Coffee at De Mello
by Peter | Prosophos
Hi Steve and Brandon,
For the last few months, I’ve had the privilege of photographing for De Mello ( http://hellodemello.net/ ), which is a local cafe here in Toronto, Canada.
The vibe here is quite nice, and the staff really make you feel welcomed. Oh, and the coffee is fantastic!
This all makes for great photo opportunities.
I’ve put together a few of my images from De Mello for your Daily Inspiration segment.
(For the gear-interested, the camera used was a Leica M9).
Thanks Steve and Brandon, and keep up the great work you do for the photography community!
Peter.
www.Prosophos.com
I really like the look and feel of this set, the colours on #7 are why I still experiment with portra 400, when I can find a roll. The dark blue grays and natural tones are idealistic – well done.
As for De Mello, great coffee! Living just north of the 401 from there, I’ve been known to drive out of my way to pick up a tasty americano on the way to work – only to arrive late with a smile on my face.
Hey Jason, if you see me in there shooting (just look for the M9 ๐ ) I’d be glad to make your acquaintance.
Will do Peter.
Peter –
Wonderful images. Really.
But, nothing that could not have been produced by many other cameras by many other creative talents like yourself.
Why do you continue to denigrate your talents by subjugating your talent to a certain type of sensor electronics. Reminds me of my film days when some had a religious-like connection to certain films like Tri-X? And, Tri-X is good and the M9 is good (I had one for 3 years), but time marches on.
Technology marches on,
Rick
Thank you, my good Rick.
No denigration or subjugation intended. Simply stating a preference, which is well-informed by experiences with many other cameras. My conclusion is simple: I prefer the sensor in the M9.
These are lovely b&w images. Almost makes me want to go out and buy a Leica
m9, almost.
Thanks Chris.
Peter,
I have been following your blog for some time. Of all the photo blogs online, yours is the work and tone that I have always enjoyed/respected the most. I shoot with an M9 and a first generation Monochrom, so I share your love of the CCD sensor and appreciate your efforts to have Leica come back to it. Thank you for sharing your thoughtful work.
Alan, regarding that M9 CCD sensor… I haven’t found a better digital sensor so far.
On another note, I am blown away by your kind words – thank you!
Nice shots. They always say this camera has poor low light sensitivity, but it always looks darn good to me.
LOL, In dark environments I just shoot at ISO 640 and crank up exposure in LR… the M9 CCD files can withstand a beating and provide a much more natural look as compared to other cameras.
Lovely Peter…You almost had me taking up coffee again!
Bruce…no coffee in your life? Say it isn’t so!
These are the most pleasing pictures Iยดve seen in Steveยดs site in a while.
Agreed!
Thank you Diegaulle and Anonymous.
Peter: I agree with Diedaulle 100% about the most pleasing pictures….
Consider this: these pictures is the reason I am compelled to post a comment on Steve’s site – for the very first time. I’ve been a regular reader of his blog for 5+ years, but never posted….
Lovely, as always. You made me go on ebay again to check for the 75 lux…
LOL… I have mixed feelings about the 75/1.4. It’s a little behind the modern lenses but it does confer a unique look to images.
Nice stuff Peter!
Thank you Jag. Nice to know you are still “out there”. Hope you and your family are well.
My opinion:
First photo with very interesting and rarely successful use of negative space in the middle of the picture is excellent.
Others while technically good are not so eye catching.
Ivo, I’m glad you at least enjoyed the first one. Thank you.
Beautiful images, you can tell the photographer knows what he is doing.
Which lens was used?
Thanks ailukewitsch! In answer to your question, please see my response to Huss below.
Amazingly lovely photo essay, Peter. As usual. Such a pleasure to take in your work.
Hey Donald!… always appreciate your good word. Hope all is well with you.
Superb set. Light, emotion, subtlety, and knowing hand of photographer – everything is present here. Keep ir up Peter.
Aivaras, thank you my good friend!
Very nice photos , make you feel the atmmosphere
Great camera the M9
Indeed, the M9 is a great camera. If Leica could support it for the rest of my life I would die a happy photographer.
