FAT Ice Race Zell Am See
Zell am See - FAT Ice Race
The Ice Race in Zell am See: A Thrilling Winter Tradition
Nestled in the heart of the Austrian Alps, the airport of Zell am See transforms into a playground for motorsport enthusiasts every winter. This picturesque destination, with its snow-capped peaks, becomes the stage for one of the most unique and exhilarating events of the season—the Ice Race.
Since its revival, the Ice Race has drawn drivers, spectators, and legendary cars to its frosty track, where the excitement of speed meets the challenge of ice and snow. At the heart of the event is an impressive lineup of vehicles, many of them iconic Porsches, which pay homage to the region’s deep connection to motorsport and engineering excellence.
From vintage classics to modern marvels, the cars glide, drift, and race on the icy surface, leaving trails of adrenaline and awe in their wake. The unmistakable roar of engines, paired with the stunning Alpine backdrop, creates a sensory experience that’s hard to match.
But the Ice Race isn’t just about competition; it’s a celebration of community and camaraderie. Drivers and fans come together to share their passion for performance, design, and the thrill of winter racing. The charm of Zell am See, with its cozy chalets and warm hospitality, makes it the perfect setting for this extraordinary spectacle.
Whether you’re a die-hard motorsport fan or simply looking for an unforgettable winter experience, the Ice Race in Zell am See promises an adventure like no other.
So, let me share with you some images from last year edition:
Last year edition had also an Airshow
And all in all it was a lot of fun for us
How to Reach the Beautiful Valley of Zell am See
Getting to Zell am See, nestled in the heart of the Austrian Alps, is as delightful as the destination itself. This charming valley is well-connected and easily accessible by various means of transport.
By Air: The nearest major airport is Salzburg Airport (about 80 km away), offering flights from many international cities. From Salzburg, you can reach Zell am See by train, rental car, or shuttle services.
By Train: Zell am See boasts its own train station with regular connections from Salzburg, Innsbruck, and other European cities. The scenic railway journey through the mountains adds a touch of magic to your trip.
By Car: If you prefer driving, Zell am See is conveniently accessible via the Austrian motorway network. From Salzburg, the drive takes about 1.5 hours along well-maintained roads that offer breathtaking Alpine views.
By Bus: Regional buses also provide connections from Salzburg and other nearby towns, making travel easy and affordable.
See you there!
Leica Q2 Monochrome - 50 shades of grey - unrated edition
Leica Q2 Monochrome
When you take away all color, your mind relaxes, following just forms, lights and shadows.
Stories of light told in shades of grey, if you want.
For those who know me, you know that I’m a big fan of the Leica Q line. Today, I want to tell you this story about the Q2 Monochrome and my little experiment to see how it handles itself in rough conditions.
I would like to bring out the fact that this is a very good looking camera, and because it is stripped of the red Leica logo, and missing any sort of color on its body, this camera is recognizable mostly by people that know what is what, or connoisseurs.
If you are unfamiliar with the Q line, the Leica Q is a compact camera with a full frame sensor. Being a compact camera means you cannot change the lens. The good news is that this camera is packing the amazing Summilux 28mm 1.7 ASPH. This is a very sharp, low-distortions and very beautiful depth-of-field lens!
Talking about the lens, I just remembered that some of my Instagram friends asked me about the AF when I published the Leica Q3 43 review (you can read it here), so for this one, I thought about a small game to put the AF to the test. So, I asked Gabi to pose for a few photos. It was a combination of camera-shy and hard-to-get attitude:
Next time, I will try to film the whole interaction so you can see the back-and-forth :)).
The idea is that I was shooting wide open (check that beautiful bokeh) and with AF-S (which means that once the focus is set, it stays in that position) so that means that I did need to focus for every single shot. Oh, and I only use the central point of focus.
And to get to a conclusion: I can work very well with the AF from the Q2, even in very low light, as you will be able to see in the case study further down in this post.
Can this be an all day camera? Well, let me show you some examples:
I was trying to put this camera through some situations, and my conclusion is that it’s a great camera to carry with you every day if you fancy your world in black and white.
As you may have read in previous articles, I only shoot RAW and edit after. The Q2 Monochrome put that theory of mine to te test. For the first time in a very looooooong period, I was shooting RAW+JPG. All the files above are actually JPGs straight out of the camera, with some small adjustments, such as a bit of brightness added.
