Piraeus Night Ride - a shooting and editing experience with the Leica Q2 and Nik Color Efex

It took me 8 months to edit the pictures.

In May 2020 I took a night ride through Piraeus, Athen’s harbor city with my Greek friend Alex. On our way back from a trip on the island of Salamina he suggested us to drive through the dark city of Piraeus. He wanted to show me the city and I took out my Leica Q2 camera and started shooting from the passenger seat.

I set the camera to auto ISO, the aperture to f1.7 and the exposure time to 1/50 seconds. And I started shooting into the night lit streets and the traffic that we encountered.

It became a fascinating experience. We were driving through dark suburban streets where we found islands of light that appeared in front of us and disappeared again within one or two seconds. I shot picture after picture, aware that with the relative slow exposure time of 1/50 seconds I would have some blur effect (in order to “freeze” a scene that you shoot from a driving car you need to use at least 1/250 second, better 1/500 or even shorter).

I uploaded the RAW pictures in the following week to my external hard drive, created the usual backup files on a second external hard drive and then I didn’t touch them for a few weeks.

When revisiting the pictures for the first time I found them a little boring and did not know what exactly to do with them. The motion blur was kind of interesting but it did not give the pictures shape and and any fascinating feeling. I processed some of the pictures, posted some on Flickr but neither me nor my followers were particularly interested in the results.

Not bad - but not really interesting either……

Kind of moody - but something is missing…..

And then I forgot about them. I had many other interesting subjects to shoot and I did my editing of these pictures. The Piraeus ones were on the hard drive and I did not touch them.

8 months later I accidentally came across he pictures again. And immediately I knew what to do. I had just worked with the Nik editing apps recently. So I took the RAW pictures, transferred them to Nik Color Efex where I applied some presets that suited the dark, moody atmosphere of the night and the environment.

Thew same picture with a new edit

In a second step I exported the pictures to Photoshop where I used the blur tools to enhance the motion blur effect that the pictures already had.

Color cast and blur effect

And in a last step I added some texture and clarity in lightroom and did some local enhancements of light and colors. The editing of each single picture took me between 15 and 30 minutes. That includes the time I sometimes took between step 2 and 3 in order to re-evaluate my results and to start doing my local adjustments in Lightroom.

And all of a sudden the pictures had a feel that reflected the mysterious atmosphere that we had experienced during the ride through the city of Piraeus.

We often read the recommendation to let the pictures “mature” after the shooting and to let them “rest” for a while. I often don’t follow that recommendation. But in this case leaving the pictures alone and coming back with fresh and unbiased eyes gave me the opportunity to create a completely new and different approach. Revisiting the older ones can make a lot of sense. I love the results……

The Leica Q2 - it is that good!

Recently I have been shooting a lot with the Leica Q2. I used it for shooting portraits and very recently also for shooting pictures on a mountain very close to Athen’s city center. Together with my Flickr friend Alex we went on a trip to explore this interesting place (or I should rather say that he took me to a place that he knew well in order to give me the opportunity to experience it and take pictures - thank you very much, Alex! :-) ).

So what happened with regard to this camera? Well, it’s very simple - the photographic results from this little “field trip” are absolutely amazing.

I took pictures of the stunning view over the city of Athens and the Saronic Gulf. Shooting directly into the sunlight yielded amazing results. The camera was able to handle the strong contrasts and I could process the pictures by maintaining the contrast, playing with the colors and without encountering any banding that you would often find in backlit pictures with strong contrast.

View over the Saronic Gulf, Athens, Greece

When I took pictures of an abandoned building, shooting from dark rooms into the light outside I was able to recover the shadows and colors inside without any problems. Colors were beautiful, I could edit them even at relative high ISO of 3200 without creating any smear or ugly high ISO grain. I was amazed about the outcome.

High ISO interior shot of an abandoned building. The blur of the foreground is caused by focussing on the rear area with wide open lens (f/1.7).

When judging an expensive camera it always comes back to the question if this camera “is worth it”. For me I can answer this with a clear “yes”. This is simply the best camera I have ever worked with. It is a handy, small tool that is fun using, that does not get in your way and that yields amazing pictures. It simply is that good.

You find examples for Leica Q2 work in the “latest work” picture gallery https://www.chris-r-photography.net/latest-work and also in the “Inner Core Project” gallery https://www.chris-r-photography.net/inner-core .

Shooting Portraits with the Leica Q2

I bought the Leica Q2 for street photography, for landscape and travel pictures and for my ICM (intentional camera movement) work. I wanted to have a reliable full frame camera with a great lens and good file output, with files that can stand my sometimes very intense processing attempts. And admittedly I also bought the Leica for the fun of shooting with it.

What I certainly had not intended to do was using this camera for portrait photography. Everybody knows that using a 28mm wide angle lens for portraits is an impossible task, doesn’t yield good results, doesn’t make sense. Or does it??

I’ll tell you what happened. In Athens I had the opportunity of meeting Lina. Lina is an actress that I met through a friend. (Meeting friends of friends who know somebody who is somebody’s friend is one of the wonderful social accomplishments in Greece. You are not alone. You have opportunities that they create for you. Thank you so much, Loukia!). Lina agreed to participate in my Inner Core Project. However the moment we started shooting in a park in Athens it turned out that it was not the right time, nor the mood nor the intention to pursue the Inner Core idea. So the shooting turned seamlessly into a “conventional” portrait session.

