Everything you always wanted to know about triggering a flash with a leica M (typ 240) using an electronic viewfinder (but were afraid to ask) /  by Lionel Samain

I'm not used to write about technical matters and "how to do it yourself" memos, but I've searched lenghthy the web and found nothing about the topic I'm about to develop. Maybe this modest contribution may help one guy somewhere in space and time. 

Leica M (typ 240) equiped with its electronic viewfinder (actually an olympus VF-2)

Leica M (typ 240) equiped with its electronic viewfinder (actually an olympus VF-2)

It's about Leica M (typ 240) camera. Since day one in my photographer's life, I am a M user. I  love the simplicity it has always been, even If I don't use it in studio or for portraits jobs. But in my everyday life, I always carry it with me from the film era to the digital ages.

In 2012 Leica had the very good idea to develop an accessory giving the ability to see through the lens. Of course it's just an electronic viewfinder (of poor quality, actually) but it broaden the functionality of the whole system. Now, I can wander with this only camera and bring along lenses that doesn't exist for leica M or can't be used with the rangefinder system. 

The electronic viewfinder connect itself to the camera with a reserved port and sit on the hot shoe. Which is practical but annoying, because the hot shoe is the only way to trigger a flash with a digital M. Of course I know, there is an accessory that Leica sells which is a special handgrip that brings along gps, pc sync and usb plug. Expensive and making the camera bulky. If you are an early adopter of the M10, that option isn't even in their catalogue...

I wanted to find a simpler and lighter solution. So I though about wiring the mount of the electronic viewfinder to a p/c socket. The efv has electric contacts, in its design but it seems they are not used (a central and a bracket contact point). Untill now. 

I folded a tiny piece of metal to allow the contact between the hot shoe and the efv, because, you can't count on the original one. It's not centered on the main contact point. 

I didn't have to weld anything. I just glued it. So it's reversible, in any case I would get bored with flash photography (ah ah!). In the end, I'll use a drop of black paint to hide the cable. Almost invisible.

Back view of the olympus VF-2. It is actually the very same piece of electronic that Leica sell as EFV-2. Some variations in the design and an other logo. On the right, the prontor/compur socket I glue on the side.

Back view of the olympus VF-2. It is actually the very same piece of electronic that Leica sell as EFV-2. Some variations in the design and an other logo. On the right, the prontor/compur socket I glue on the side.

I: recycled P/C socket.II: the two cables runs along the mount. I simply use the existing contacts from the evf-2. Central and bracket side (III).IV: To insure a proper connection with the camera hot shoe, fold a thin piece of metal and use as an en…

I: recycled P/C socket.

II: the two cables runs along the mount. I simply use the existing contacts from the evf-2. Central and bracket side (III).

IV: To insure a proper connection with the camera hot shoe, fold a thin piece of metal and use as an end of your wire. It should be positionned on the middle of the plate.  

3 things to do in 2017 /  by Ludmilla Intravaia

For 2017, I wish you the best. What else?  

In any case, if you are not satisfied by what 2017 could bring to you, you may stage your very own sunrise.

Naoshima, Kagawa.

Or rearrange the way cities look like.

Asakusa, Tokyo.

Asakusa, Tokyo.

And don't forget to bring someone with you in your future adventures.

Shodoshima, Kagawa.

Shodoshima, Kagawa.

What if the most valuable picture you could have was the one you can't see? /  by Lionel Samain

Cryptoglyphe is my side project. It’s a private collection, generated when I explore my hidden photographs and transform them through a self reflexive process into something new. A puzzle game. Recycling? Yes, maybe. Perhaps, It’s my fashion of being green, in thoughs. 

I’ll display one cryptoglyphe each month this year, here. The January issue is my way of expressing my greetings for this fresh new year. Have a playful and meditative 2016!

Cryptoglyphe n°001

Cryptoglyphe n°001

Express Economy /  by Lionel Samain

One of the (many) perks of shooting portraits for magazines: sometimes, you meet interesting people! Yes, you do! Economist, Jesuits,... sometimes they are both!

I have the pleasure to shoot portraits for Le Vif/ L’Express from time to time and recently I had the pleasure to make a portrait of french economist Gaël Giraud. Well, I’m not in any way much educated in political economy and usualy, if the interview happens on the same day as the shooting, I’m preparing my gear and gone scouting while the journalist is working. But this guy was so interesting, I just sat in the room and listened to those unheard point of views in the medias on the economical crisis in Greece. I brought home pictures and some thoughts to chew on.

MarquePage /  by Ludmilla Intravaia

If you are in Arles this summer, there is still few hours to see my contributions to HAVASPARIS’s exhibition « MarquePage », during les Rencontres d’Arles. Quite a fun display, like a small stocking place disguised as a WunderKamer, just on the corner of the Forum Square. This is about brands logo meeting titles of books.