5 frames with a Leica M4-P

My first Leica was an M4-2, I used it extensively but sold it to help pay for my first digital Leica, an M9 in black. After a while, I missed the relatively quiet “Click” of the shutter compared to the M9 “ClickZZZzzzZZZZ” and yearned for another film camera. I espied a silver M4 in a private sale and promptly bought it but recently, the seller got in touch and said that because it belonged to his now late father, could he buy it back? I reluctantly agreed and in January ‘26, saw a decent looking M4-P online and bought it. A check on the serial number indicates that it was built in 1982 and has brass top and bottom plates. These images are the results of the first roll of film that was put through the camera.

I think it was Tom Hanks in his film, Forest Gump that stated “One day in started raining and didn’t stop for 4 months”. Well, I think that the winter of 25-26 in Britain probably beat that; however, like in the film, it did indeed cease and the subsequent days were bright and sunny. Awakening slightly late one morning, I couldn’t help but notice the fog; visibility was much reduced but I thought that a visit into my home city of Salisbury would be an ideal opportunity to try out my new to me M4-P. I fitted my 35mm Summilux and loaded up with Ilford FP4; for a light meter, I use a Gossen Lunasix 3. Testing the light meter showed absolutely no response – dead battery, so I utilised one of the light meter apps quickly downloaded onto my phone.

The 13th-14th century old Salisbury Cathedral stands 404 feet high to the top of its spire and can be viewed from near and far; due to the fog, it had virtually disappeared. I was hoping for a classic shot of the Cathedral wreathed in mist, slowly emerging like some behemoth from a swamp; however, not today, the fog was so dense that even from the entrance to The Close, it still couldn’t be seen.

Walking closer to the building it slowly came to shape and several visitors had the same idea. I managed to take a reading with the “light meter”, set the camera at 1/60 f4, and I took some images of ghostly figures issuing and receding into the gloom. There are only so many images one can take of a virtual Cathedral so I wandered around The Close and then into the city centre.