I will show you the difference between JPG and edited RAW
I promise that I will not hold that against you if you prefer the JPG better.
Another great thing, since we’re here, is the sensor: the 47MP full-frame sensor brings a lot of detail to the image. As you can see above, you are able to crop your image without losing detail (grain is a personal option). And for someone who likes to post-process, the flat RAW gives you a lot of information to work with - It’s worth mentioning that a RAW file is around 80MB.
We talked about the body, sensor and lens, but let’s see how it performs in a real situation, and for this I picked our Spontan BlackParty. For this party everyone was supposed to come dressed in black, so black-and-white photography was a format we had used before.
Most of the photos are JPGs straight out of the camera with minor adjustments. Only one crop has been post-processed a bit :
My first thoughts were as follows:
The autofocus performed very well in tough conditions, including moving lights, dim light, and moving subjects.
The image quality at very high ISO was excellent, with a lot of information retained—I had my camera set to go up to 25,000 ISO.
Because of the high megapixel count, you can crop, reframe, or adjust the image significantly.
Great JPGs with presets that help achieve the look you imagine (flat, high contrast, etc.).
The amazing Summilux 28mm f/1.7 lens with Macro mode.
You want one…
I feel you, so I would follow the Leica store Berlin instagram page, or even better, drop by (google maps location), and ask for Nico.
Good to know:
all the files here were resized significantly - imagine a jpg being reduced from 20-40mb to approximately 100-400 kb
I can provide most of the sample files through a WeTransfer link so you can check them out in full size. Just send me a DM on Instagram - link at the bottom of this page
if you have any questions, let’s have a chat
Until next time.
Leica Q3 43 - a Sunday walk
Leica Q3 43
“The best camera is the one you have with you“
When I got my first Leica - it was a Q2, my passion for photography sort of rekindled. It was a small compact camera, full frame sensor and a Leica lens. This was the promise for which I was sold for, but the best thing started just after receiving the package. Great design, easy to work with, reliable, a great lens that delivered sharp images for a 47 mpx sensor, I was sold! So that brought me to say the following:
”If Leica is bringing another Q with a 50mm one day, I’m selling all my other cameras and just keep the Q with the 28 and the one with the 50.”
Well, time has passed, and that dream is almost happening. One mention though, they can become a daily setup, but I’m not selling my M line and my SL line (I hope you can understand… :P )
However…
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room
Leica Q3 43
The people from Wetzlar outdid themselves, again. Putting a 60 mp sensor in the same form factor as the Q 28, while keeping the reduced dimensions makes this camera that daily companion that is always at the ready. With a 43mm lens that is not too wide, yet not too tele, and with a wide open aperture of f2, this lens can bail you out from a lot of situations. I don’t know when to bring up the fact that this lens is Apochromatic, but I’ll show you some images later in this post.
In terms of design, one of the things that the Q3 brings to the table different from the Q2 is the display, that now is enjoying a bit of freedom:
I know that a lot of people are not really enjoying this, but, from a professional perspective, it brings you more options for shooting. The design is not really suffering, but I could get some moments when it was a bit in the way - but I’m comparing this to the Q2 where everything is very well kept together. However, the moments when I need a shot from the ground level, or the ones where I find myself in a crowd really put this display in a good light.
Design related, the changes from the Q2 to Q3 are the display and the buttons moved from the left side of the camera to the right side. To be honest, I will miss my FN button (FN - Flavius Neamciuc :)) ), but other than that I find this move to be very practical.
Enough chit chat, let’s see images:
Colors:
If you are unfamiliar with Leica colors, they are very nice straight out of the camera, but, if you also like to shoot raw and edit after, you can get a lot from that 70-80 mb file.
And yes, if you ask yourself if these files were shot raw, the answer is always yes when you are reading this blog. To have a better idea about the files, I had one RAW file that I had it exported with different settings as following:
… and so I would not forget, the 4 files above were shot in Macro mode - yes this 43mm APO has a macro mode!
And since we brought this up, some of you may be familiar with my #eyeseries on instagram, Nico was kind enough to let me try this macro feature on his own eye (seemed logical, since he was the first person in that series…)
Aberrations:
Purple fringing - well, let’s just say that on this lens that is nowhere to be found. The image above was shot in direct opposition to the sun, wide open. The details are amazing, no PF and no loss of contrast or resolution. I will add some other examples down the road, but this should tell you more than enough.