Thank you for your comment Dan.
Nice photo story…
will appreciate your sharing information on your choice of lens/lenses for this images…
Thank you Sunil… please see my response to Huss below.
Great shots the cafe should really enjoy those
Thank you Donal. I’m still welcomed there so…. so far so good!
Really gorgeous images. Really like the mood ๐
Thank you Tom! The atmosphere is one of the nicest things about this place and I’ve tried my best to convey it.
Nice use of window light in most of these images.
Thank you fergus.
Amazing work. Truly inspiring.
Thank you Chris!
Lovely photos Peter, taken with that gorgeous CCD sensor.
Care to mention the lenses?
Kind regards
Huss
Thanks so much Huss!
I know you already know about this, but for anybody else who loves the look of Leica’s M9 CCD sensor and wants to see a new M with an updated CCD sensor, please consider signing my Open Letter to Leica:
https://prosophos.com/2013/11/16/an-open-letter-to-leica/
As for the lenses I used for this series, they include the Leica 35mm Summilux ASPH FLE, Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH, Leica 75mm Summilux, and Zeiss ZM 25mm f/2.8 biogon. The specifics are identified on my site, under the “De Mello” category:
https://prosophos.com/category/de-mello-palheta-coffee-roasters/
This ongoing series is terrific. I think you’re exactly the right person for this project. The contrast is worth noting, between the charmingly rough character of the place and the delicate style with which you approach it.
In general, I appreciate how you understand b&w as something more than merely the absence of colour.
Some folks would think there isn’t much to explore in a cafรฉ, but they’d be wrong! If I ever have the pleasure of visiting Toronto I’ll surely drop into this place.
BTW I just noticed a type – the website says ‘Palheta’ but you write it as ‘Palhetta’ on your blog. Oh well. Can you edit tags in WordPress?
Done! Thank you for spotting that… and thank you for your nice comments.
Peter as usual a very nice collection. They all live together very well and love those black and whites in particular.
Always appreciate your support Andy. Thank you.
So pretty! Great coffee + beautiful cafe interior + skillful Barista + excellent photos of these all = formula for a wonderful day.
Thank you Sho!
Nice images Peter.
Which lens did you use ?
Thank you Danny! See my response to Huss below.
Lovely images. I’m curious, if I may ask. Did u do much post processing?
Thank you!
I process all of my images. Many of these have run through VSCO filters with my own modifications to the presets.
Sometimes I spend a considerable amount of time processing, but that’s because I’ll try a few things and then backtrack a little… it’s an iterative process.
The goal is to strike the right balance. Over the years, I’ve realized that the “less is more” approach to processing is the best (for me anyway). The trick is to choose carefully and experiment constantly.
I was lookining hard already for the VSCO film packages. Would you mind telling wich VSCO film package package or film simulations you prefer for color and B/W with you M9? Thanks a lot!! Peter
Hey Peter,
It’s the VSCO film pack that has Tri-X in it… I don’t recall which one that is (and I’m not at my desktop right now to look it up).
Hope that helps.
Thank you Peter, I greatly appreciate it.
Seeing what you get out of your M9 is truly inspiring for me.
Beautiful, insightful work.
Thank you Bob!
I like your style of b&w conversion. Would you share some details on your process?
Thank you Sascha! Please see my response to Safiyyah above (a longer answer would be outside the scope of this venue).
Nice indoors shots.
Thank you G.A.
What a great series, Peter.
Excellent work!
Mark
Thank you Mark! Always appreciate your ongoing support too…
I took a look at the pics first and said: Leica was here!
I was right!
Great shots.
Leica was indeed here! With a little bit of Zeiss thrown in at the very end ๐
Thank you Paul.
Amazing pics great tones on those b&w love them.
Lovely colours too.
Thank you Shaun! I didn’t realize how biased I was towards the B&W images until I put the collection together for Steve. I guess there’s something about cafe environments and B&W photographs.
These images feel what i call “mature”. There is an elegance to them. Splendid
I really appreciate that Justin. Thank you.