When I read this, I felt like I could hear the pearls being clutched of some purists and collectors I’ve met around the world. If you’re asking me, I can’t say something like this is going to be damaging for the Leica brand.

In fact, the more I thought about it, the more interesting it got. And so today, I’d like to share some musings on what the next few years could look like if Leica Camera gets sold to an Asian investor group

Let me stress, I have zero insider information around all of this. ZERO. Everything you’re about to read should be treated as the ramblings from someone that happens to have spent a lot of years in the digital imaging business, carries a deep appreciation for brand management, and happens to be a fan of Leica cameras.

Upcoming Events & Workshops

• Leica Akademie: Video for Photographers - London

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• India: North & South Workshop

  • Seats for my 2026 India workshop are currently sold out. If you’re still interested, you can join the waitlist here to be notified if a spot opens up or when new dates become available.

Why Should Leica Owners Care?

Leica isn’t just a manufacturer of high-end tools. It’s also a global community of storytellers who care deeply about the craft of photography. While HSG might be smart enough to protect the best products of the brand, they’ll need the buy-in of their core audience to the grow the ecosystem.

The real danger is a shift in culture.

We’ve seen brands trade their heritage for hollow engagement and influencer trends, often resulting in marketing that feels cheap or inauthentic. If the strategy moves toward chasing views over respecting the community, Leica risks losing the very thing that makes the red dot special.

A decision not unlike what Ferrari did with the release of the Luce would garner a level of unprecedented global attention, and not the good kind. For a legacy brand like Leica, it would do irreparable damage. It’s not just about keeping the M-system pure. It’s about centring the people who actually understand the brand so we don’t lose the authenticity that keeps the community engaged.

Who Is HSG?

They’re the HongShan Capital Group.

They spun out of Sequoia Capital in 2024 and sit on over 55 billion dollars in assets. They’re huge. When I started looking into their holdings, two brands stood out: Marshall Group and Golden Goose. Two Euro-centric brands with heritage.

With Marshall, it seems like they’re taking the legacy audio name and aggressively scaling it into a global lifestyle brand, with new amplifier products and home audio solutions. The Golden Goose purchase is relatively new but with the appointment of a former Gucci CEO at the helm and strong double-digit revenue growth in recent years, there’s a sharpness to how HSG is handling this luxury brand.

All in all, HSG feels like a group that has the capacity to scale Leica to new heights. So, if they’re successful in their acquisition of Leica, how would the next few years play out?

After a 30-minute bike ride, an ice cold Arnold Palmer, I sat down and mapped out what I believe could happen…

2027: The Beginning

HSG completes a majority buyout of Leica Camera and the Kaufmann family hold ~20% stake to keep things feeling steady. The headquarters remain in Wetzlar because they know that the flagship products—M bodies, high-end SL, and premium glass—have to remain handmade in Germany. The specialized factory in Portugal also remains due to their high quality manufacturing.

Behind the scenes, they’ll start shifting the procurement for non-optical components to their tech supply chains in Asia to cut down costs. The retail footprint remains intact but onboarding of authorized dealer stores is paused.

Leica die-hards panic. There’s no shortage of “the sky is falling” across Reddit and Discord, even though much hasn’t changed to the product catalog.

2028: Scaling A Lifestyle

Leica has already started aggressively pushing itself as a lifestyle brand, with leather goods, watches, projectors, and more. We see this scale even further.

Expect to see high-end audio gear, limited edition apparel, and deeper smartphone integrations with their existing partnership with Xiaomi. Leica pop-ups and kiosks start to appear in high-end, luxury malls to expand their retail footprint.

Marketing strategies begin to shift, where more and more energy is being spent on a new customer acquisitions.

2029: Manufacturing Splits

The split is official. While the design process remains in Germany, low and mid-tier products begin being manufactured entirely in Asia in an effort to hit aggressive targets. In addition, new mid-tier/high-volume products are announced to target the massive creator economy.

The shift of the Leica Q manufacturing to Asia sends shockwaves across the purist community in the same way when Fujifilm moved a lot of their manufacturing from Japan to China. But this is doesn’t seem to impact the quality of the produce line.

Collectors are pleased to hear that the crown jewel of the catalog, M bodies and M lenses, stay with their European manufacturing. In fact, there’s a healthy release of special edition products that honour the legacy of Leica, including an ultra-rare 75th anniversary of the M edition.

From a retail perspective, the direct-to-consumer channels expand greatly as HSG looks to train customers to shop directly with Leica. The goal is to get more customers interacting directly with Leica.

2030: Software And Services

The hardware business has hard ceilings. So we see an expansion into high-margin software subscriptions. Think of proprietary storage, advanced mobile suites, and perhaps, a purchase of a premium editing app.

It’s also the 110th year of the first Leica Camera that was sold and celebrations take place at newly-opened, flagship stores around the world. Corporate-owned stores become the only places to see the entire catalogue of Leica products.

2031: B2B

With the consumer side largely optimized, there’s a push into B2B and enterprise solutions. The goal is to drive optical solutions into commercial sectors like drones and robotics to drive massive new revenue steams. This is a pivotal moment because it happens just before the biggest move of all…

2032: Go Public

The IPO.

At the five year mark of HSG’s operational control, they’ll take Leica public on the Frankfurt or Hong Kong exchange. They’ll market it to investors as the perfect hybrid of European luxury and Asian tech growth. There’s a big retail story about their successful direct-to-consumer transition. They’ll pitch investors on a global network of highly profitable company-owned stores that control the entire customer experience from the moment someone walks in to the moment they subscribe to the new software services.

All of this allows HSG to recoup their capital while holding a controlling stake.

And guess what? For the uber Leica fan, you can now you too can own a slice of the brand. So that every time you buy a camera, your portfolio goes up!

(Wait, what do you mean that’s not how it works?)

Beyond 2033: The Exit

The Exit. After an incredible run HSG will begin to execute an exit. They’ll sell most if not all their remaining shares to a global luxury conglomerate (LVMH?), completing their investment cycle and maximizing shareholder value.

Is The Leica Camera Brand In Danger?

Yes, there’s always a risk. And here’s where it lies.

Read more

Welcome to another edition Contact Sheets. This is where I give you a peek behind the curtain at what I’ve been studying, watching, reading, and generally absorbing. Basically, this is a curated list of inspirations and distractions that intersect with my daily routine. And if I had to pick a word for this week’s mix, it’s gotta be soul.

Enjoy!

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There’s something I keep coming back to over the years and it started from the idea of the decisive moment in photography. There’s a univers…

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Welcome to the inaugural Church & Street Contact Sheets. Every two weeks, I’ll give you a peek behind the curtain at what I’ve been watching, reading, and generally absorbing. Consider it a curated list of distractions and inspirations that intersect with my daily routine. Importantly, these will not replace my usual topics mapped for the year. These ar…

Read more

But it’s exactly the type of absurdism that I look to indulge with this newsletter.

Over the last seven years, I’ve shot well over 100,000 photographs with a Leica rangefinder and, in that same time, taken every opportunity to absorb nuggets of information from seasoned masters. I’ve now reached a point where the rangefinder feels incredibly familiar to me. So much so, I’ve been able to teach students my process to drive meaningful results.

I’ve decided to put those teachings into a living guide. The goal of this piece is to share with you exactly how I would approach, improve, and refine the process of focusing with a Leica rangefinder. Look, there’s nothing that compares to in-person training and intentional practice in the field. But with this guide, my hope is to give beginners and enthusiasts actionable items to create more success in the journey. Who knows, there may even be a tip that a pro could use.

Like my other guides, I’ll look to improve this piece over time. And as always, feel free to leave your thoughts and suggestions in the comments.

Upcoming Events & Workshops

• Leica Akademie: Video for Photographers - London

  • This June, I’m leading a two-day workshop in London for photographers who want to learn video. Whether you’re looking to create short films, branded content, or simply elevate your visual storytelling, this workshop provides a practical introduction to filmmaking. Learn more here.

• India: North & South Workshop

  • Seats for my 2026 India workshop are currently sold out. If you’re still interested, you can join the waitlist here to be notified if a spot opens up or when new dates become available.

Understanding the Rangefinder

The Leica M rangefinder uses a unique mechanical system to achieve focus. While most cameras show you exactly what the lens sees, a rangefinder provides a clear, direct look at your scene through an optical viewfinder. Within that viewfinder sits a small, bright, rectangular projection known as the rangefinder patch. This projection comes from the rangefinder window located just to the right of the main viewfinder.

This is where the magic happens.

Inside the camera, a secondary window gathers light and reflects a second version of your subject into that rangefinder patch. When your subject is out of focus, you’ll see a ghosted, double image. By turning the focus ring on your lens, you physically adjust the internal alignment and the position of this ghosted image.

When the two images align perfectly to become one, your subject is in focus.

Lenses from 28mm through 135mm will trigger frame lines in the viewfinder to indicate the edges of your final image. This viewfinder also allows you to see outside the frame lines and anticipate the moment.

The Leica rangefinder is an analogue, tactile experience that, with practice, can land in-focus shots faster than modern autofocus cameras.

Now that you understand how a rangefinder works, let’s jump into mastering it for your environment.

Get An Eye Exam

Look, you can’t focus on what you can’t see. It sounds obvious, but many people blame their Leica’s calibration when their own optics are the problem. If you find yourself squinting really hard through the viewfinder or it never quite looks sharp, I’d say it’s time for a checkup.

Leica also offers diopters for a reason. If you wear glasses, find the one that makes that patch snap into clarity. A rangefinder is a precision instrument, but it also relies on the precision of your own vision.

Keep Your Camera Clean

Allow me to indulge an old-man-yells-at-sky moment and say: keep your cameras clean. Every chance you get! A smudge on the viewfinder or the rangefinder window is the quickest way to ruin your Leica experience.

The rangefinder system relies on overlaying two clear images, so even a small fingerprint can dull the contrast of the central patch, making it feel like you’re focusing through a fog. Keep a microfibre cloth in your pocket. Clean the front windows and the eyepiece regularly. A clean rangefinder makes for easier shooting.

Pick One Lens to Master First

Mastering focus with the rangefinder is tough. Doing it while you cycle through a multitude of lenses is like switching between a driver, pitching wedge, and iron when you’re just starting to golf. Things feel harder than they need to be.

Pick one lens to start. Look to build your foundation with that lens. Then graduate to additional perspectives when you feel confident in your process.

Know Where To Look

When you look through your viewfinder, don’t just stare aimlessly into the centre of the frame. Have a reference point, then orient the rangefinder patch to a point of contrast. What does this mean?

Like I mentioned earlier, the rangefinder patch is a rectangle that appears in the middle of your viewfinder. Knowing this, I’ll look for the left edge of the rangefinder patch. Instead of my pupil darting around the middle to locate the patch, I’ve trained my eye to look for the left edge specifically.

You need to know exactly where that rectangular patch lives. This is a fractional but intentional practice that strengthens your focusing ability over time. If you can locate the patch quickly and accurately, you can focus that much faster in the field.

I hone in on that left edge, then follow that as a I move my camera to find a point to acquire focus on. Once I’ve found that point, my sight drifts to the centre of the rangefinder patch to start focusing.

Aim For Contrast

So you know how to locate the rangefinder patch, where do you aim it? For many, it’s almost always looking for a clear point of contrast to pull focus and then recomposing for my shot.

Once I’ve established my distance from my subject, let’s say for a medium length portrait, I’ll look at where their iris meets the sclera of their eye, or their clothing meeting their neckline, or if I have more depth of field, where their hair ends and the sky behind them begins.

I’m aiming my central patch for where there is clear contrast between two areas. I’m only tilting or panning my camera (so that I’m not changing the distance of my camera from my subject), looking for this point of contrast, then pulling focus with my lens so that the overlaying images appear more clearly when they line up. Once they feel lined up, I recompose my shot (again, tilt or pan) and take the picture.

The rangefinder patch thrives on contrast. If you’re trying to focus on a flat, featureless wall, you’ll be there all day. Again, look for an eyelash, the edge of a collar, or a high-contrast transition. Aim your patch at that point, pull focus on your lens, and then recompose your shot. Be wary of backlit situations or low-light scenes where contrast begins to fade away. In these moments, you’ll really have to hunt for any hard edge you can find. Or, lean on the techniques I’ll discuss later in this guide.

Start With Fast Shutters

Focusing is hard enough. Don’t add camera shake to the mix while you’re learning. Start by shooting with fast shutter speeds—at least 1/250 if not higher—to ensure that any blur you see is a result of focus, not movement.

Perhaps it goes without saying but I’ll mention it here anyway: shoot with good posture as well. Keep your elbows in, bend with the knees, avoid leaning, and snap the photo just after you exhale but before you inhale. Nailing a great shot is about clean, repeatable mechanics.

Be intentional with your shooting mechanics and you’ll be shooting below 1/30 soon.

Practice With Minimum Focus

Leica rangefinders support a minimum focus down to 0.7m or just under 2.5 feet. Make this is your starting point for training. Set your lens to this distance and leave it there for some early reps.

Walk around your house, studio, or streets, scan for a subject, position yourself so that at 0.7m, whatever it may be, is in focus and shoot.

Repeat.

