Dreaming Mumbai #1

[ajay124]

From a series on Mumbai, captured over the weekend with the Leica SL + Carl Zeiss Biogon 25 2.8 ZM.

[DeepakS]

Very nice picture of an iconic landmark.

An observation:
This appears to have been shot with a wide angle lens - which also tends to give you severe architectural distortion - the top of the building leaning inwards. This can easily be corrected by applying perspective correction. The problem most of us face is that we tend to frame just enough to include the edges of the building in the frame . That becomes a disadvantage because perspective correction works by asymmetrically stretching outwards and cropping, causing you lose a part of the image you initially started with.
The smart move would be to leave adequate space around the building while framing (taking the picture)  so that when correction is applied you still have what you needed in the first place
Or, you could use a tilt shift lens.

[ajay124]

Perspective distortion normally appears when you are standing close to and looking up at a monument/building. A modest amount of perspective correction can sometimes improve the frame but mostly I prefer to leave the image as shot.Tilt shift lenses are not on option (for me) as my relationship with photography revolves entirely around M mount lenses made by Leica and occasionally the more pocket friendly Voigtlander and Zeiss M mount lenses made by Cosina. The Zeiss 25 ZM Biogon (with which this image was shot) is excellent on the mirrorless Leica SL. When you mount this lens on a Leica M240/M10 the camera shows 28mm frame lines and the 25mm frame has to be guesstimated. One could use an EVF but that is a clumsy option which defeats the entire purpose of shooting with a Leica M.

[hvyas]

Very nice ! Like it as it is !

[ajay124]

Thanks Hyvas.

[ashutosh1979]

Nice shot, just wondering if you took a vetical as well.... if you did you love to see that as well.

[manindra_m]

Interesting perspective but too tightly cropped / pic taken... IMHO.

Capturing with The Taj as main subject being complemented by the the surrounding would have been my way of looking at things. But as they say "every photographer has a different PoV"

Thanks for sharing and keep posting more images . Nice set of gear you use ! 

[ajay124]

Thanks Ashutosh, Mahindra

[Hankosaurus]

Beautiful architecture, and great imagemaking.  From the perspective (point in space) of the photographer, the convergence in this image is correct, much like what the eye would see.  I think this image might be really bizarre if "corrected."
Perspective control is, in my estimation, a special kind of distortion which gives us the impression that things our minds would like to see as parallel, appear parallel, even when not photographed at right angles to the vertical plane.  A common way to achieve perspective control is to put the film plane parallel to the subject's vertical plane.  Architectural photography benefits greatly from this special kind of "tuning" or "tweaking" to make things seem parallel when they are not really seen that way from some point in space (perspective).

Ajay, I'm happy to see that you are having such fun making great images with your Leica equipment.

[ajay124]

"From the perspective (point in space) of the photographer, the convergence in this image is correct, much like what the eye would see. I think this image might be really bizarre if "corrected."

Thanks Henry. Completely agree with you. As long as symmetry and harmony is maintained I enjoy playing around with perspective on a wide angle lens. Fortunately the 25 Biogon ZM is distortion free, super sharp and does not suffer from colour shift. I believe that this lens is the widest one can go (without colour shift) on a Leica M or SL, unless one is prepared to pay 3.4 lakhs for a brand new Leica Super-Elmar-M 21mm F/3.4 ASPH. Personally I prefer buying mint condition, pre-owned lenses and cameras, at a reasonable price, from a trustworthy seller.