John Buckley: Recently Added Galleries and Collections

The Leica M9

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:57:42 GMT

Here are some images taken with the Leica M9, which I consider to be the perfect camera. The camera arrived in late September, and over the next few days and weeks, I've added pictures virtually daily. I'll continue to do so. All photos taken in Washington, D.C. and vicinity. Consider this a long photo essay on my hometown. JB

Nokton 50 1.1 (M9) vs. Noctilux 50 1.0 (M8)

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:47:46 GMT

I had a Leica Noctilux 50mm f/1.0, but traded it in while buying the Summilux 21mm earlier this year. A few days ago, I picked up a CV Nokton 50mm f1.1, which costs literally 10% of what a new Noctilux (f/0.95) or 1/5th of what it would cost to buy a mint Noctilux. Because I'd taken a number of images with the Noctilux and an M8 at Washington's National Cathedral on an overcast day in September 2007, returning there in similar weather (November 2009) with the Nokton and an M9 seemed like a reasonable basis for comparison. You make the call, but let me just say I really like this comparatively inexpensive CV Nokton. The first 7 photos are the Noctilux and M8; the rest are the Nokton and M9.

NOTE: After posting this, I took some shots with the Nokton in the Adams Morgan district of D.C. after the sun went down. I thought these might be useful to add, for anyone interested in seeing what this lens does in different lighting conditions from what was found at the Cathedral. JB

Leica M9 At Dumbarton Oaks Cemetery

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:12:49 GMT

In every municipality in the world there is a necropolis, a city of the dead. Washington, D.C. is known for Arlington Cemetery, but that's actually across the Potomac River in Virginia on land once owned by Robert E. Lee. At the top of Georgetown, just outside of the city center of D.C. proper, sits Dumbarton Oaks, which has housed a cemetery for more than 200 years -- a short time when compared to the catacombs of Paris or Rome, but a long time in these parts. It is a beautiful, peaceful multileveled property, and I enjoyed taking my M9 there on successive Indian Summer days in October 2009.

Note: The photos in the gallery highlighting the Leica Summilux 21 were also taken at Dumbarton Oaks Cemetery, and you can see how different it appears in less peaceful light.

Jackson Hole (and Yellowstone)

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:09:34 GMT

A friend of mine once said it's hard to take a bad photo in Jackson Hole. That may be true, but with all of the great photographers who live there, or who have passed through, it's hard to take a photo that hasn't been taken better by someone before you. This gallery comprises photos taken over the past six or seven years, in different seasons, with different cameras (mostly Leica M8s, but also in the earlier shots, Leica M7s shooting Fuji Velvia.) Sequentially, the first photos tend to be the most recent -- working backward from images taken in Oxbow Bend, or up near the Sleeping Indian in August 2009, to Yellowstone's Lamar Valley in August 2008. If you've ever spent time scrambling up the Teton canyons, or wanted to, think of this as a time-elapsed view of the prettiest valley and ecosystem in America. View this gallery as a slide show if you want to get a sense of what a great corner of the world Northwest Wyoming is. JB, August 2009

Santa Barbara Pier

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:07:08 GMT

Santa Barbara, CA, July 2009. All photos taken with a Leica M8, including many with the Summilux 21mm.

Hey, Baby, It's The 4th of July

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 23:55:53 GMT

Parade in Jackson, Wyoming, July 4th 2009. All photos taken with the Leica M8.

Cherrry Blossom Saturday with Summilux 21mm

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:26:06 GMT

Bright sunshine, cold morning. Perhaps not the best way to draw out the charms of the Summilux 21. But still, nice morning on the Mall in DC. [Partly for comparison's sake, partly for organizational reasons, the last three photos are from a prior year's visit to the Mall at Cherry Blossom time, with the images taken with the 50mm Summilux.) All images taken with a Leica M8.

Leica Summilux 21mm

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 19:42:59 GMT

The new Leica Summilux 21mm is a remarkable lens. All images here were taken with a Leica M8 on a humid Washington April day, just after rain had pelted the cherry blossoms. Photos taken in the cemetary at Dunbarton Oaks.

Before Spring Arrives

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:50:31 GMT

Some images around my house, in that exquisite period between when winter recedes and spring arrives. Leica M8, with Wide Angle Tele-Elmar and Summilux 35mm.

The Bahamas

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:09:53 GMT

People At The Inauguration Events

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 22:23:27 GMT

Here's a collection of people photographed during the week of the Inauguration. Even the soldiers working in the cold seemed to be having a good time.

"What is there more fugitive and transitory than the expression on a human face," said Henri Cartier-Bresson. Look at the faces of this sample of the roughly two million people who attended events. Looks a lot like joy to me, nothing fugitive about it, and matter how transitory it may be. For these few days, it was real.

All photos taken with a Leica M8, and either the 50mm Summilux of 35mm Summilux lenses.

Opening Ceremony Through The Inaugural 2009

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 05:02:05 GMT

The first 23 pictures were taken on Sunday, January 18th, on the way to, from, or at the We Are One opening ceremony concert. The rest were taken January 20th, Inauguration Day.

Weekend In Paris

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:54:00 GMT

Tulip Frenzy

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:51:00 GMT

Spring in D.C. 2008, all shots taken with a Leica M8 and either Summilux 50 or 35mm lenses.

Pumpkin Time

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 21:28:00 GMT

October in the Mid Atlantic, and finally there was rain, although it still was way too warm. All Leica M8 shots, some with the Noctilux 50mm at f/1; some with the Wide-Angle TeleElmar at 16mm; and some with the 28 Elmarit.

The National Cathedral

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 12:41:00 GMT

On an overcast Friday in September 2007, I went up the street to the National Cathedral, armed with an M8 and Noctilux 50 mm, f/1 lens.

Jackson Hole, Summer 2007

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 02:17:00 GMT

Everyone said it had been a brutally hot early summer, and the absence of snow on the Tetons showed it, the glaciers meek and shrunken. But it was, as always, the prettiest place in America to be. Long hikes in and around the park revealed new angles on the Grand Teton, and afternoon rains were welcome, not merely because of the evening clouds above Oxbow Bend, but because they dampened the smoke that kept blowing into the valley from the fires in Montana, Idaho, and the surrounding forests. All photos taken with a Leica M8. JB

Teton County Fair

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 02:00:00 GMT

In late July, Teton County, Wyoming has an all-American county fair, near the rodeo grounds in Jackson. You can't quite see the Grand Teton from the fair, but you can smell the glorious Western air, the horses, popcorn. Tourists come, on their way to Yellowstone, or just to spend time in Jackson Hole, and so do local families to enjoy the rides, and the spectacle of it all. All photos taken with a Leica M8. JB

Roma

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 22:10:00 GMT

Pompeii

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 22:00:00 GMT

Interiors, mostly frescoes...