The portrait shooting experience with the Q2 was the same as it had been in landscape or ICM photography. The camera was very easy to handle, I could shoot with both, viewfinder and LCD screen and it turnend out that the camera was, as should be in the best case, not in my way. Using a light weight camera like this “point and shoot” for portraits was actually a benefit in comparison to a much heavier DSLR.

Lina, Leica Q2 outdoor shot with natural light, no dishes or other equipment used

What about the pictures? That is when the big surprise happened. I was not expecting anything particular good because I knew I had the “wrong lens” in front of my camera. What I found on my computer screen were amazing pictures with a clarity, a rendering and an expression that surpassed by far what I had expected. They always talk about Leica lenses’ “micro contrast”. Here I experienced for the very first time what exactly this means. The pictures “pop” in a way that I have never seen in any other camera/lens combination before. They are just special in a wonderful, very eye pleasing way.

Lina, Leica Q2 outdoor shot, some cropping in post

And the 28mm distortion? Yes, it is there. Particularly if the photographer tries to use the full width of the picture and places his model eccentrically, to the sides of the frame. As this example shows, there can be clear distortion of the anatomy, my model’s nose does not appear straight in this picture. On the other hand, if you are aware of this phenomenon and try to avoid framing the face close to the margins of the picture and if you keep a certain distance and choose cropping in post instead of getting close to your model when taking the shot, then distortion is not a major problem. I even think that the 28mm lens emphasizes certain facial features in a way that makes a portrait more interesting.

So without even planning it I had the experience of shooting portraits with the Leica Q2. And I’ll do it again. This camera is amazing and I love exploring its possibilities further. Portrait photography entered the realm of my use of the Leica Q2.

Think out of the square. Try things out. Take the risk. That’s where creativity in photography (and so many other areas) happens. If you use a tool in an unconventional way the results will clearly surprise you. Here it was an exceptionally positive surprise.

Leica Q2 - a huge disappointment (but then....)

It’s good that I didn’t write my article about the Leica Q2 right after my first experience with it. Content and verdict would have been very different from what I am writing now. And it would not have been very flattering.

I bought a new Leica Q2 three months ago. I had been salivating for this camera for years. First I wanted the original Q, then after the release of the Q2 I desired the camera even more due to all the improvements that had been implemented. The price is steep, and that was the reason why I hesitated for so many years. But eventually I could not resist.

The timing of my purchase was a little unlucky. I bought the camera right before I started my first shootings for the “Inner Core Project”. This project requires me to be extremely swift and flexible with my camera because I leave it completely up to my “models” how they move and what they do during the shooting.

My little Ricoh GR III camera fulfills all requirements for this type of photo shoot. It is light, easy to use, I can handle it with just one hand and the menus and buttons are very intuitive. It’s the perfect camera for that purpose.

I then tried out the Q2 in this shooting environment. It was a disaster. The camera was too heavy (800 g in comparison to 420 g of the GR III), it felt clumsy and I was far too slow because I didn’t know the camera and it’s functions well enough. So I used the GR III as my main camera during the shootings and only used the Q2 for some top up pictures just to try it out.

I was pretty disappointed. I bought my dream camera and I couldn’t handle it. I found that all the raving reviews had hopelessly overrated the camera.

Then I used it for some street shots. Still I wasn’t happy, exactly for the same reasons. Too heavy, too slow, too cumbersome. Yes, nice pictures and versatile files in pp but after all a huge waste of money.

And then I took the Q2 for a whole day outdoors into nature where I used it for long exposure work with intentional camera movement (ICM) to take landscape pictures. I visited the Emsland region in Northern Germany and there particularly some moors. I had a whole day, could do things at a slow pace, could expose pictures to my liking and play with the functions of the camera. And for the first time it felt as if this camera belonged into my hands. I learned how to move it intentionally according to my needs for blur effects. I changed exposure times, used the pop up menus on the screen and found that I could create a well working workflow.

And when I started processing the files some days later it was a revelation. It’s the best ICM pictures I have ever taken. The colors that I found in the RAW files are amazing. I only need to process them slightly in Lightroom and maybe give them some touch ups in Photoshop. I am a black and white photographer and in the past I found colour files difficult to handle. But that’s not the case with these Leica files. They shine and the colors pop in a beautiful way. It’s actually a joy to work with them.

ICM landscape picture shot with Leica Q2

The details in these pictures are absolutely amazing. I can create effects that I was not able to bring about with any other camera. I would call these pictures “dense”. There is so much information in them that they have an amazing expression.

So I was able to create a series that is to my full satisfaction. I love the ICM aspect, I love the colors and I was able to create a consistent series.

ICM landscape picture taken with Leica Q2

After that weekend I have changed my mind. This camera does live up to its expectations. You only need to be able to define the best use for it. And as with all tools you need to be able to handle it. Any camera is only as good as the person that uses it. I will certainly try again to use it for shooting people. Maybe with a little more experience with my new tool the results will be more satisfying.

My first disappointment has disappeared. I am keen on using the Q2 again. Next weekend I will be going to the Teufelsmoor (devil’s moore) and shoot like hell....