some images from them here on the Camera West Blog.

Until then, we tease you with this great shot from Conrad Rowling. We practiced a technique called slow shutter panning and Conrad nailed the technique in his photo below.

We plan to have more sports workshops in the near future, so watch for announcements on this blog and in the Camera West monthly newsletter.

Seal and His Leica

Good Morning Brother. Another glorious day in paradise here. Been using the Leica with the very rare Aspherical 50 f/1.2. Just heaven :-)

A recent Tweet from singer/songwriter Seal. Seems he's quite a Leica fan, shooting mostly with his M9-P, which he's had before it was officially released. Seal also tweeted that his wife (model Heidi Klum) thinks he's crazy because his office looks more like a photography museum.

Heidi Klum, Canon 1D Mark III & Seal

Check out his Flickr Images here : http://www.flickr.com/photos/sealsong/show/

LEICA M9 / SD Card Compatibility

Here is the official statement from Leica's Stefan Daniel, Director of Product management, Photo and Jesko van Oeynhausen, product Manager Leica M-System.

Leica Camera has recently become aware of customers experiencing compatibility issues related to select types of new memory cards when used in the Leica M9.


First of all, we would like to thank you all for the lively participation on our call for assistance to solve the SD-card issue with the M9. With this information, we would like to give you the latest information on the status:


The facts from today’s point of view are:

• We have a very limited number of customers approaching Leica for this issue. Most users do not have a problem.
• If the fault occurs once, it can be reproduced.
• Images can be lost in case of this malfunction and the card can be damaged/destroyed.
• There are no indications that it is a firmware bug in the latest firmware 1.162.
• It is not a general incompatibility of certain cards, the M9 is in general compatible with SDHC cards, including newer San Disk Class 10 and Class 1.

What Leica is doing:

• Our dedicated technical teams are actively working on identifying the root cause and solving the problem.
• SD-cards in question are being tested at Leica’s QA department intensively to find the root cause for the malfunction.
• We are in contact with SanDisk and getting their full assistance.
• We started a structured query in the Leica User Forum to get a better overview about the customer’s experience.
• As soon as possible, we will communicate the issue's origin as well its solution.

Until the solution is found, what can be done if this malfunction occurs?

• If possible, use cards that worked well in the past: Keep on using it, don’t format it.
• Please avoid formatting cards in the computer.
• If you are forced to use new cards: Use them carefully: try to avoid browsing through the images on the screen while the red LED is blinking.
• In case of malfunction, please stop using the card. If images are lost, try to recover them.

As soon as we have news on this topic, we will let you know. 

Leica Camera AG

Stefan Daniel, Director Product Management Photo

Jesko von Oeynhausen, Product Manager Leica M-System