Integrate this practice into your overall routine. Do it so often that you start calibrating your physical body into understanding where 0.7m is. For adults, it may land just around where your fingers would be if you stretched your arm in front of you.

By doing this often, you’ll start to identify where the rangefinder danger zone exists: the area where it’s too close to focus on a subject through the viewfinder.

Lenses that support focusing closer than 0.7m will rely on Live View on the LCD or an EVF accessory to confirm focus.

Push From Near Focus

This is something I picked up many years ago from my friend Jason Roman. When you’re starting out, keep your lens at the minimum focus distance. When you bring the camera to your eye, now you only move the focus tab in one direction—toward infinity. It simplifies the mechanical process and stops you from dancing with the focus tab back and forth. It’s a deliberate, one-way street to sharpness that saves precious split seconds.

Rock Your Body

Precision focusing at wide apertures can be a game of millimetres. Instead of frantically twisting the focus ring back and forth, try rocking your body slightly toward or away from your subject.

Have your lens set to a distance that’ll suit the image you’re looking for, close the gap to the subject, and instead of pulling your focus tab back and forth, just rock your body toward or away from the subject.

Again, you’re employing the same techniques of locating the central patch, looking for a point of contrast, and recomposing. All you’re adding now is a slight movement of the body forward or backward.

When it feels right, take that first shot, then push in ever so slightly for another shot, then ever so slightly back behind your initial point for another shot. Three shots in one rocking motion.

This low-burst manual approach acts like physical bracketing, ensuring at least one frame hits the mark perfectly.

Learn Where One Metre Lives

As you progress in your rangefinder journey, I’d encourage you to learn to gauge where the one-metre mark (roughly 3 feet) is from your body. If you’re asking me, the one-metre mark is the most important distance in street photography. To master it, take a tape measure and find exactly where one metre sits from your eye. Use your arm as a reference—most likely it’s just beyond your fingertips.

Memorize that physical gap. Practice guessing the distance to objects, then checking your lens to see how close you were. If you know where a metre is, you know when something is closer or further from that point. With that in mind, you can prep your lens before you approach your subject so you’re not dancing with your focus tab in the moment. Instead, you’re approaching with your focus tab in a close approximation, composing, and adjusting mostly with your body for the desired frame.

Look to learn where one metre is relative to your body and leverage that distance when you’re capturing in the field.

Learn The Clock on Your Lens

For those of you fortunate enough to have a lens with a focus tab on it, you have a great learning opportunity in front of you.

Take your lens and move the focus tab so that on the distance scale you see the one-metre mark is lined up. Then turn your camera around so you’re looking at the front and, as if the focus tab were the hour hand on a clock, look at what position it’s in. For my specific Summicron 28mm, one-metre lands at roughly 5 o’clock.

Now move the focus tab to exactly 6 o’clock and see where it lands. For this same lens, it lands a touch below 1.5m.

At 7 o’clock, this lens is at the 3-metre mark.

Why is this valuable? When you deeply understand how the position of your focus tab translates to the focus of your image, you can anticipate your shots much better, prepare faster, and even outperform an autofocus camera.

Let’s say I’m at an event with my 28mm lens. I know that at a 1-metre distance I can capture a portrait that has the head to belly of a person in frame. At 1.5m I get to just above their knees in the frame. At a 3m distance, I’m getting their entire body.

With this information, I can pre-visualize a shot. I’ll look to anticipate the moment, move the focus tab to the rough clock position before I even lift my camera, close the gap, and then refine the focus as needed.

And there’s something that makes this even easier…

Range/Zone Focus

Your Leica lenses have a depth-of-field scale for a reason. Learn to read those markings. As you stop down your aperture, you’ll have more of a range that’ll be in focus at any given marker position. Higher aperture number, more depth of field.

In the example below, you see that I’ve my focus tab is moved to align 1.2m at the mid point. With an aperture of F5.6, I use the respective marker on the depth of field scale to understand I have a range of just under 1m to a touch over 1.5m. This means that anything in that range of my camera sensor will be in focus.

With this, I just have to get the person one metre or so in front of me and take the picture. No additional adjustments required.

This is range focusing or zone focusing. By stopping your lens down to a narrow aperture and a specific zone—say, F5.6 and a range of 2m to 10m on this same lens—you don’t even need to use the central patch, or the viewfinder for that matter. You just wait for the action to get within that range and fire.

Hyperfocusing

The hyperfocal distance is sort of a cheat code in the rangefinder world. It’s the point where everything from a certain distance all the way to infinity is in focus. For many wide lenses, this could be everything from 2m to forever.

All you’re doing is using a comfortably narrow aperture like F8.0 and moving your focus so the infinity marker on your lens distance scale aligns with the respective aperture marker on the right side of the scale. Look at the distance marker on the left side of the scale and that’s your range.

If you’re shooting landscapes or fast-moving street scenes in bright light, you can set your lens to the hyperfocal mark and stop worrying about the patch entirely.

Master Two Times

For some lenses, I’ll look to master two clock positions to move between in bright environments. Using my Summicron as an example again, I shift between 5 and 7 o’clock. If something is more than 1.5m away, I put my focus tab at 7 o’clock. If I’m in the thick of it and my subject is going to be closer, I move the tab to 5 o’clock.

That’s it.

My brain then just locks into my environment and I’m just scanning for the story. When I know what I want, I orient myself to the subject, move the focus tab to one of two positions, and just start firing. This, practiced over time, becomes a superpower in street photography and allows you to be more present in the moment.

Calibrate Your Camera If Needed

Sometimes, it’s not you—it’s the gear. If you find that you’re consistently front-focusing or back-focusing despite your best efforts, your rangefinder might be out of alignment. You can test this at home by shooting a ruler at a 45-degree angle at minimum focus. Position it a measured distance from your camera and test to see if the distance scale on your camera is lining up with the actual distance to the point on the ruler you’re focusing on.

Perfect Practice Makes Perfect

Don’t fall into the trap of lazy practice where you just fire off shots and hope for the best. Be intentional. Spend a day only using the focus tab clock method. Spend another day only using the rocking method. Like any craft, you have to break it down into components before you can put it all together. The goal is to make the camera an extension of your hand, not a puzzle you’re trying to solve.

Cheat

The idea of being a purist is attractive, but not at the expense of missing too many moments. If the lighting is abysmal or you’re shooting a wide-open Noctilux often, use the other tools that are available.

Switch to Live View on the rear screen or slide on a Visoflex EVF to see a clearer view. Focus peaking and a magnified view are great in-camera tools that the optical rangefinder simply can’t match in extreme situations.

There’s also the Leica M EV1 which integrates an EVF instead of an optical viewfinder. Some may think this is blasphemy, but for those with fading vision, thick glasses, or vintage lenses, these tools breathe new life into the creative journey.

Do not let your pride get in the way of great stories.

Recap

When I started brainstorming this guide, there were only a few tips I had in mind. But as I peeled back all my teachings over the years, I realized there’s so much more to consider. While some of it may feel obvious, I feel that each point earns its spot:

1. Get your eyes checked and use a diopter if needed

2. Keep your viewfinder and rangefinder windows clean

3. Use an edge of the rangefinder patch for as a reference point

4. Pick one lens to master at first

5. Look for a point of contrast to focus on

6. Practice shooting at 0.7m

7. Always pull focus from near to infinity

8. Lean on fast shutter speeds while learning

9. Rock your body for micro-adjustments

10. Physically memorize the one-metre distance

11. Use the focus tab as a tactile clock to mark distances

12. Use the depth of field scale for zone focusing

13. Use hyperfocal distances for easier shooting

14. Master two primary tab positions for near and far

15. Ensure your camera is properly calibrated

16. Practice with intention and focus on one technique at a time

17. Use Live View or an EVF when things get really challenging

It’s a lot. But I’ve built this to be a journey where you can graduate from one step into the next. Importantly, do the work. Photography is something that truly improves with intentional practice. Reading and studying will arm you with information, but you have to get out there and apply the theory.

My hope, with this guide, is to provide a rich but concise amount of theory that gives you everything you need to master the practice. Good luck.

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Previous Guides

• The Ultimate Leica Filmmaking Guide

• Leica SL3 & SL3-S Complete Setup Guide

• Understanding the 50mm Lens

• How To Build a Photography Newsletter

May Contest

This month, I’ll be giving away a $200 gift card to the Moment Shop where the winner can save big on their next camera, lens, bag, or courses. Moment has so many creative products to choose from and $200 can absolutely make for a great deal.

How will I pick the winner? Make sure you’re signed up for this newsletter then leave a comment on at least one post from this month. I’ll be randomly picking one person, confirming they meet the requirements and contacting them directly before announcing the winner publicly.

As always, this contest is void where prohibited by law. Good luck!

My thanks to the team at Moment! Not only for this contest but for being the longest supporter of my work online. They’re a lean team of passionate creators that truly believe in supporting other creatives on their journey. Whether it’s a new camera, lens, workshop, or just some great articles, visit ShopMoment.com today.

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What’s Next?

For those of you that are subscribers of Church & Street, I’m introducing a few additional emails each quarter. These are super-brief recaps of the books, films, and other types of media that I'm enjoying.

The first page of Contact Sheets drops this Wednesday. Enjoy.

GB

Raghu Rai was one of those artists.

Born in 1942, Raghu Rai would go on to curate the soul of India. As a protégé of Henri Cartier-Bresson and a long-standing member of Magnum, Rai spent over half a century just capturing everything. From celebrations, to disasters, and many historic figures, he was a man who could find a symphony in the chaos or a sermon in silence.

On Sunday, April 26, 2026, the photography world learned that Rai had passed away. It was a genuine shock. He was a gentle titan who seemed immune to the passage of time. He was still travelling, still shooting, and still hosting workshops for eager students. Reading that he was gone through a slab of glass felt unbelievable.

Today, I’d like to share a few lessons and anecdotes from Rai. These are the things I’ve enjoyed learning over the years, anecdotes that brought me joy, and a few one-liners that still feel timeless.

Monochrome

One of my earliest studies in Rai’s work was India: Reflections in Black & White. If you’re asking me, it’s a must-have for any serious photographer’s collection. It’s a masterclass in creativity gravity in back and white.

Rai had plenty of opinions on monochrome, but this stands out to me:

The idea of black and white as a method of abstraction isn’t a foreign concept. However, for Rai, the process was spiritual. It was about stripping away the distractions of the physical world to create a pathway for the soul of the image.

Colour

Rai used to have some fairly sharp words for colour photography, but the advent of digital eventually softened his stance. He came to believe that digital sensors finally allowed him the same painterly control he’d enjoyed in the darkroom.

As someone who finds so much joy in colour work, hearing this brought a smile to my face. It reinforced my belief that colour has as much purpose as monochrome. More importantly, it showed that Rai wasn’t a dinosaur. He was unafraid to change his mind.

Creativity

There are frames in Rai’s work that feel institutional. They’ve become the point of origin for so many images coming out of India today. The fact that he was creating these compositions before the world was saturated with inspiration makes them all the more impressive.

When asked about his process, Rai didn’t mince words:

I’d forgotten I had this in my notes. While it might be a bit too hardline for some, I find it’s one of those rare statements in photography that feels more like a fact. For Rai, a photograph’s existence was only justified by its ability to tell a story, be it through mystery or revelation. Everything else was just wasted space.

Silence

In 1984, a pesticide plant in Bhopal leaked over 40 tonnes of chemical gas into the surrounding community. It’s estimated that up to 10,000 people died while hundreds of thousands more were left with life-altering injuries. The site remains contaminated to this day.

Rai was one of the first on the scene, arriving shortly after the leak. He described the environment not as chaotic, but as eerily silent. This presented a unique challenge. The tragedy was in the stillness lingering across the streets and documenting this would require much more grace.

Rai could produce an image that would leave you speechless. His work in Bhopal is the ultimate example of this. It made me appreciate that photography doesn’t always need to spark a staccato of dialogue. Sometimes, the most difficult and worthwhile task is to simply leave the viewer in silence.

Off-Centre

When asked why his subjects were so often tucked away in the corners of the frame, Rai had the perfect comeback:

Rai was a charmer. Having travelled across India for years, I can tell you there’s as much humour as there is wisdom in that remark. I could write a thesis on this compositional tension, but it’s probably better if I just leave you to unpack it for yourself.

People

There was a sharpness that Rai had even to his final days. In a recent Q&A session, he was asked why he photographed the “poor” so often. His response was perfect:

Perfect. No notes.

Wide-Angle

Raghu Rai’s work with wider angles felt novel because it was never about distortion, it was about atmosphere.

A wide lens gave Rai the opportunity to include the entire world in which his subjects lived. It also forced him to get closer. He believed it required a photographer to be physically available to their subject. You couldn’t just be a spectator. You had to be part of the scene’s energy. It’s an energy I’m all too familiar with, and it’s what truly connects us to the work.

Meditation

Raghu Rai was more than a photographer. He was an artist, a humanist, and quite the philosopher. He treated the craft as a form of meditation and introspection. It was an intentional practice of making oneself available to the human condition and, as a result, opening your mind to the rhythm of life.

In his work, it was clear that Rai wasn’t observing from the outside. He was a part of the world, alongside his subjects. He loved his them, even if they had no idea who he was. And to me, that’s the legacy that’ll stay with me the longest.