Since this is a 43mm and an f2, we also expect some separation:
The separation is superb, unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to have some portraits in my short time with the camera, but the images above can make you understand a bit about the way this lens is working. Me for one, I’m crazy about this out of focus rendering that the Leica lenses are having…
Geometry:
For people shooting architecture, if you have the space to shoot 43mm, this camera is a delight: lines are straight, no visible deformation, dynamic range is looking great and you have a great deal of detail from those 60mp.
Low light and high ISO:
Even though high ISO may not be something that Leica is praised a lot for enough, the fact that the file retains so much detail even when grainy, gives me exactly what I need. For the last 3 - 4 years I’ve been shooting nightlife photography with Q2 and SL2, so this should tell you about my opinion on high ISO for Leica, and this Q3 seems even better than before.
Leica FOTOS
There is this not so new thing about cameras where you can have a good photo from your camera into your phone in minutes, and from there on social media. Leica Fotos (the application) is something that opened so many ways of using photography for me. From having content delivered fast, to being able to send nice pictures in real time to the ones that I love. Well, Leica Q3 43 is doing this even better than before, and to be more specific, just watch how much time was needed to download a full RAW file:
This is not fast forward, it is just the speed this moves now, I know, jaw dropping!
To sum it up:
compact camera - you cannot change the lens
60mp full frame sensor
43mm APO auto focus with macro
great lens with very low deformation and almost nonexistent chromatic aberrations
90 degrees display
your daily best friend in terms of creating images
You want one…
Well, aren’t we all… Unfortunately at the moment, it is sold out and there is a waiting list. If you want to have one though, I recommend following the Leica store Berlin instagram page, or even better, drop by (google maps location), and ask for Nico. You will find the right answers, and the guys will know how to guide you to find the right fit for your needs.
Good to know:
all the files here were resized a lot - imagine a jpg being reduced from 20-40mb to approx. 100-400 kb
I can provide the sample files through a wetransfer link so you can check them better, just give a comment or send me a DM on Instagram - link at the bottom of this page
if you have any questions, let’s have a chat
Until next time
Leica M10R and Leica 50mm 1.4 ASPH in Rome
A beautiful way to see Rome.
…It all started with a visit in Rome during spring…
Rome was a place that we, me and my girlfriend, intended to visit sincer forever, so, this year, after the easing of the restrictions concerning covid, we finally did it.
This was a good moment to put the M10R to the test, but if you are looking for numbers and formulas, well, this is just not that kind of a review. I will mostly show you photos and talk about my experience with the camera.
Let me start with a confession: I’m a big fan of auto-focus, so if your next question is “what were you doing with this camera?” I can’t blame you. But then again, look at it, a beautiful small package with a lot of power - 40mp full frame sensor (7864 x 5200 Pixels full of joy) in under 2kg with the lens on. I said that I’m not going to bother you with numbers though.
When it comes to travel, we all know that being able to pack light is very important, so having a great camera in such a small package is important, especially that i’m wearing it on me all the time.
The files that you are about to see are all edited (light, colors and some straightening), so these are not the native colors of the camera, but I believe that these are not that far from the raw file.
Very important is the fact that for a better surfing experience, the files had to be heavily resized. Imagine if a JPG has around 20mb these files are uploaded at maximum 200-300kb. If you want to see any full size file, just send me a message and we can talk.
You have to agree, this camera is a goddamn good looking camera!
Departure
The Q2 was the second camera we had with us, so during our flight, I was trying to play with the focus.
As I was saying, I’m a fan of AF, but even when the focus was off, the image was so beautiful.
Usually it’s Abi in my frame, but guess what, she liked the m10 so much that she wanted to try taking some photos… not bad I would say
The dynamic range of the M10R is just wow
Wide open at 1.4 with the sun in the back… not much left to be said.
As I was saying, she is very into this camera
Well, this is a combination that could easily become my daily camera. I love the colours, the level of detail is amazing, the dinamic range is so nice, you could save so much from the shadows - I shoot a bit underexposed, so I need those shadows, it is small, it is light and at the end of the day it’s a camera that you can count on.
I should maybe tell you that my biggest fear remains the manual focus, but it seems to slowly fade off, I’ll let you know…
If you want to see some good deals for this camera or this lens, from a place that has the know-how to give you the right answers, I would recomand you Leica store Berlin (click for the link ). This is the place where I got my first Leica and they were always of great help to me.
