biogon test roll.

So here it is, part one of OK Yes I’m Going To Do This No Seriously I Am: test photos from my new Zeiss Biogon 35mm f/2 lens,.  This weekend, part two happens: purchasing a Leica of my very own.  I figured I’d take advantage of my last days with my friend Peter’s Leica M6 to test out the Biogon, to get a feel for its focusing mechanism (not as loose and zippy as the Summicron, alas) and its aperture settings (zounds, yes!).   So after the lens arrived at my office today, I spent my lunch break in Central Park, on one of those days that alternates between ovecast and overcast with occasional evidence of sun.  Not the best day, or the best location, to test out the lens, but what can you do?

Despite the park’s pre-spring monotones and just about everything feeling washed out, I think I got a handful of decent shots.  The Ektar didn’t pop as much as usual, but then again, the color palate I had to work with was limited at best.  The two shots below, taken seconds apart and with slightly different aperture openings, are probably my favorite.  The first one was taken at the correct exposure; the bottom one at I think f/5.6, maybe a full stop down.  There are great warm tones in the first, and I know it’s the better photo of the two, but the underexposure in the second brings out more of the Ektar blues that I love so much.  I’m going to have to explore this Ektar-Biogon calculus a bit more!  

And in both photos I like to imagine that it’s Patti Smith sitting atop that rock.