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Upcoming Events & Workshops

• Leica Akademie: Video for Photographers - London

  • This June, I’m leading a two-day workshop in London for photographers who want to learn video. Whether you’re looking to create short films, branded content, or simply elevate your visual storytelling, this workshop provides a practical introduction to filmmaking. Sign up here.

• India: North & South Workshop

  • Seats for my 2026 India workshop are currently sold out. If you’re still interested, you can join the waitlist here to be notified if a spot opens up or when new dates become available.

Previous Favourites

• The 7 Books That Changed My Photography Journey

• Why ‘Getting Closer’ Still Hurts

• The Leica M11 Explained in Three Photos

• 28mm, 35mm, or 50mm: What Does Your Brain Actually See?

• WTF Are Light Ratios and Why Should You Care?

• Mastering Tethered Photography

Visit the archive

May Contest

This month, I’ll be giving away a $200 gift card to the Moment Shop where the winner can save big on their next camera, lens, bag, or courses. Moment has so many creative products to choose from and $200 can absolutely make for a great deal.

How will I pick the winner? Make sure you’re signed up for this newsletter then leave a comment on at least one post from this month. I’ll be randomly picking one person, confirming they meet the requirements and contacting them directly before announcing the winner publicly.

As always, this contest is void where prohibited by law. Good luck!

My thanks to the team at Moment! Not only for this contest but for being the longest supporter of my work online. They’re a lean team of passionate creators that truly believe in supporting other creatives on their journey. Whether it’s a new camera, lens, workshop, or just some great articles, visit ShopMoment.com today.

Leave a comment

What’s Next?

This is the second time I’ve had to write a piece like this, and I can’t say I enjoy it.

For one, it’s a stinging reminder that when I had the chance, I never actually took the leap to meet the people who meant so much to my journey. Secondly, no matter how much I share here, it never feels like I’ve quite done the person justice.

But we try.

Raghu Rai was one of the greats. His name should be celebrated in creative circles for decades to come, and I’ll always find a bit of joy in introducing his story to newcomers.

GB

Randy Johnson.

Randy was a Major Leaguer who could spit fire and throw lightning. Standing 6’10” with a pitching motion that looked anime as hell, he truly struck fear into his opponents. But here’s the thing: the man really only had two pitches, a screaming fastball and a nasty slider.

He didn’t need a dozen pitches to trick batters. He was a specialist. As long as he was locked in and had a coach who could play to his strengths, the game was over.

I think you know where I’m going with this.

The Leica Q3 43 isn’t trying to be everything for everyone. It does a few things incredibly well and as a result, becomes an invaluable tool in the hands of a competent user. This camera has garnered a lot of attention for Leica, and rightfully so. But throughout all that discourse, I think much has been exaggerated, both in its strengths and its weaknesses.

In this review, I’ll share my experiences using this camera all over the world, how it holds up in demanding environments, and ultimately, who should be interested in a camera like this.

Upcoming Events & Workshops

• Leica Akademie: Video for Photographers - London

  • This June, I’m leading a two-day workshop in London for photographers who want to learn video. Whether you’re looking to create short films, branded content, or simply elevate your visual storytelling, this workshop provides a practical introduction to filmmaking. Sign up here.

• India: North & South Workshop

  • Seats for my 2026 India workshop are currently sold out. If you’re still interested, you can join the waitlist here to be notified if a spot opens up or when new dates become available.

Who Is This For? The Short Answer

The Leica Q3 43 is for the photographer who wants a fixed-lens camera that scores incredibly high in optics and image quality while still being a joy to carry. More specifically, it’s for those who shoot with the intention of bringing awareness to a subject rather than a scene.

Whether it’s the professional who wants an escape from the burden of their Byzantine bodies or the hobbyist seeking simplicity in every step, this camera is designed to generate momentum and minimize friction. The perspective of the 43mm lens complements this by drastically limiting what’s in the frame compared to a 28mm lens.

In short, this camera is for the artist who appreciates that constraints breed creativity, and values a tool that feels like an instrument rather than a gadget.

The Power of 43mm

For nearly a decade, the Leica Q series only shipped with a 28mm lens designed to capture wide views that iPhones made popular. Though well-received, there was a vocal group that kept asking for a Q with a tighter perspective—something designed to focus on a subject more than a scene. But do you go with something as conventional as a 50? Or something a little more nuanced like the 35?

Turns out, you split the difference.

Oskar Barnack created the first 35mm film camera and, during the design process, hoped to produce a 43mm lens because that was roughly the diagonal distance of a 35mm frame of film. This magical math would create a sort of “true normal” that minimized distortions in perspective. But time and budget constraints resulted in a 50mm lens actually being made instead.

A hundred years later, Leica has a 43mm lens, and with it comes a look that doesn’t stretch or compress a scene to dramatically alter the relationship between objects in the frame. Proportions feel accurate and natural, which leads to a more honest dialogue between elements in the frame.

Now, some will argue that this most closely mimics the human eye and thus shows us the world as we perceive it. I still believe this is bullsh*t.

While the math and science might favour a 43mm perspective being what our eyes see, what we perceive is wholly different and intimately tied to our emotions and experiences.

That being said, when you raise this camera to your eye, there’s far less translation required. You’re not punching into the seams of the world or widening to an entire field. You’re simply acknowledging a subject within their immediate space.

Deciding if the Q3 43 is right for you is a decision in understanding what you perceive, and not just what you see. This camera creates an effortless perspective that rewards photographers who want their viewers to feel like students: observers of a lesson unfolding.

Image and Lens Quality

High quality optical design is about melting, molding, and manipulating glass so that it can bend light onto a sensor as cleanly as possible. The lenses that do this best often have a special names in the camera industry. For Leica, they’re called APO, shorthand for apochromatic.

At the heart of this camera is a APO-Summicron 43mm F2.0 lens that’s clearly fixed to the camera. The benefit of this design is that you only have one specific group of optical elements designed for one specific sensor. Meaning that the hardware and software are all tuned for one perspective to drive results.

And let me tell you, the results are stunning.

When you shoot into strong backlight or reflective services, there is next to no imperfections. These are challenging conditions for most lenses but here, you can expect very clean results. A lot of this is done in camera but theres some back-end processing being done to carry this to the final inning.

Images are crisp, perhaps a little too much for my taste, but not so much that it feels like abrasive to the eyes. The bokeh at F2.0 feels generous. More than what you’d expect from F2.0 lens to deliver. The overall look is this interesting mix of contrast and an asymmetric depth falloff that make for an image that feels more alive.

There’s a 60MP full-frame sensor housed inside an IP52 weather-resistant body (more on that body later). Off the bat, the files from this sensor offer a little more contrast and vibrancy than a Leica M11, which should please users hoping to do little to no editing. Though the 43 offers a touch less dynamic range than the aforementioned camera, there’s still plenty of room to push and pull your file into an edit that you’re happy with.

Another benefit of this sensor is the healthy amount of room for cropping. Because the starting point is a 43mm perspective, punching into a 75, 90, or 150mm crop in the moment generates more compelling results than crops you’d see from the original Leica Q3. Though, I wish there was an option to see the crop as you’re shooting it instead of just the frame lines.

The last thing I’ll mention with respect to image quality is the macro mode. Being able to twist a ring on the lens and focus down to 27cm substantially widens the storytelling opportunities. To start off my with a few portraits then close the gap into meaningful details is one of the easiest ways to create a healthy variety my documentary work. And the Leica Q3 43 just makes that process so fluid while knocking out these flavourful visuals.

Design and Feel

A beautiful camera tempts you to pick it up, and that’s a feature. In 2026, the Leica Q silhouette remains as elegant as ever. If you’re a content creator or an operator who doesn’t prioritize aesthetics, that’s fine. But for those who value design, this camera feels immensely rewarding.

This is the only full-frame Leica you can comfortably use with one hand. That might sound trivial until you’re in the field. Having your left hand free to direct, gauge distance, hold a flash, or throw in the air like you just don’t care on the dance floor injects a dynamism into the photography process. It’s a primary reason this camera stays in my collection.

Well, that and the weather resistance.

Being able to have a point-and-shoot style camera that can confidently operate in rain and dust means that you’re not wincing when you lunge into a storm to grab that one special moment. It’s a conviction that keeps you shooting.

At $8,000 USD, the price makes jaws drop and YouTube bros lose their minds. People demand that a camera at this price point should do more, but they’re striking out here. You’re actually paying for it to do less.

While it captures solid 4K L-Log footage, this isn’t a hybrid camera. It’s a specialized photography tool that happens to shoot compelling video. (If you want to master that footage, check my free Leica Filmmaking Guide).

The tilting LCD improves your viewing angle, but it won’t flip around to vlog your next trip to Japan. You can customize the four function buttons to suit your workflow, but you won’t find a dozen more controls like you’re piloting a Gundam suit. These aren’t deficiencies. They’re deliberate decisions that craft a specialized tool for photography rather than hybrid workflows.

Leica hasn’t messed with the formula, nor should they. The Q3 43 feels like a solid block of metal and glass with ergonomics tuned for reflexive shooting in almost any weather condition. Leveraging User Profiles to tailor to your specific environments elevates the experience further, where you can dial in all your settings and features.

The optical image stabilization is invaluable, ensuring the camera preserves moments in tough lighting. This is especially helpful when you have to hand the camera to someone else.

With Leica Fotos, the mobile connectivity is so fast the camera feels tethered by an invisible wire. Moving from shutter click to gallery preview in seconds is remarkable. It’s a massive achievement that respects your time.

Finally, there are the software updates. Leica has built a reputation for meaningful annual upgrades, not just bug fixes. This Q3 43 is noticeably faster than it was at launch, powering on in under two seconds and acquiring focus much quicker. You shouldn’t invest based on the promise of future updates, but there’s no denying the reputation Leica has earned here.

Room for Growth

One of the biggest reasons I waited over a year to review this camera was to see how it improved over time while testing it in a variety of environments. The camera has gotten much better, but there are still a few upgrades I’d like to see.

The continuous autofocus, especially with subject detection, seems to lag behind the SL series. While single-point autofocus is great, I’d love to see that same assuredness in continuous AF performance.

Like I mentioned earlier, being able to see a preview of the digital crop instead of just the frame lines would be a welcome upgrade to the in-camera experience.

I’ve been asking for an easy-to-use double exposure mode for years and this camera would be the perfect guinea pig to test it on. It might still be wishful thinking, but what the hell, let’s keep asking.

Frame.io support has arrived for the third generation SL cameras and since this Q shares the same processor, I think it would be a worthwhile feature to include in a future update. Imagine you’re working on a story with a team and you’re documenting in the field while images are being remotely uploaded for your editor to review and make selects in real-time. It’s definitely playing to a minority but one that makes for incredible workflows.

The UI has seen changes, but odd quirks remain—like the inability to get a clean view of your images without icons cluttering the frame. Leica is apparently aware of this and working on refinements for the coming months.

There are some ways this camera can’t get better. So if I’m in the manager’s chair, here’s what I’d like to see in the next version:

• First, pull that macro mode closer to a 1:1 reproduction or 15cm minimum.

• Second, improve the mechanical shutter to 1/4000s or better to more comfortably shoot wide open during the day.

• Third, redesign the included hood to easily adapt filters.

• Fourth, as an alternative to the two points above, integrate an ND filter into the camera.

The Leica Q3 43 isn’t a perfect camera, and none of these upgrades will make it so. But I believe achieving even half of this list would establish it as a hall of fame product in a crowded league.

Differentiating from the Field

There’s a healthy group of alternatives to the Leica Q3 43 on the market, but for me, they just don’t capture the same spirit. Most options are built like computers, overloaded with menus, buttons, and features beyond the scope of what a camera like this should do. At least, if you’re asking me.

Many point-and-shoots suffer from trying to do everything instead of nailing the photography experience. Look, I’ll be the first to admit this won’t be an issue for most people, but I’d like to share a few anecdotes.

I remember sitting with the Sony Alpha team years ago, compelling them to bring the RX1R back with a more refined iteration. They didn’t. Instead, we have a feature-rich camera with as much soul as a doorknob.

I remember speaking with the Fujifilm team in Tokyo even earlier, begging them to streamline their menu system, elevate their app, and distill their products into something tuned for photographers. They didn’t. Instead, they’re on a quest to appease every content creator possible while neglecting their core audience.

This might sound like the ramblings of a staunch Leica supporter, but let me be clear: I want to see more competition for Leica. In my humble opinion, I just don’t feel that there are enough imaging products that marry incredible image quality with fantastic design. And design matters.

I want Leica to feel more pressure in this space. I want more manufacturers making solutions that prioritize photography and the photographic experience.

Everyone is so focused on chasing the next trending video that they ignore the photographer and fan the flames of meaningless debates over technical minutiae.

It’s reductive.

Again, the Leica Q3 43 isn’t perfect, but it’s got personality. It doesn’t apologize for its fixed lens. It doesn’t try to be a sports camera or a studio rig. It’s a specialized storytelling tool. Where counterparts eventually feel like a collection of compromises, the Q3 43 feels like it was built with a singular vision. It’s the difference between a Swiss Army knife and a chef’s knife. One can do a dozen things alright. The other does one thing perfectly.

