All rights to this photograph is reserved the photographer

This shot of my son, taken in Pawcatuck, Connecticut, is one of the reasons I have been photographing for more than 36 years. In a fraction of a second, it sums up what I feel is the beauty of being human. This is what photography is so good at.

This shot was taken with my Leica M4 (black, with alot of the paint long gone) and a 35mm Summicron lens.

Why I use a Leica:
There’s nothing like shooting with an M Leica. The small size makes it easy to always have with you, and it’s so quiet you can shoot practically anywhere.

I think that one of the big differences in the leica shooting experience is (and Bresson and Frank used it to it’s full extent) the simple fact that when looking through the rangefinder window, one is not looking through a black hole with a frame in the center as with the SLR or point and shoot with only a LCD screen… but rather a clear window out into the world where you can also see around, outside of your frame, so you can see what is coming toward it and how that element might interact or juxtapose with an element in your frame or leaving the frame. You can see the whole picture and think and plan exactly the right moment to press the shutter release. A Leica rangefinder camera is an amazing experience, if one is ready for it.

Roy Gumpel resides in Woodstock, NY. Be sure to visit his website roygumpel.com and check out more of his Leica photographs.

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