Technology Kills Fun — STREET SILHOUETTES

The Tesla Model 3. What a forgettable driving experience. However, it is a very capable car. It has a trunk and a frunk. It is spacious and compact. And, it has ample torque on demand. I left a current model BMW M3 in my rear view mirror, while merging onto the Don Valley Parkway. Even with all that acceleration, I did not bond with the car. It felt like driving an iDevice. Even something as simple as turning on the wipers and setting it to a desired wiper speed required the use of the infotainment screen. I mean, how extremely unintuitive is that?

It’s not only that. The act of turning the car on is silly. Obviously, a Tesla has no engine - thus - no ignition and therefore no turn of a key or press of a button to start the car. Instead, the way one starts a Tesla is by tapping the card key on the center console, as a way to wake up the car. It is such a pain to do that, since I can’t wake up the car with any consistency - tapping the card randomly. I suspect Tesla dreamt this up as a way to show that the car is always on. Waking it up is just a safety measure, so that one won’t go in “drive” unintentionally.

Still, a Tesla Model 3 is the best car anyone can get. Once you get over its reliance on the infotainment screen and its lack of physical buttons and gauges on the dashboard, the Tesla Model 3 is economical, practical, and does what it is made to do. It is so good that it has killed my love of petrol engine cars. I no longer care about high revving engines, running through the gears, or the sound of a flat plane V8 with straight headers. All that means nothing, knowing that any Tesla can out-car any internal combustion car without any sound or drama.

Kensington Market, Toronto, Canada - Leica M11 + Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH

It was apt that I rented a Tesla on my recent trip north of the border. Driving an electric vehicle is symbolic of my present predicament. At the moment, my gear selection is limited to a Leica M11 and a Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH. Frankly, it is a great pairing. High resolution, sharp optic, remarkable detail definition, and generous dynamic range. What more can any photographer ask for? The Leica M11 and APO 35 certainly does the job. It takes the photos I want to take. With that being the case, why am I not having any fun with it?

The thing about the Leica M11 is that its only a tool - albeit a very indulgent and capable tool. There is much to praise about the Leica M11. It really is the best iteration of a full frame digital rangefinder. Given that, you think I would want to shoot more with it. But as it turns out, I have not taken it out of my bag for weeks on end - which is largely why I have not been blogging much either. The thing about the Leica M11 is how joyless it makes me feel. There is nothing about the Leica M11 that elicits an emotional response in wanting me to shoot more.

Like the Tesla, the Leica M11 is a means to an end. It is all about doing what it is supposed to do - taking visual records without uncertainty of outcome. There is no drama when I shoot it. There is no ritual involved. It is just a camera I point and shoot to get the photo, which it consistently performs as expected without surprises. But in all its technological convenience and creature comfort, its ease of use takes away the handling experience. The Leica M11 will never do more than what it is supposed to do in taking a more accurate photo for us.

Shooting the Leica M11, I do not have that sense of anticipation for the photos I take. The colors it reproduces, like all digital imaging devices, are neutral without any zest or bias - as it should be - characteristic of photos expected to be enhanced after-the-fact. That’s just more work to do on my image files that should already be out-of-camera visual eye candy. And even after I’ve intervened with a liberal dose of editing, the digital colors (or lack of it) still leaves me wanting for the intense vivid decisiveness absent in out-of-camera digital capture.

It is not as if I dislike the Leica M11. The only reason why I am writing about it is because that is the only digital camera I have with me. If I had a Sony or a Nikon or a Canon, I would feel the same way too. To be frank, I feel as much connection to my Leica M11 as my iPhone 12. The only difference between the two is that I shoot my iPhone 12 more, given that it’s always in my pocket. Sadly, I really do not see all that much difference between the photos I take with my Leica M11 and the photos I take with my iPhone 12 - albeit under normal conditions.

Comparing the Leica M11 to my iPhone 12 is not inappropriate. For one thing, I shoot my Leica M11 on live view only. I do that because live view enables me to evaluate both exposure and composition at the same time. For that reason, I extend my Leica M11 arm-stretched in the same way I shoot my iPhone 12. But once I do that, my left arm is no longer in a bent lock position ensuring that my focusing hand holds my camera still. As such, my camera is no longer an extension of my arm and my shooting eye is no longer an extension of the viewfinder.

Of course, I could easily remedy that preference by shooting through the optical viewfinder. Then, I will not be detached from my camera. But, why would I? The camera comes with live view, so it wouldn’t make any sense to use the optical viewfinder. Technology has made taking a more precise photo much easier by taking out all the guess work in exposure and composition. I would be a fool not to take full advantage of this technological convenience. It’d be like turning off all the driver’s aids on a Tesla. You could, but what would be the point?

Mind you, the folks at Wetzlar could put right this unfortunate situation by making a digital rangefinder with an in-camera electric viewfinder. Then my future M-mount digital rangefinder could once again be an extension of my shooting arm and my shooting eye. That said, there will still be that pesky issue of the photos produced by a future M-mount digital rangefinder. It will still be neutral without any zest and bias, leaving me wanting for intense vivid decisiveness. This is why I prefer film. The color reproduction is just so much more satisfying.

I miss shooting in film. I miss my stockpile of discontinued expired film in my freezer, thousands of miles away across the Pacific. I miss the unexpected. I even miss making mistakes and the heartbreak that comes from a blown photo opportunity. But most of all, I miss all the surprises from shooting in film - like when the rendered color is better than what I had expected. I miss that intense vivid decisiveness characteristic of out-of-camera film capture. It’s wonderful, since I do not have to waste my time improving the color profile in post.

I also miss my pile of analog M-mount rangefinders. I miss the feel of a mechanical camera. I miss opening up the bottom plate and rear cover when loading a fresh roll of film. I miss catching the sprocket holes onto the sprocket teeth, closing the rear cover and bottom plate, and cranking the film advance lever twice to squeeze out an extra frame or two on a roll of 36. I miss the involvement I have in judging the light when I am tasked to optimize the exposure. And, I miss the sound of the mechanical shutter release and the film advance lever.

Oh, how fun it is to play out the ritual of shooting in film and never rely on technology to optimize the shot. To undergo that process makes me feel like a photographer. It is so much more fun than pointing and shooting. That said, taking photos with a digital camera like the Leica M11 - or any digital camera - does offer one more conveniences, creature comfort, and certainty. It’s really why we flock to the latest technologies - given that it makes us look better as photographers capable of capturing the moment with both proficiency and precision.

I suppose that in the end, it’s the photo that counts. But how very dull it would be if that is the case. Personally, I would rather have a little less technology and be given no choice but rely on my own self, just so I can have a little fun. Whether the photos I take demonstrate proficiency and precision - well - that’s incidental. As long as I follow the drama of my photo taking ritual - metering twice and clicking the shutter once - I am confident my photos will turn out fine. Of course, sometimes they don’t. But sometimes, they’re even better than I expected.

Despite my love of film, I have decided to stick with the Leica M11 and Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH for the next twelve to eighteen months. Needless to say, there won’t be much fun for me. The last time I stuck to a single lens and camera pairing - which was the Leica M9 and Leica 50mm f/0.95 Noctilux-M ASPH - was over ten years ago.

Besides, the times are a changing. Who knows, I might even get a Tesla product in the coming months. That said, I miss my e43 BMW M3. Now, that was a fun car. That said, the Tesla is a better car - despite the absence of any drama, handling characteristic, and fun.

Disclaimer

Jul 25 Technology Kills Fun

Disclaimer

Jul 25 Technology Kills Fun

Jun 4 Confessions

Apr 1 Leica M11