The Final Score

The Leica Q3 43 isn’t a camera for people who like to “spec-sheet” their way to a purchase. If you’re looking for the most features per dollar, you’re looking in the wrong direction.

This is a camera for the person who wants to simplify their process without sacrificing an ounce of quality. For those who wish to focus on bringing awareness to a subject, and do it with ease while delivering top-tier results, the Q3 43 feels rewarding.

It is a specialist that knows its job and performs it with a level of excellence that doesn’t feel common enough in the digital age. Much like Randy Johnson on the mound, it might only have a few pitches, but when those pitches are this good, the game is already over.

This is a camera that asks you to be a better photographer. It demands that you think about your subject, your backgrounds, and your proximity to the story. In return, it gives you images that feel like they’ll last a lifetime.

Buying this camera simply for the prestige, the brand, or cheap likes on social media is a waste of time. Avarice is a bottomless void that no camera can fill. This camera is a commitment. It’s a tool that can become more than a tool, should you be willing to put in the reps.

Over the last year, I put in a lot of reps. I kept going back and forth on whether I wanted to keep this tool in my kit. With the privilege of M and SL cameras at my reach, the Q3 43 felt like extra baggage. But after a few meaningful projects, I’ve come to realize where this camera personally shines for me.

It’s an escape.

The combination of a perspective for subject-oriented storytelling, versatile single-handed operation, and image quality that can jump off a screen, the Q3 43 is a camera that let’s me forget about the camera. Whether it was the jungles of Nagaland or the beaches of Belize, I could just escape a little further from the physical photography experience and sink into the moment a little more.

Quite simply, the Leica Q3 43 lets me document as an “and” instead of an “or.” So much of my photography is tied to work that having a camera that’s more about the joy—and treated as such—is exactly what makes the Q3 43 keep its spot on my roster.

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Disclaimer

If you’re asking me, there’s no such thing as a completely objective review, especially in the imaging world. As someone who continues to work with Leica products, it’d be dishonest to suggest I could remove all personal attachment to these tools.

That said, my review structure has always been the same: share what I enjoy, highlight what could be improved, and outline who I believe would benefit most. YouTube culture has pushed this idea of hyper-focusing on perceived flaws and arbitrary comparisons without actually sharing an opinion. I find this useless.

The truth is, most cameras are better than most photographers. The harder and more valuable task for a reviewer is to articulate who a product is best suited for rather than drone on about what it cannot do.

My reviews are designed to give real-world insights for people considering a product for their creative journey. My hope is to deliver that in a way that’s useful, honest, and yes, occasionally entertaining.

Finally, no review I publish is seen, edited, or approved by anyone other than me. That includes Leica and any potential sponsors. Everything you read here is entirely my opinion.

Previous Favourites

• The 7 Books That Changed My Photography Journey

• Why ‘Getting Closer’ Still Hurts

• The Leica M11 Explained in Three Photos

• 28mm, 35mm, or 50mm: What Does Your Brain Actually See?

• WTF Are Light Ratios and Why Should You Care?

• Mastering Tethered Photography

Visit the archive

April Contest

This month, I’ll be giving away a $200 gift card to the Moment Shop where the winner can save big on their next camera, lens, bag, or courses. Moment has so many creative products to choose from and $200 can absolutely make for a great deal.

How will I pick the winner? Make sure you’re signed up for this newsletter then leave a comment on at least one post from this month. I’ll be randomly picking one person, confirming they meet the requirements and contacting them directly before announcing the winner publicly.

As always, this contest is void where prohibited by law. Good luck!

My thanks to the team at Moment! Not only for this contest but for being the longest supporter of my work online. They’re a lean team of passionate creators that truly believe in supporting other creatives on their journey. Whether it’s a new camera, lens, workshop, or just some great articles, visit ShopMoment.com today.

Leave a comment

What’s Next?

This review took a really long time to put together so if you enjoyed it, consider leaving a comment and sharing it with a friend ✌🏾

GB

I wasn’t in pursuit of a perfect frame. This was about embracing the friction and meditative pace of analog to channel the spirit of the explorers who visited this region long before me. These are the frames, the mistakes, and the tension that made the experience one I’ll never forget.

All Things Film: My Lab of Choice

Developing film is the ultimate bottleneck in analog photography. You’re often stuck choosing between the time sink of doing it yourself or the loss of control that comes with a distant lab. All Things Film bridges that gap by treating the lab-photographer relationship like a true partnership.

They build custom profiles for your work to ensure your rolls are developed exactly as you intended. They’ve earned my trust for both my personal and professional work. If you’re ready to reclaim your creative vision while accelerating your analog process, send your next batch to All Things Film and tell them I sent you.

The Camera & Lens

I decided to pack a single film body for this journey and reached for my trusted Leica M6. Since it shares the same M-mount with my digital rangefinder, it was the most practical choice for a streamlined kit. It’d also serve as a proper field test: my M6 was fresh back from repair after I’d inadvertently burned two holes in the shutter curtain last year.

Because this entire effort was tied to an experience—this quest to channel the essence of the explorers who came before me—I opted for a more traditional perspective. While the glass itself is very modern, I brought my Summilux 50mm F1.4 to compose my frames.

I’ll be honest, this wouldn’t have been my first choice if I were prioritizing specific results, but I wanted to work with a focal length that felt ubiquitous in the 70s and 80s. For better or worse, I wanted to see the world through that era.

The Film

My digital work in the polar regions puts colour at the forefront of the conversation. For this film exercise, I wanted to remove that layer of context and work entirely in monochrome.

Leica Monopan 50 is a low ISO, fine-grain film that demands a significant amount of light. That appetite for light made it the perfect companion for the high-reflectance environments across Patagonia. I packed half a dozen rolls for the trip and below, you’ll find a few of my favourite shots and the lessons they left behind.

Early Frames

You’ll notice some heavy overexposure on the first few frames here. This wasn’t a creative choice for added effect. It was a consequence of my own forgetfulness. At one point, I opened the bottom plate to reload before I’d finished rewinding the previous roll. I snapped the plate back on as fast as I could, but not before the light left a permanent souvenir on the emulsion.

Live and learn.

Monopan craves contrast. In a scene like the one above, where the yellows and greens fell under light cloud cover, the results can feel muted.

Compare that to this shot taken just as we were about to board our helicopter. There’s a healthy depth to the shadows that brings a sense of drama to the frame. I metered for the exterior, knowing the subject in the foreground would fall into underexposure.

The view from my seat over the Darwin mountain range.

Light leaks damaged this frame in a way I don’t mind. It captures the essences of the flaring and astigmatism you experience when squinting through a window directly into the sun.

Expedition guides standing by for the next helicopter landing.

Landing on a glacier is no small feat. For safety reasons, I had to keep my distance from the site, but this shot captures the sheer force of the rotor wash kicking up snow for anyone within range.

Mount Darwin.

There’s no image I’ll ever share that can truly encompass the feeling of standing atop a glacier and seeing Mount Darwin with my own eyes. But, I try.

This experience wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible team that Quark Expeditions pulled together. The roster included some legendary mountain guides and explorers who’ve spent their lives in these extremes.

John Roberts is a mountaineer from New Zealand. He hosted a talk one evening about his adventures in Antarctica and, let me tell you, he’s a madman in the best way possible.

Marcos Couch was another legend on this voyage. Hailing from Argentina, he’s full of character and charisma. We had a lot of great conversations about film, photography, and the creative journey. It was truly a gift to share this trip with him.

When you have a moment, I’d highly recommend checking out this film about his climb up Mount Fitz Roy at the ripe age of 22.

Landing The Shot

I had six rolls of film with me in Patagonia, which translated to just over 200 opportunities to engage in this analog process. Most of the time, it was a meditative escape. Occasionally, it introduced a level of friction that demanded a bit more effort. And at one point, as I shared earlier, it gave me a genuine “oh sh*t!” moment.

But the entire process was made worth it for this single frame right here.

This is my favourite shot from the entire trip. The drama of Mount Darwin, the dynamism of the clouds, and the omniscience of the shadows below all converge into a perfect postcard for me.

For me, this image feels like it’s from another time and yet, exists as something created just a month ago. The texture, the contrast, and hell, even tiny imperfections from being forced through an Argentinian airport scanner, it all works.

This is a photograph that connects me. To the past. To an idea. And to myself.

Worth The Squeeze

So much of my creative journey is tied to a specific result. From studio sessions for brands to overseas projects for books, and even street photography for this newsletter, the end goal often guides my approach. This trip was the first time in a long time where I consciously ditched that mindset.

My approach in Patagonia was entirely rooted in channelling the photographers and explorers of the past and observing the environment as it is, rather than what it ought to be. And incorporating film was an important attempt to bridge that gap so you might be wondering: did it work?

It did, though I’m not sure I have the words to accurately describe the feeling.

It’s like a blend of déjà vu, a “eureka” moment, and a healthy dose of “a-ha!” thrown in for good measure. Standing before the Darwin mountain range from atop a glacier, shooting film, and now looking at this final photograph, I feel like I’ve gained a glimpse into the passion, ambition, and conviction that drove those who travelled here before me. Yet, the moment those thoughts become conscious, my frontal lobe shouts that I can never truly know what it was like for them.

I am there, and then I am me.

It’s a back-and-forth that creates tension. A tension that, if you’re asking me, seems to be exactly what this is all about. Why we as photographers do so much of what we do.

Perhaps it’s not about finding answers or even asking the right questions. Perhaps it’s simply about dialogue, keeping it going as long as possible, and seeing where that takes you. Tension that generates movement, and movement that creates memories.

At least, that’s what I’m starting to believe.

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Upcoming Events & Workshops

• Leica Akademie: Video for Photographers - London

  • This June, I’m leading a two-day workshop in London for photographers who want to learn video. Whether you’re looking to create short films, branded content, or simply elevate your visual storytelling, this workshop provides a practical introduction to filmmaking. Sign up here.

• India: North & South Workshop

  • Seats for my 2026 India workshop are currently sold out. If you’re still interested, you can join the waitlist here to be notified if a spot opens up or when new dates become available.

Previous Favourites

• The 7 Books That Changed My Photography Journey

• Why ‘Getting Closer’ Still Hurts

• The Leica M11 Explained in Three Photos

• 28mm, 35mm, or 50mm: What Does Your Brain Actually See?

• WTF Are Light Ratios and Why Should You Care?

• Mastering Tethered Photography

Visit the archive

April Contest

This month, I’ll be giving away a $200 gift card to the Moment Shop where the winner can save big on their next camera, lens, bag, or courses. Moment has so many creative products to choose from and $200 can absolutely make for a great deal.

How will I pick the winner? Make sure you’re signed up for this newsletter then leave a comment on at least one post from this month. I’ll be randomly picking one person, confirming they meet the requirements and contacting them directly before announcing the winner publicly.

As always, this contest is void where prohibited by law. Good luck!

My thanks to the team at Moment! Not only for this contest but for being the longest supporter of my work online. They’re a lean team of passionate creators that truly believe in supporting other creatives on their journey. Whether it’s a new camera, lens, workshop, or just some great articles, visit ShopMoment.com today.

Leave a comment

What’s Next?

Once again, my deepest thanks to the team at All Things Film for bringing these frames to life. They cater to professional photographers and truly looking to keep the film experience thriving. Make sure to visit them for your important work.

Last year, I had the chance to sit down with Leica for their newly launched podcast. The episode is live and you can watch it here. If you enjoy this newsletter, I think you’ll appreciate the conversation that was shared.

This week, I’m headed to Chicago for the grand opening of Leica’s newest store. If you find yourself there, make sure to say hi.

GB

For the last two years, I’ve been developing a long-term project around shades of blue across the polar regions. When my friends at Quark Expeditions invited me on an exclusive voyage to Patagonia, I was thrilled to further my work. However, that plan was quickly sidelined.

Navigating winds and waves that shift faster than you can say Darwin Cordillera is a daunting task. It’s a high-stakes game of chicken with the elements. While easier than it was decades ago, it still demands respect. And with that in mind, I reoriented my trip around respect for those who came before.

This week, I’m going to share my experiences from a trip deep into Patagonia and how an unconventional approach reshaped my intentions with polar photography.

Upcoming Events & Workshops

• Leica Akademie: Video for Photographers - London

  • This June, I’m leading a two-day workshop in London for photographers who want to learn video. Whether you’re looking to create short films, branded content, or simply elevate your visual storytelling, this workshop provides a practical introduction to filmmaking. Sign up here.

• India: North & South Workshop

  • Seats for my 2026 India workshop are currently sold out. If you’re still interested, you can join the waitlist here to be notified if a spot opens up or when new dates become available.

The Edge of World

Before I jump into the photography, let me show you exactly where we were headed. I flew from Toronto to Buenos Aires, then hopped on a chartered flight to Ushuaia. There, our group boarded the Ultramarine to navigate around Cape Horn and through the Beagle Channel, deep into the Chilean fjord systems.

A few minutes on Google will humble you on this region. It’s a part of the world where you can see all four seasons in a single day, and has claimed hundreds and hundreds of shipwrecks. It goes without saying that a good map of this place makes all the difference.

