{"id":33512,"date":"2017-02-01T12:00:43","date_gmt":"2017-02-01T20:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=33512"},"modified":"2017-02-01T19:57:47","modified_gmt":"2017-02-02T03:57:47","slug":"leica-street-photography-manual","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/01\/leica-street-photography-manual\/","title":{"rendered":"Leica Street Photography Manual"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Portrait
Portrait by Benjamin Thompson \/ Melbourne, 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I always thought that buying a Leica, I would become a much better street photographer.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I fantasized about the look of the camera, the lightness and compactness of the camera, and the ease of use. I imagined myself shooting with a Leica on the romantic streets of Paris, in the foots of Henri Cartier-Bresson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If I had a Leica, all of my life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s problems would be solved<\/h2>\n

\"eric-kim-street-photography\"<\/p>\n

When I first started street photography, I used a bulky DSLR (Canon 5D).<\/p>\n

One of my dreams in life was to own a Leica. And when I finally got one (a Leica M9) \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I thought I would be happy for the rest of my life.<\/p>\n

Wrong.<\/p>\n

After about a month of owning it, the appeal and novelty wore off\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and it started to collect (as much dust) as my Canon 5D did on the shelf.<\/p>\n

I thought that buying the Leica would make me a more confident photographer, because it was less obtrusive, and the camera shutter was more silent. It didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t.<\/p>\n

I thought that buying the Leica would help me make better images, because it was quicker and more discrete. It didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t.<\/p>\n

I thought that buying the Leica would make me satisfied for the rest of my life, because it was the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153best\u00e2\u20ac\u009d gear that money could buy. It didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t.<\/p>\n

Soon after buying the Leica M9, I got the film bug. My good friend Todd gave me his film Leica M6. I fell in love. I never touched the M9 after that.<\/p>\n

I eventually ended up selling the M9, and trading it for a film Leica MP.<\/p>\n

\"Sketch
Sketch of my Leica MP by Phillip Kim<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But nowadays most of my photography is shooting with a small compact camera for street photography (Ricoh GR II). I prefer the smaller size \u00e2\u20ac\u201d it is easier to carry with me everywhere I go, it is cheaper (so less anxiety about losing it), and even less obtrusive.<\/p>\n

I still think the Leica is a fantastic camera for street photography, and don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t discourage anyone from investing in one. My suggestion is to just be realistic with yourself.<\/p>\n

Buying a Leica won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t change your life. It won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make you a better photographer, nor a more confident photographer.<\/p>\n

But shooting with a Leica is certainly a different experience than using a DSLR or a traditional camera.<\/p>\n

A Leica (or rangefinder) has fewer functions, fewer menus to deal with, and therefore is more minimalist and less complicated (in that sense).<\/p>\n

With a Leica (or rangefinder) \u00e2\u20ac\u201d the operation is very simple. All you have to do is change the focusing distance, the aperture, shutter-speed, and ISO. And all of these settings are easily accessible, without having to dig through menus.<\/p>\n

Also a Leica is far smaller and more compact than bulky DSLR\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s (although not necessarily lighter).<\/p>\n

If you want the ultimate speed and responsiveness in a camera, honestly you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t beat a Leica or rangefinder. Why? Because if you employ \u00e2\u20ac\u0153zone focusing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (pre-focusing to a certain distance, and using a small aperture like f\/8-f-16) you will never miss the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153decisive moment.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Whenever I miss a shot on a Leica or rangefinder, I never blame my camera \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I can only blame myself.<\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t listen to me<\/h2>\n

\"maxresdefault\"<\/p>\n

Everything I will share in this manual is based on my personal experiences. This is the information I wish I<\/em> knew if I started shooting with a Leica or rangefinder all over again.<\/p>\n

Common mistakes when starting off with a Leica<\/h2>\n

To start off, common mistakes that I made, or things to avoid.<\/p>\n

1. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t shoot wide-open<\/h3>\n
\"Leica
Leica M8.2 \/ 35mm Lens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you see on the internet, almost everyone talks about how amazing it is to shoot wide-open on a Leica (with Leica lenses). They lust after f\/1.4 lenses, and even the legendary f\/.95 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Noctilux\u00e2\u20ac\u009d lens.<\/p>\n

But that isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t what the Leica or rangefinders were designed to do.<\/p>\n

In the early days of photography, the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fastest\u00e2\u20ac\u009d lenses were limited to f\/3.5. The concept of shooting \u00e2\u20ac\u0153wide-open\u00e2\u20ac\u009d at f\/1.4, f\/1.8, or f\/2 was unheard of.<\/p>\n

Rather, what most photographers did with the Leica (most of them being street, documentary, or photojournalists) was to shoot at f\/8-16. This allowed them to have more depth-of-field, so that they were more likely to have an in-focus image.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, early practitioners in street photography (like Garry Winogrand and Joel Meyerowitz) would shoot black and white film (pushing the ASA\/ISO to 1000+). This would allow them to max-out their shutter-speeds on their film Leicas (to 1\/1000th of a second, while shooting between f\/8-f\/16). Therefore whenever they clicked and hit the shutter (with their 28mm or 35mm lenses), they would capture \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the decisive moment\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in images that were both sharp<\/strong> and in-focus<\/strong>.<\/p>\n