It's not the sword, it's the swordsman

A fellow tanguero (a man who dances Argentine Tango), and a photography mentor, on seeing an instagram photo of my new-ish acquisition: the Leica T, commented that, "It's not the sword, it's the swordsman." Of course, because I am a camera junkie, I had to validate my camera-habit, and I replied, "It's the sword, my friend."

Naturally, a shoot-off, a challenge, between his crappy phone camera and my most expensive camera..

At the milonga (a dance party of Argentine Tango music), I had 3 cameras with me: iPhone 6 plus ($750), Pentax Q ($125), and Leica T ($don't ask). I am not going to show you his pictures, because, that's not the point of this story. Actually, I want to tell you what I desire: to capture the inner moment. But first, let me just show you a few pictures, yes?

This was from my phone. Heavily processed in Snapseed. It's crappy right? Except that I love it, and my friends love it. Why? Tango is ridiculously intimate. The dancers, each pair in their own private heaven, glide around the room. How to evoke the intimate? I thought: well, what if I have to, and still, only barely see the dancers.

These two came out of my tiny and adorable Pentax Q. Again, objectively, they suck, with all kinds of artifacts, background distractions, etc. etc. etc. But do you see the joy (in one), and the tranquility (in the other)? The inner is painted on their faces... Let me share with you an open secret (everyone in tango knows it, but perhaps not the outside world): the woman's face, during a dance, does not lie.

The Leica-T, with the Summicron lens, rendered this moment so (surprisingly, every time) beautifully. Notice the unreasonable slow shutter speed and high ISO. This is the photography world I live in: people who move fast, low light, bad light, and background distractions. And I relish in the nightly challenges of remembering the moments. I digressed. Yes, this image, out of the Leica T, with minimal post-processing (I shot in JPEG), is definitely better. And yet, in my mind, so what...

"Did I capture the inner moment?" That's what I always wonder to myself. Is it just a boring photograph of people dancing? Is it sterile? Can people "feel" the joy? I really, honestly, don't know. But I am telling you, whether I succeed or not, in my mind, that's what I try to do, every time, to remember, not just the people, the place, the beauty, but also, the inner moments. I know, I am a fool.

... By the way, I won. ;-)