Dr. Camilo Rada has a PhD in geophysics, is a professor at Universidad de Magallanes, and is an affiliate professor at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Rada has been a passionate explorer of Patagonia and Antarctica as both a scientist and mountaineer for over 20 years. He and his team have been remapping these regions with incredible accuracy and importantly, including indigenous names from the past that you see above.

He’s the real deal. Knowing that experts like him would be on this voyage, I decided to pivot my goals from a results-driven photography process into an experiential journey rooted in education.

In The Steps of Giants

With any camera-related trip, personal or professional, there’s significant pre-production work involved. As I prepped for this adventure, I realized there was a unique opportunity to chart a path further into the cross-section of exploration and environmentalism.

From navigating the same channels as legendary adventurers to landing on an ancient glacier in a way that’s never been done before, an undercurrent of curiosity bubbled to the surface the more I researched. This would go on to form the basis for my two goals on this voyage.

First, I challenged myself to be an incredible student. Given the scientists, adventurers, and local experts I’d be travelling with, I wanted to focus primarily on learning. This meant approaching every situation with curiosity first, taking voracious notes, and interviewing as many experts as possible with the goal of being able to speak confidently about this region in the future.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, I wanted to channel the spirit of past explorers and photographers through the intentional practice of black and white film photography. This wouldn’t replace my digital workflow. Instead, it served as a meditative practice alongside it.

My hope was that this analog process would open a connection to the past, where the focus wasn’t just on creating images but on sparking a moment of epiphany.

I’m aware of how crazy this might sound to some folks, but life often demands a little dose of crazy to spark a genuine eureka moment.

The Architecture of the Infinite

As photographers, you don’t capture Patagonia. You negotiate with it. Thankfully, most of our negotiations went incredibly well. By the second day, we landed on Cape Horn. This place looked like Ahch-To from Star Wars, a vertical, rocky, sea-battered island where you’d expect to find a Jedi, not a family of five overseeing the daily operations of a lighthouse.

The waters were extremely tricky and conditions were just right for our visit to happen. Landing here in the 1600s must’ve required a level of commitment that makes our modern roughing it with Zodiacs look like a spa day.

As we moved deeper into the Darwin Cordillera, I leaned into the Ansel Adams playbook. Adams was a master of the internal architecture of a scene and deeply committed to a photographic process that was methodical in nature.

Sure, my Leica M6 seems pocketable in comparison to his large-format monoliths of yesteryear, but there’s a touch more friction when shooting any kind of film over digital. I wanted that friction. I wanted the 36-exposure anxiety that makes you look at the architecture around you and study the scene just a little longer.

Later in the trip, a small group of us spent a day at Bahia Brookes, dragging ourselves up a 200-metre vertical mud-pile in unforgiving rain, and here, I decided to shoot solely on film. As Andean condors circled above—using the same wind conditions that were currently trying to blow us off a ridge—I realized that there was this quality of “infinite” to the architecture of this region. There was a weight to this view and capturing that weight required patience.

Adams once said that sometimes he gets to places just when God’s ready to have somebody click the shutter.

Must be nice.

In Bahia Brookes, God was also ready to drench my M6. The architecture here was built on contrast: inky black granite against silver mist. It was the ultimate test of the Zone System. The view from where our hike concluded had a weight that felt truly infinite. Compressing that into the two-dimensional medium of photography felt ludicrous. Compounding this with analog film felt like cranking up the difficulty beyond reason.

But that’s the point.

The above is a shot from another location for dramatic effect because you see, my film shots haven’t arrived yet. But when I review them, I won’t just see photographs. I’ll see a pursuit. This quest to encompass the architecture of the infinite into this plane of existence that carries a weight with it. The question is, will any of these images carry enough weight to impact viewers outside myself?

The Pulse of the Fjords

Beyond the peaks of Patagonia, there’s a biological heartbeat to this region that feels remarkably human. The ever-changing conditions and precarious ecosystems feel like a living, breathing entity.

In Agostini Sound, I connected with Rodrigo, a local explorer and chemist who spends his days taking water samples to measure pH and salinity, among other things. While I would be studying the region through light, he analyzed it through meltwater. I felt a kinship with him. We were both investigators, albeit using vastly different tools.

His conviction to the work reminded me of Cristina Mittermeier, a marine biologist and conservation photographer. She often talks about the fragile boundary between the air and the ocean’s surface, the space separating the known world from the at-risk ecosystem below. She coined this concept the Thin Blue Line.

Rodrigo and his team have dedicated their lives to studying that line, which would inspire me to try and translate that delicate relationship between above and below into my photography.

During this trip, I also connected with Fabrice Genevois, a French biologist and ornithology expert. He truly believes birds are a boundless source of wonder. One morning, he asked if I wanted to see him release a bird. I did a double-take, unsure if he was being serious or if this was some French euphemism.

It was exactly what he said.

We met at the stern where he held a Magellanic Diving-petrel in his hands. He explained to me that birds are often attracted to ship lights at night and can collide with vessels. Every morning, he makes rounds to collect any birds that may have landed on our vessel and were too afraid to leave. He tends to birds in his cabin then, ensuring they’re healthy, then safely releases them.

This moment served as a further reminder of the delicate relationship between humans and the environment. While our vessel was significantly smaller than most, our team employed rigorous checks and balances to minimize harm, often exceeding local and international guidelines.

Toward the end of our trip, we visited Estancia Rio Penitente. Founded in 1891 by Scottish immigrants who clearly didn’t mind the wind, we landed on this ranch during the year’s first snowfall in Punta Arenas. It made for an incredible backdrop.

From live sheep shearing to Chilean folk music and a delicious meal cooked by a flame, this day had all the ingredients for a perfect photography day. That history and human connection made what was previously a point on the map for me transcend into a palpable memory.

Our trip to the estancia really cemented for me that Patagonia is alive. It has a pulse. It carries the culture of centuries of explorers and a dynamism in climate shaped by eons. It’s with this understanding that I now look back that I really started to wonder: how can my photography, even in some small way, help keep this pulse alive?

The Genesis of Light

Sebastião Salgado spent eight years putting together his masterpiece, Genesis. This photo book is a love letter to Earth that explores pristine landscapes, diverse wildlife, and indigenous communities. It’s a staple in any photographer’s collection and served as a great study for this trip. Unbeknownst to me, we would land in a place where I’d have a Genesis moment.

Halfway through our voyage, we had the opportunity to get in a helicopter, fly over a fjord system, and land atop Pia Glacier. It’d be a landing that, as far as everyone knew, had never been done before. And as a result, a vantage point that had never been seen by modern photographers.

I was gassed.

The helicopter ride was exciting, but it didn’t compare to what we saw. We landed on the ice with a direct line of sight to Mount Darwin and Mount Shipton. The sun was beaming. The blues were so vibrant they looked like Mother Nature had cranked up the vibrancy slider in real-time. But this was a Salgado frame, where colour had to be abstracted for a scene that felt like the world as it was on day one.

There we were, looking at the layers and textures of this crystalline mountain range from a place where it seemed no one had ever set foot. With that in mind, I tried to capture this silver-halide interpretation that felt almost too perfect to be real.

I wasn’t trying to mimic Salgado. I was trying to speak to him. I dipped into a process to connect with his Genesis years, hoping for my approach to have a dialogue with his. Through this unconventional method, I garnered a deep appreciation for something he shared years ago:

The photographic journey regularly transcends photography itself, especially for those willing to venture outside the margins. With discipline and reflection, you can find yourself having conversations beyond time and space that’ll baffle most muggles. Which makes me think, are we genuinely leaving our subject matter better than when we witnessed it?

The Return to the Center

So much of what I photograph for myself nowadays exists in a precarious state. From the South Asian subcontinent to the polar regions, I’ve witnessed a fading that feels like it’s accelerating. This world we share is losing a type of essence and beauty that we may never see again.

As I set out for Patagonia, I pivoted my goals dramatically and it opened my eyes to the fact that my work in the polar regions can no longer simply be a self-reflection of shades of blue at Earth’s edge.

It must also educate and inspire.

This is why I’ll continue to drag a backpack of cameras and lenses to the corners of the world. I want to prove to myself and others that photography can elicit change for the better. That it can motivate artists to become humanists and conservationists as well.

The further I pushed into the fjords of Patagonia, the closer I got to the centre of my being. Many might assume that as photographers, we’re exploring the world, but we’re really just exploring the limits of our own perspective. By embarking on this trip with a student mentality and employing analog practices, I tapped into the timeless perspectives of the legends who walked these paths before me. And it made for an experience unlike any other.

The Calafate berry is a dark blue-purple fruit native to Chile. Legend says a chief’s daughter, named Calafate, was turned into a bush by a shaman. The berries represented the heart of her lover, ensuring they’d always be together. So many locals believe that eating the berry binds a traveller to Chile and ensures their return.

I ate the berry. And I look forward to my return to Patagonia.

Share

Previous Favourites

• The 7 Books That Changed My Photography Journey

• Why ‘Getting Closer’ Still Hurts

• The Leica M11 Explained in Three Photos

• 28mm, 35mm, or 50mm: What Does Your Brain Actually See?

• WTF Are Light Ratios and Why Should You Care?

• Mastering Tethered Photography

Visit the archive

April Contest

This month, I’ll be giving away a $200 gift card to the Moment Shop where the winner can save big on their next camera, lens, bag, or courses. Moment has so many creative products to choose from and $200 can absolutely make for a great deal.

How will I pick the winner? Make sure you’re signed up for this newsletter then leave a comment on at least one post from this month. I’ll be randomly picking one person, confirming they meet the requirements and contacting them directly before announcing the winner publicly.

As always, this contest is void where prohibited by law. Good luck!

My thanks to the team at Moment! Not only for this contest but for being the longest supporter of my work online. They’re a lean team of passionate creators that truly believe in supporting other creatives on their journey. Whether it’s a new camera, lens, workshop, or just some great articles, visit ShopMoment.com today.

Leave a comment

What’s Next?

Before I wrap this up, I want to thank the team at Quark Expeditions. I’ve been partnering with them for years, and getting the chance to travel to Patagonia was a true privilege. My gratitude also goes out to all the Chilean friends we got to make along the way. They made this trip something I’ll carry with me always.

Noticeably, the actual film photography from this voyage is missing in this story. That was intentional. In the coming weeks, I’ll be dedicating an entire story just to those images. Stay tuned.

GB

From a modern workhorse that renders every glacial crack in 60 MP detail to a classic film body reserved for timeless moments, my bag for this expedition was a deliberate blend of resilience and soul. This week, I share a breakdown of the gear that made the cut and the logic behind why I chose it.

Upcoming Events & Workshops

• Leica Connect: Photo Stories from Around the World - Seattle

  • I’ll be joining a free event at Leica Store Bellevue for an evening of stories from my recent photography adventures with my SL kit. If you’re in the greater Seattle area, come by and let’s connect.

• Leica Akademie: Video for Photographers - London

  • This June, I’m leading a two-day workshop in London for photographers who want to learn video. Whether you’re looking to create short films, branded content, or simply elevate your visual storytelling, this workshop provides a practical introduction to filmmaking. Sign up here.

• India: North & South Workshop

  • Seats for my 2026 India workshop are currently sold out. If you’re still interested, you can join the waitlist here to be notified if a spot opens up or when new dates become available.

What’s the story?

My trip to Patagonia was split between photo and video deliverables, with the latter delegated to my cinematographer. My focus was on capturing a rich suite of images for the Quark Expeditions team and a collection of visuals to support personal stories.

When I was researching inspiration for this trip, two names stood out most: Charles Darwin and Sebastião Salgado. Both were explorers and humanists in their own right. With them as my compass, I began deciding which cameras and lenses could best support my creative direction.

Which cameras made the cut?

The colour and texture of Patagonia serve as the essence of this place. Unlike my trips to Svalbard or the Antarctic, wildlife wouldn’t be the primary focus. With that in mind, the camera doing most of the heavy lifting was the Leica SL3. It offers plenty of dynamic range and resolution to hone in on the exact story I’m looking for.

For my second body, I opted for a smaller solution dedicated to detail shots and quickly picking off visuals to support the narrative. I chose the Leica M EV1. I had a lot of success with this in Belize last year and felt confident in what it could do for me in this part of the world.

If you know me, you know I plan for contingencies. I packed a third digital body in the event that one of the others failed, however slim those odds may be. For this trip, I packed a Q3 43. This camera has been seeing more reps in my personal work and is just plain fun to use. It also helps that it can be operated with a single hand.

There was one more camera I brought—one that stayed with me at all times but was used most sparingly. With Salgado and Darwin at the core of my inspiration, I brought my Leica M6 to develop a story on film. My hope is to create work that feels timeless while channelling those pioneers.

How many lenses are travelling with me?

My approach to lenses for documenting landscapes is informed by my approach to portraiture and fine art. It is a little more unconventional than what most would reach for first. My SL3 was paired with the SL 90-280mm APO. Combined with a 60 MP sensor, this provided incredible reach to carve out the exact slices I wanted for my work.

For the Leica M EV1, I borrowed the Summilux 90mm once more. Though beefy for M, in my eyes it’s a tiny telephoto I can use to really paint the environment. The wide aperture also proved to be valuable when the lighting got challenging. For my analog M, I leaned on my Summilux 50mm.

Lastly, I packed the Summilux 21mm lens for a few commercial shots. This lens wouldn’t inform my personal work. It was solely for group situations I wanted to document and deliver as an extra for my friends at Quark.

What bag did I take with me?

The backpack I rely on most is the Wandrd PRVKE 31L. With its modularity and expanding roll-top design, this backpack delivers a lot of versatility. However, there’ve been growing issues with smaller airports and carry-on restrictions. With that in mind, I decided to give another bag a try.

For this expedition, I’m test-driving the COOPH Helioflex backpack. I received this from the team at Leica last year and haven’t had the chance to bring it on a photography adventure. It’s a slimmer bag than the Wandrd, features more modularity—where the camera compartment can be used as its own sling—and forces me to put less on my back. If it turns out to be a great solution, I’ll be sure to revisit it in a future story.

Any other essentials I packed?

A few more items made the cut that I consider essential:

• Leica M-to-L adapter: Provides the flexibility to adapt my M lenses to my SL3.

• Leica Monopan 50: A low-ISO black and white film stock for my M6.

• Leica Multifunction Handgrip: Doubles the battery life for the SL3.

• Mac Studio: Powerhouse computing solution for long trips with video work.

• Espresso Pro 15: These high-quality P3 displays are a joy to use and join me on every major trip.

Whether it’s the timelessness of a film body or the versatility of an SL, every piece of glass and metal in this bag was there to ensure that when the light hits the peaks, I’m ready to catch it.

If you have questions about how this kit handled the elements, or you’re curious about why I left a specific focal length behind, drop a comment and let’s get into it.

Share

Previous Favourites

• The 7 Books That Changed My Photography Journey

• Why ‘Getting Closer’ Still Hurts

• The Leica M11 Explained in Three Photos

• 28mm, 35mm, or 50mm: What Does Your Brain Actually See?

• WTF Are Light Ratios and Why Should You Care?

• Mastering Tethered Photography

Visit the archive

March Contest Winner

Congratulations to the winner of last month’s contest:

Kwadwo N.

You’ll receive an email directly from me on receiving your prize. Enjoy!

NEW April Contest

This month, I’ll be giving away a $200 gift card to the Moment Shop where the winner can save big on their next camera, lens, bag, or courses. Moment has so many creative products to choose from and $200 can absolutely make for a great deal.

How will I pick the winner? Make sure you’re signed up for this newsletter then leave a comment on at least one post from this month. I’ll be randomly picking one person, confirming they meet the requirements and contacting them directly before announcing the winner publicly.

As always, this contest is void where prohibited by law. Good luck!

My thanks to the team at Moment! Not only for this contest but for being the longest supporter of my work online. They’re a lean team of passionate creators that truly believe in supporting other creatives on their journey. Whether it’s a new camera, lens, workshop, or just some great articles, visit ShopMoment.com today.

Leave a comment

What’s Next?

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing some special stories from my time in Patagonia. For those of you that are members of Church & Street, these are some of my favourite pieces and I can’t wait to share them with you.

Stay tuned.

GB

Read more

There was something about this lens—this friction I’d never experienced with any of my other Leica glass—where I couldn’t translate its features into images that had substance. Images that weren’t just shouting, “Hey! Look at all this bokeh!”

It would take me the better part of a year, wielding this beast around the world, before I understood exactly how to use this brush to create great results.

Look, this isn’t just a review. Think of this also as post-game analysis from a year-long season that’s not only going to discuss the strengths and weaknesses, but a clear process on **how** to use this prolific glass. And importantly, a clear explanation on who should invest in a lens like this.

Upcoming Events & Workshops

• Leica Connect: Photo Stories from Around the World - Seattle

  • I’ll be joining a free event at Leica Store Bellevue for an evening of stories from my recent photography adventures with my SL kit. If you’re in the greater Seattle area, come by and let’s connect.

• Leica Akademie: Video for Photographers - London

  • This June, I’m leading a two-day workshop in London for photographers who want to learn video. Whether you’re looking to create short films, branded content, or simply elevate your visual storytelling, this workshop provides a practical introduction to filmmaking. Sign up here.

• India: North & South Workshop

  • Seats for my 2026 India workshop are currently sold out. If you’re still interested, you can join the waitlist here to be notified if a spot opens up or when new dates become available.

Why Is This Lens So Special? The Short Answer

The strength of a 50mm lens lies in its ability to isolate a subject for an honest dialogue between the viewer and the image. In the hands of a beginner, this is a perspective that can feel sterile and boring, but give it to an artist, and you’ll witness a master editor that knows how to carve a story. This Noctilux 50mm F0.95 is like giving that same artist 10,000 cc of adrenaline specifically designed to exaggerate the depth around that story.

If a standard 50mm shows awareness, this lens is about hyper-focus.

The combination of extremely high-quality glass, precision manufacturing techniques, and an aperture wider than most know what to do with all contribute to extreme subject isolation. The Noctilux doesn’t just blur backgrounds. It Thanos-snaps them into a painterly memory. This effect creates a “pop” that propels the distance between your subject and the world behind them.

Now, this could all feel like a cheap trick or an unpredictable mess if it weren’t for the aspherical elements. A lot of brands will throw this term around, but with Leica, you can expect a level of predictable sharpness that delivers where it counts without feeling like crispy fried chicken. The story begins with a clear point of focus and then takes an intentionally steep fall-off into an ocean of tonality.

This 50mm Noctilux is an unapologetic, heavy, and occasionally frustrating masterpiece. It isn’t a lens for the inexperienced, the impatient, or the weak of wrist. It’s the ultimate subject isolator. You just need to learn **how** to use it.

How Can You Get The Best Results?

I’ll admit something: I was ready to sell this lens almost immediately after I got it.

The Noctilux was supposed to be a unique brush in my kit, but after the first few weeks, I couldn’t find the value. I devoured every review and studied every article, but no one could actually explain how best to use the thing. There was no shortage of sample photos, a few were decent, but most were entirely forgettable. The photographic equivalent of a participation trophy.

Thankfully, a couple of friends urged me to give it more time. They told me to take the lens abroad and just put in the hours. It would take me three months of wrestling with it before it finally clicked.

The Leica Noctilux 50mm F0.95 is a lens that starts with the background, not your subject. We already know the aperture, elements, and coatings are going to make your subject jump off the frame so what you actually need to pay attention to is where that subject is leaping from. You have to imagine you’re painting with the out-of-focus area.

Like a 19th-century Impressionist, finding success here lies in studying the elements behind your subject, imagining them as brush strokes, and orienting them to elevate whatever this 50mm is isolating. Once that clicked, I knew the lens was never leaving my collection.

Again: start with the background, then compose your story.

Once I had the philosophy down, I wanted to refine the mechanics to ensure I was getting consistent results. For starters, you have to babysit your highlights. At this aperture, you’re always one stop away from losing information to the void. Next, I’d start at the minimum focus distance—which is one metre or just beyond arm’s reach—to frame the subject within that curated background. I’d then aim for a point of high contrast, like where the pupil meets the sclera, and fire a few frames while gently rocking in and out.

With practice, it all comes together for a reliable process. This is training. This is going to the gym. The only reason you put yourself through it is so you’re prepared for the moment that matters. When I finally invested the time to understand what this brush could do, I stopped fighting the lens and started excelling with it.

One more thing: this is a lens you do not stop down.

Legend has it that the original design didn’t even have an aperture ring. It was intended to be a constant 0.95. While they eventually abandoned that idea for the “greater good” (and perhaps to appease the faint of heart), I still believe stopping this lens down is blasphemy. If you want more depth of field, use another lens. When there’s a Noctilux mounted on your camera, it’s there to maximize light and depth. At least, in my humble opinion.

What Is The Image Quality Like?

The Noctilux name isn’t synonymous with optical perfection. It’s a visual flavour profile that strives for a specific look that complements human subject isolation. What do I mean by that? Well, for starters, the sharpness on this lens is about as sharp as you’d ever want it toward the centre. Toward the edges, there’s a softening and a slight vignette that contributes to the overall look of this lens.

What enhances the look is the contrast. You get a generous amount across the plane of focus, which contributes to a more modern rendering, and even packs a little more punch on newer Leica sensors. But because of the steep fall-off in sharpness and contrast from the plane of focus to the out-of-focus area—what some refer to as the “Focal Gradient”—there’s this juxtaposition that forces the viewer’s eye into a singular, undeniable truth while the rest of the world politely dissolves into an abstract memory.

When you’re shooting into backlit environments and have a lot of high-contrast edges in the frame, at F0.95 you’re going to invite some noticeable chromatic aberration and colour fringing. I can’t say this is a flaw as much as it’s a blind spot. You see, I feel like Leica could’ve corrected for this, but then it might risk changing that signature flavour profile. So you have this gap you have to consider when you’re shooting.

I won’t go into the weaknesses of this lens just yet. But with respect to aberrations relative to image quality, there are specific environments where this can conflict with your image. Like I alluded to earlier, if you’re paying attention to your background, this may end up being a non-issue in your work. And that’s a great place to wrap up this section on image quality.

The out-of-focus rendering here isn’t just a blurred background. It’s this deliberate, oceanic weight that anchors the entire frame. While lesser lenses might produce a nervous or “jittery” bokeh that competes for attention, the Noctilux delivers a wash of tonality that feels thick and intentional, like wet oil paint spread across a canvas. It’s a rendering that doesn’t just fall away, it cradles the subject, turning the clutter of a street or a messy interior into a soft, glowing sea of shapes that serves the subject rather than distracting from it.

How Is This Lens Built?

To substantiate the asking price of a lens like this, the conversation starts with image quality but importantly, it ends with how it’s made. You have to look into the physics of what’s essentially a hand-built light-seeking missile. While cheaper alternatives brute-force their way to F0.95 with generic glass and modest design, Leica treats the construction of this lens as a high-stakes engineering exercise.

First, this Noctilux uses an eight-element design, five of which are forged from glass with anomalous partial dispersion. Think of these as optics designed to hunt down and kill excessive colour fringing before it hits your sensor. Three other elements feature extremely high refractive power, allowing Leica to keep the lens relatively compact—about 75mm long—while still gathering an absurd amount of light.

The real flex, however, is the two aspherical surfaces. Unlike mass-produced optics that use “pressed” aspheres, these are meticulously ground and polished to tolerances that would make a watchmaker sweat. This is the reason you get that predictable sharpness in the centre rather than a hazy, “dreamy” mess.

The focus mechanism feels like a blade gliding through warm butter, and it’s because of a floating element system where the rearmost lens group moves independently to the rest of the assembly. This ensures that when you’re shooting at a one-metre minimum focus distance, the image quality doesn’t suffer.

The body itself is a dense 700g cylinder of brass and aluminum, featuring a built-in lens hood that locks with a twist. There’s a 60mm front diameter designed to funnel as much light as possible into an 11-bladed diaphragm. This isn’t the most common filter size, but it’s still relatively easy to shop for when it comes to ND filters. And yes, you’re going to want to buy an ND filter.

All in all, this is an extremely high-quality product designed to deliver a specific experience. When you hold this Noctilux and interact with it, you immediately see how it differs from cheaper alternatives. It’s the difference between a mass-market tool and a bespoke instrument.

Where are the challenges of this lens?

Every lens is a collection of compromises, but with the Noctilux, those trade-offs can feel as heavy as the glass itself. At a beefy 700g, the handling is undeniably front-heavy, often feeling like the lens is wearing the camera rather than the other way around. Interestingly, this ergonomic tension disappears when you mount it on an SL body. The added grip and mass of this system balance the Noctilux perfectly.

On an M, however, the physical breadth introduces a literal blind spot. Because of the large diameter, the lens barrel obstructs the lower right portion of your frame lines. While you eventually learn to sort of “see through” the metal, it’s a constant reminder that you’re shooting with a big boy and not a street-friendly Summicron.

Then there are some mechanical quirks. The aperture ring on this lens can feel a little too jittery. It’s too easy to accidentally knock it off F0.95 while you’re pulling focus. It’s a loose experience that requires a bit of babysitting.

Speaking of focus, the one-metre minimum distance often left me wanting more. In a world where modern M lenses are pushing into 0.4m territory, beyond an arm’s length can feel like a barrier when you’re trying to get intimate with a story.

Finally, we have to talk about the chromatic aberration and colour fringing again. In certain circles, this has become an exaggerated talking point—a “gotcha” for those who prefer spec sheets over actual shooting. Yes, you’ll see purple fringing in high-contrast transitions if you aren’t careful. But usually, this is the hallmark of an inexperienced shooter who hasn’t learned to manage their highlights or consider their background. That said, it’s a gap in the armour worth tackling in an updated version. I think we’d all love to see Leica mitigate this provided they can do so without sanitizing the visual flavour that makes this lens a Noctilux.

Who Should Own This Lens?

The advent of extremely affordable Noctilux alternatives has caused some people to question whether this lens is worth it, and I have to say, this is an incredibly silly thing to ask. What’s far more valuable is asking **how** this Noctilux can elevate and enhance the stories you hope to share.

It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: a Noctilux is not for most people. While a crowd of affluent enthusiasts will throw their coins for some cheap bokeh tricks, this is a lens that best serves a photographer who understands the strengths of a 50mm lens and is prepared to approach photography more like painting.

When you can draw inspiration from the art world of the late 1800s and can channel that in the moment to identify rich backgrounds that can serve a meaningful subject, you’ll find an incredible amount of value in a lens like this. And when you invest the time in your post-production workflow, well, you’re really at an advantage to create striking moments that deserve to be printed.

Owning this lens isn’t a status symbol, even though some fall into that trap. If you’re asking me, it’s a commitment to a specific, high-stakes approach to seeing the world. It’s for the relentless artist who’s willing to hit the gym, study their scene, and wrestle with a beefy light-cannon. While the world moves toward the clinical perfection of computer-calculated optics, the Noctilux remains a defiant, hand-built middle finger to the market that demands you to slow down and actually think about the brush strokes behind your subject.

If you’re prepared to put in the reps and develop a process, this lens won’t just sit in your collection. It’ll redefine the boundaries of what you thought a 50mm perspective could achieve.

Share

Previous Favourites

• The 7 Books That Changed My Photography Journey

• Why ‘Getting Closer’ Still Hurts

• The Leica M11 Explained in Three Photos

• 28mm, 35mm, or 50mm: What Does Your Brain Actually See?

• WTF Are Light Ratios and Why Should You Care?

• Mastering Tethered Photography

Visit the archive

March Contest

This month, I’ll be giving away a $200 gift card to the Moment Shop where the winner can save big on their next camera, lens, bag, or courses. Moment has so many creative products to choose from and $200 can absolutely make for a great deal.

How will I pick the winner? Make sure you’re signed up for this newsletter then leave a comment on at least one post from this month. I’ll be randomly picking one person, confirming they meet the requirements and contacting them directly before announcing the winner publicly.

As always, this contest is void where prohibited by law. Good luck!

My thanks to the team at Moment! Not only for this contest but for being the longest supporter of my work online. They’re a lean team of passionate creators that truly believe in supporting other creatives on their journey. Whether it’s a new camera, lens, workshop, or just some great articles, visit ShopMoment.com today.

Leave a comment

What’s Next?

My time in Patagonia is coming to a close and it’s been far more fulfilling than I ever could’ve expected. I find myself still grasping for the words to contextualize this experience, both for myself and for you. Rest assured, I’ll find those words soon. There’s a few long flights ahead of me. Plenty of time to put thoughts into stories.

GB

The last time I did this, I placed an obscure focal length at the heart of our conversation. This time, I’m going to try something harder and that’s to explain what’s arguably the most popular focal length on earth in a way that has never been done before.

The 50mm lens is like a chef’s knife. It’s so versatile that for me to try and argue why you should use it in any specific environment over another would be a fool’s errand. Instead, let me share a guiding principle. A mental framework that we can use to understand when a 50mm lens works best for an image.

Upcoming Events & Workshops

• Leica Akademie: Video for Photographers - London

  • This June, I’m leading a two-day workshop in London for photographers who want to learn video. Whether you’re looking to create short films, branded content, or simply elevate your visual storytelling, this workshop provides a practical introduction to filmmaking. Sign up here.

• India: North & South Workshop

  • Seats for my 2026 India workshop are currently sold out. If you’re still interested, you can join the waitlist here to be notified if a spot opens up or when new dates become available.

Why 50mm? The Short Answer

The simple answer as to why you’d reach for a 50mm lens is when you want to impart your gaze on a specific subject. This perspective has roughly half the angle of view of a 21mm lens. As a result, it narrows the canvas that occupies your frame. This narrowing creates a space that best suits an image where you’re looking to share the awareness of a subject.

Whether it was designed this way from the beginning or not, the 50mm does an incredible job of facilitating an honest conversation between the viewer and the subject. It’s the difference between seeing the entire field as an umpire and focusing on just one player.

Many argue that this perspective closely resembles the human eye. That’s bullsh*t, but I can understand why people might feel that way. Instead of trying to equate the 50mm to our physical vision, I believe it’s better to normalize it with something from the world of philosophy. Something the French refer to as Le Regard.

Understanding “The Gaze”

Le Regard translates to The Gaze. It’s an idea from 20th-century French philosophy, best attributed to Jean-Paul Sartre, that when someone looks at you, you cease to be a mere object in the world and instead become aware of yourself as an object for someone else. This creates a shift in power.

Then there’s the French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan that later expanded on this. He distinguished between the eye, which is the physical act of seeing, and the gaze, which is the awareness of being watched. Not unlike what my wife taught me about the difference between hearing and listening. These concepts around the gaze eventually found their way into the art world.

It’s now common to study visual media to understand the gaze of the artist, the characters within the artwork, and even the spectator looking at the final piece. These concepts translate perfectly to a 50mm lens because of how it frames subjects. The combination of compression and field of view draws awareness to a singular subject. This isn’t a focal length for competing subjects. It’s about drawing us into a single entity or moment that deserves our attention.

Understanding The Science

As I’ve shared before, focal length is the measure from the lens to the sensor, but the angle of view is the measure of the perspective landing on that sensor. It’s the slice of the world being captured relative to the sensor size.

Using the diagram below as a reference, you know that the wider the lens, the more of the world you’re cramming onto the sensor. But the 50mm sits in a specific psychological sweet spot.

Most 50mm lenses have about a 47-degree angle of view on a full frame sensor. At this angle, the lens isn’t trying to overwhelm you with information like a 21mm, nor is it trying to isolate a single eyelash like a 90mm lens would. It sits in a thematic middle. It’s the visual equivalent of focused interest. Le Regard.

To better illustrate this, think about being on the pitch during warmups and scanning the field for a player you know. Your perspective darts around for something it recognizes. When it catches something that fits your search parameters—perhaps a facial feature or jersey number—it locks in. Your brain is effectively cropping out the rest of the world to match this angle of view.

If we adopted a wider lens, say a 35mm, we’d start to see the surrounding context again. Elements of the crowd begin to influence the scene, and the story becomes about the player and their environment.

If we go longer, to 75mm or 90mm, the background starts to compress and flatten, making the scene feel like it’s being observed from a distance. But at 50mm, the relationship between the subject and the background feels like the honest awareness we’d have in real life. There’s no wide angle distortion and no telephoto flattening.

So, When Does 50mm Shine?

When you understand the science, art, and philosophy that lay the groundwork for a 50mm lens, you have a significant advantage in deciding how to use it. This focal length doesn’t rely on optical wizardry to make an image interesting. Its strength comes from the honesty of the moment in front of you.

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When I first reviewed the Leica SL3, what stood out most was the commitment to great design, the nearly unmatched durability in the field, and the incredible optics that plug into the Leica image pipeline. It’s a unique offering for intentional photographers who cared as much about the experience as they did about image quality.

However, while I appreciated what the SL3 did for my workflow, if megapixels weren’t critical to my deliverables, I’d choose a different camera. It’s a sentiment I think many Leica users could understand. But that has changed.

Two years in, the SL3 has matured enough to drastically shift its market position. So much so, I’m dedicating this entire story to that evolution. You see, every blog, review, and video published about the Leica SL3 before 2026 is practically useless. And that’s because of one thing: firmware.

Upcoming Events & Workshops

• Leica Connect: Photo Stories from Around the World - Seattle

  • I’ll be joining a free event at Leica Store Bellevue for an evening of stories from my recent photography adventures with my SL kit. If you’re in the greater Seattle area, come by and let’s connect.

• Leica Akademie: Video for Photographers

  • The next Video for Photographers Akademie is coming to London this June. Sign up here to be notified.

• India: North & South Workshop

  • Seats for my 2026 India workshop are currently sold out. If you’re still interested, you can join the waitlist here to be notified if a spot opens up or when new dates become available.

Room For Growth

The engineers at Leica included three components that have ultimately given the SL3 some more longevity: a CFexpress card slot, double the memory buffer, and the Maestro IV processor. These pieces create a generous ceiling for the camera to evolve into over time. And if I’m being honest, it didn’t take much time at all.

The Leica SL3 now powers on in under two seconds. The autofocus algorithm has seen a jump in performance that didn’t seem possible. There’s built-in Frame.io support for wireless uploads. A new multi-shot mode opens the door for 240 MP images when you need a great reference. ProRes recording at a cinema 6K resolution is now unlocked, alongside an anamorphic de-squeeze option in video mode. With new Leica Looks and refinements to the UI, it’s a substantial improvement over what the SL3 once was.

Outside of the multi-shot mode, these were all updates many of us had asked and hoped for. To see them arrive in the first half of the product’s lifecycle isn’t just good. It’s unheard of. It really makes you wonder why more brands don’t operate like this.

Now, I should stress that these features don’t individually make the Leica SL3 a compelling product. These are like key free agent signings before a team makes a championship run. Their significance comes from how they contribute to the overall solution.

Leading The Pack

Two years in, the image quality of the SL3 remains its greatest strength. It’s this combination of resolution, dynamic range, and optics that create an environment for incredible visuals. Especially in high contrast environments—from the harsh, blinding whites of the Arctic to the deep, textured shadows of Nagaland—the 14-bit raw files are packed with rich information that you can direct for your story.

Like a Division I recruit, the SL3 easily slots into that upper tier of mirrorless cameras. You can pull details out of the shadows and hold highlights in a manner that rivals digital medium format solutions. When I was in the Arctic Circle, the sun never set but the conditions were changing constantly. It didn’t matter. The files were incredibly rich and could be pushed to these thematic extremes.

I’ve comfortably pushed to ISO 3,200 when the environment demanded it, and the colours stayed honest. If you’re asking me, this is where I’d now rate the performance ceiling for image quality. Given a base ISO of 64, there’s an incredible amount of latitude to capture striking visuals that can stand the test of time. And if you’re adapting M glass, well, there’s an easy argument that this body will perform for a decade if not more. That might sound absurd until you examine the next core strength of the SL3: durability.

This is a camera—with its IP54 rating and beefy housing—designed to work in extreme conditions. It wasn’t enough for Leica to create something that could perform in air-conditioned studios or ‘courageous’ photo walks on New York streets. The SL3 should be able to work everywhere on earth.

Whether it was frosty Zodiac rides in the Antarctic, prolonged heatwaves around the equator, or the variability of a place like the Indo-Myanmar border, the Leica SL3 kept performing. I wish I didn’t have to dedicate two paragraphs to this, but it’s 2026 and many brands are still shipping top dollar cameras that can’t keep up in demanding environments. Paired with the recent firmware updates, the durability of this camera gets to be enjoyed across a wider gamut of situations.

Then there’s the design of this camera. This is what rounds out the core strengths of the SL3 and on that note, let’s jump into the latest iteration of the design.

The Reporter

The Reporter line occupies a distinct space in the Leica narrative, serving as a functional tribute to the brand’s deep-rooted history in photojournalism. While standard models are often celebrated for their elegance, the Reporter series is built for the rugged side of the craft, emphasizing discretion and resilience over aesthetic polish. This philosophy is realized in the Leica SL3 Reporter through a matte, scratch-resistant dark green finish and a high-strength aramid fibre trim.

The aramid material is essentially body armour for the camera. It’s comprised of the same synthetics used in ballistic protection and provides an enhanced grip while being nearly impossible to tear. True to its field-oriented purpose, the camera deliberately omits the iconic red Leica logo, allowing it to be more inconspicuous in sensitive environments.

Over years of use, the olive-toned finish and textured trim are designed to develop a unique patina, turning the camera into a visual record of its journey. Anecdotally, this seems to have people split. Personally, it couldn’t suit my work any better. I love when a camera can tell you it’s been on adventures and seen some crazy sh*t.

The Leica SL3 Reporter is an alternative to the sleek and stylish SL3. It keeps the same internal performance, but its housing makes it clear that it’s a tool designed for photographers who find themselves in the mud, the cold, and most importantly, the thick of the story.

Future Improvements

While the Leica SL3 has matured considerably, there’s always room for growth. I’ve covered the six major updates that significantly improve what this camera can do. Now, allow me to share six improvements I’d like to see in the near future.

First, on-screen display support. Being able to have the menus delivered and recorded over HDMI would be an incredible update for the remote monitoring, education, and even marketing of this camera.

Other brands have nailed this, and I’d love to see Leica take a crack at it: manual focus confirmation beyond focus peaking. Being able to adapt an M lens and see clear confirmation of focus acquisition—especially for eyes and faces—would be a headline upgrade. It’s the kind of thing that’ll have Leica users tingling between the legs.

We’ve seen no slowdown of Leica Looks, and with recent updates, you can even control their intensity. I’ve mentioned it many times before and I’ll say it again: I’d love the ability to control highlights, shadows, sharpness, contrast, and grain structure around these Looks in-camera.

And while this is by no means a video-first camera, I think a few more video-centric upgrades would be valuable for the entire SL ecosystem. False colour support, slower frame rate options, and the ability to independently choose your timeline frame rate would combine for a powerful evolution. These updates would broaden our ability to create, capture, and share meaningful stories. Look, I know most of you aren’t video people, but I believe these are the types of upgrades that raise all boats, so to speak.

Final Thoughts

The Leica SL3 isn’t what it used to be. It’s much better.

Over the course of two years, this camera has become a testament to a brand that actually listens to its core audience. In 2026, the SL3 feels significantly more capable than it did on day one.

Sports and wildlife are two areas where this camera can’t quite hit those high marks. While I’ve had some success, those wins are few and far in between. But in just about any other photographic environment, this camera excels while feeling great to use.

If you’re a high-output creative who’s obsessive about the experience around your process, and resolution is critical to your deliverables, the Leica SL3 should be on your shortlist. It’s the solution that convinced me to offload my digital medium format cameras and embrace a body that thrives in any environment. To know precisely if this camera is right for you, you have to truly know what, how, and how often you create. If those answers guide to an SL3, well, I think you can rest easy knowing that you have a mature product that’ll grow alongside your vision.

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Previous Favourites

• The 7 Books That Changed My Photography Journey

• Why ‘Getting Closer’ Still Hurts

• The Leica M11 Explained in Three Photos

• 28mm, 35mm, or 50mm: What Does Your Brain Actually See?

• WTF Are Light Ratios and Why Should You Care?

• Mastering Tethered Photography

Visit the archive

January Contest Winner

Congratulations to the winner of last month’s contest:

Aaron B.

You’ll receive an email directly from me on receiving your prize. Enjoy!

NEW March Contest

This month, I’ll be giving away a $200 gift card to the Moment Shop where the winner can save big on their next camera, lens, bag, or courses. Moment has so many creative products to choose from and $200 can absolutely make for a great deal.

How will I pick the winner? Make sure you’re signed up for this newsletter then leave a comment on at least one post from this month. I’ll be randomly picking one person, confirming they meet the requirements and contacting them directly before announcing the winner publicly.

As always, this contest is void where prohibited by law. Good luck!

My thanks to the team at Moment! Not only for this contest but for being the longest supporter of my work online. They’re a lean team of passionate creators that truly believe in supporting other creatives on their journey. Whether it’s a new camera, lens, workshop, or just some great articles, visit ShopMoment.com today.

Leave a comment

What’s Next?

This week, I pack my bags for Patagonia. It’ll be nearly a month before I can share stories from this adventure but if you want a taste of what I’m working on, you can follow my trip on Instagram.

GB

I have at least twelve photography projects I plan t…

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What is layering? Why is it valuable? And most importantly, how do you start practicing it with your own lens? Let’s get into all that and more.

Upcoming Events & Workshops

• Leica Connect: Photo Stories from Around the World - Seattle

  • I’ll be joining a free event at Leica Store Bellevue for an evening of stories from my recent photography adventures with my SL kit. If you’re in the greater Seattle area, come by and let’s connect.

• Leica Akademie: Video for Photographers

  • The next Video for Photographers Akademie is coming to London this June. Sign up here to be notified.

• India: North & South Workshop

  • Seats for my 2026 India workshop are currently sold out. If you’re still interested, you can join the waitlist here to be notified if a spot opens up or when new dates become available.

What Is Layering?

In photography, layering is a technique used to create depth and separation. The goal is to distribute elements across three distinct planes so that the image appears to extend away from the viewer.

First, there’s the foreground. This sits closest to the lens and often serves as the entry point for our eyes. It’s designed to grab our attention and begin our journey into the frame.

Next is the mid ground. This plane usually houses the core of the story. It’s where the heart of the image exists, with the foreground often acting in service of this central narrative.

Last, there’s the background. This plane looks to provide scale, context, and maybe even a sense of time. It sets the expectations for the environment in which the story unfolds.

When used effectively, these planes transform the two dimensional nature of photography by adding the feeling of a third dimension. It’s the birth of a Z-axis that makes the image feel like you could reach right into it.

That’s the power of layering.

Where Did Layering Come From?

The technique of layering arrived long before the first photographers. While there’s some debate regarding its exact origin, I find myself leaning toward the renaissance period with legends like Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael. These masters developed painting techniques that added profound depth to their work, ultimately pioneering a new era of art.

Leonardo moved away from hard, contoured lines and invented the sfumato method. This created a sense of atmospheric perspective that allowed colours to blend into a smokiness that made the painting feel more like a lived-in world. Raphael furthered the art with linear perspective, where distant objects are rendered with lighter tones and less detail to create the illusion of this vast distance.

While Western art often dominates the narrative, we can look further back to find an even earlier foundation. The Chinese art of shanshui painting from the 5th century—a full millennium before Leonardo—showcases layering and vertical composition in powerful ways. When you stop to study these mountain and water landscapes, the intentionality behind the depth is pretty striking.

Now, why is any of this important? Developing an understanding of art theory and history prepares us as photographers for the work we wish to create. If we hope to travel the world and capture our best images, it’s in our best interest to understand the techniques that have stood the test of time. We can then choose to employ or omit those methods to create our most meaningful work.

Quite simply, we learn from the past to better inform our future.

How Is Layering Valuable To Photography?

Fundamentally, there are two reasons why layering is valuable to our photography. First, and perhaps the most obvious, is that it creates physical depth. There’s a staccato of lines, shapes, or colours that provides a seamless path for our gaze. When done effectively, it feels natural and our eyes just sink into the image. Great layering creates a pool for us to swim in.

The second reason why layering is valuable is that it creates emotional depth. The physical elements of the image come together and play off each other to create something larger than the sum of their parts. It can lead us to examine not only the scene, but our environment as whole and perhaps, even our existence within it.

This scene was captured during my time in Nagaland last month. It was a tense moment where the locals were loading an unrelenting ‘mithun’ bull into a truck for transport. As things started to escalate, the local elder we’d been photographing jumped into the fray and started calling out instructions. Armed with his rifle and machete, he became a natural foreground element that helped frame the scene. I leaped into documentary mode and just started framing and firing.

Equipped with my M11 and 28mm Summicron, I started maneuvering behind the elder to position him so that he could lead our eyes toward the bull. I made slight adjustments and kept firing throughout, bobbing and weaving to find a meaningful frame. Interestingly, the tip of the rifle where the bullet would exit is what serves as an entry point for our eyes.

Staring down the barrel.

After a tense 30 minutes, there were hundreds of photos to go through and, ultimately, this one stood out as the best representation of the moment. There’s a physical depth created by the elements, and an emotional weight brought by the characters and their actions.

Why Is Layering Worth Practicing?

Chiaroscuro. Blocking. Shutter drags. Off-camera flash. All techniques. Techniques I’ve talked about here and employ as needed to create a meaningful frame. Layering is another technique that, with practice, expands our ability to create meaningful images. It can go on to define our work, or be omitted altogether. But we don’t truly know its value to our journey until we make an effort to practice.

If you’re asking me, though, the juice is worth the squeeze.

Think of this as if it were a stage play. If the actors, the props, and the painted scenery were all pushed onto a single line, the performance would feel cramped and flat. By spacing them out, it feels more like a world the audience can inhabit. Layering does the same for your frame, turning a flat image into a stage where a story can actually breathe.

Where Should You Begin

So, how do you start integrating layering into your work? This is something I spend a lot of time teaching and reviewing in the field. Which is to say, sharing a precise methodology in a convenient list might be a little reductive…

But, who cares. Let’s reduce it.

1. Develop a feel for the scene. Look to explore the elements available to you and pay attention to the details.

2. Identify the core subject or story. Ask yourself, “Where will our gaze go?”

3. Consider the three planes. Foreground, mid ground, and background. Decide what exists where and how they interplay to elevate the image.

4. Move your camera. Shift up, down, left, or right (X and Y axis) to reframe and change how much space each plane occupies.

5. Study the greats. Find photographers known as masters of layering and examine their work in great detail. Personally, I’d start with Alex Webb.

As with any photography technique, this takes time. It takes effort. And it demands intention. Which is exactly why it’s a pursuit worth engaging. Now, get out there and start building your world, one plane at a time.

Share

Previous Favourites

• The 7 Books That Changed My Photography Journey

• Why ‘Getting Closer’ Still Hurts

• The Leica M11 Explained in Three Photos

• 28mm, 35mm, or 50mm: What Does Your Brain Actually See?

• WTF Are Light Ratios and Why Should You Care?

• Mastering Tethered Photography

Visit the archive

February Contest

This month, I’ll be giving away a $250 gift card to the Moment Shop where the winner can save big on their next camera, lens, bag, or courses. Moment has so many creative products to choose from and $250 can absolutely make for a great deal.

How will I pick the winner? Make sure you’re signed up for this newsletter then leave a comment on at least one post from this month. I’ll be randomly picking one person, confirming they meet the requirements and contacting them directly before announcing the winner publicly.

As always, this contest is void where prohibited by law. Good luck!

My thanks to the team at Moment! Not only for this contest but for being the longest supporter of my work online. They’re a lean team of passionate creators that truly believe in supporting other creatives on their journey. Whether it’s a new camera, lens, workshop, or just some great articles, visit ShopMoment.com today.

Leave a comment

What’s Next?

Indulge me for a moment while I plug a recent interview I did with one of my favourite teams. Espresso Displays are a brand I count on for my travel displays and they have a worthwhile blog. I especially respect their approach to interviewing pros. So when they reached out to profile me, I happily said yes.

If you want to learn more about my approach to documentary work, my contingency planning, and my thoughts on AI in photography, visit the link here.

Shameless plug yes, but I believe the Espresso did a great job of structuring this piece. Let me know what you think.

GB

Lucky for me, he produced a course that culminated some of …

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This week, I’m taking a more literal approach. I’d like to share another portrait from my recent trip to Longwa, Nagaland, and the details behind bringing an image like this to life.

The Details

This portrait was created on the Leica SL3 Reporter and the wildly compact SL 28-70mm F2.8 lens. The shutter speed was locked to 1/200, the aperture adjusted to F10, and the ISO set at 200 (this was likely the result of me accidentally knocking the dial from 100).

I had one of my guides hold a Godox speedlite from the left, almost opposite to where the sun was beaming from. I then punched my lens all the way to 70mm and got low to eliminate any distractions from the background while placing my subject in a powerful position. After a few dozen frames, a divine breeze came through and set the stage for this image. Thank you, Mother Nature.

The Context

Shortly after I arrived in Longwa, I learned that there were only 14 remaining elders of the Konyak tribe in this village, all of whom were north of 80 years old. I’d set out on a mission to document as many of them as possible. This meant I’d have to be shooting constantly, rather than just waiting for “good” light. This is where understanding off-camera lighting and creative positioning make all the difference.

You see, I didn’t know who I’d be meeting, when I’d meet them, or where they’d be. But with a small light and a little patience, I could treat each situation like a unique set and look to carve a story that best suited that specific subject.

This is a portrait of Panpha, the last elder we met on this trip. He’s 86 years old and he’ll be the chief representative for his tribe at the 2026 Hornbill Festival. With this knowledge, I wanted to frame him in a more aspirational, leadership-style pose. The light and contrast were also designed to support this direction. And thankfully, it all came together perfectly.

Like I’ve said in the past, we can’t always choose the conditions in which we practice our craft. But we can always choose the conviction with which we meet them.

Good light is great. Great effort is undefeated.

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Upcoming Events & Workshops

• Leica Akademie: Video for Photographers - Seattle

  • In March of next year, I’m leading a three-day workshop for photographers who are new to video. Whether you’re looking to create short films, branded content, or simply elevate your visual storytelling, this workshop provides a practical introduction to filmmaking. Learn more here.

• Arctic 2026 Photography Adventure (Limited Seats Available)

  • In 2024, I traveled to Svalbard with Quark Expeditions and it was unforgettable. I’m planning a return trip in 2026 with a group of photographers. This is not a workshop. It’s an excuse for like-minded storytellers to visit one of the most remote places on earth. If that sounds like you, fill out this form to learn more.

• India: North & South Workshop (Two Seats Remaining)

  • Next year, I’m heading to India again for our second street photography adventure across the North and South. Seats have just been made available for those looking for a deep, immersive photography experience. Learn more here.

Previous Favourites

• The 7 Books That Changed My Photography Journey

• Why ‘Getting Closer’ Still Hurts

• The Leica M11 Explained in Three Photos

• 28mm, 35mm, or 50mm: What Does Your Brain Actually See?

• WTF Are Light Ratios and Why Should You Care?

• Mastering Tethered Photography

Visit the archive

January Contest Winner

Congratulations to the winner of last month’s contest:

D. Velkovich

You’ll receive an email directly from me on receiving your prize. Enjoy!

February Contest

This month, I’ll be giving away a $250 gift card to the Moment Shop where the winner can save big on their next camera, lens, bag, or courses. Moment has so many creative products to choose from and $250 can absolutely make for a great deal.

How will I pick the winner? Make sure you’re signed up for this newsletter then leave a comment on at least one post from this month. I’ll be randomly picking one person, confirming they meet the requirements and contacting them directly before announcing the winner publicly.

As always, this contest is void where prohibited by law. Good luck!

My thanks to the team at Moment! Not only for this contest but for being the longest supporter of my work online. They’re a lean team of passionate creators that truly believe in supporting other creatives on their journey. Whether it’s a new camera, lens, workshop, or just some great articles, visit ShopMoment.com today.

Leave a comment

What’s Next?

I’m back from my first trip to India this year. It was another one for the books. For those of you that have wanted to visit, or just practice your photography with more intention here, I strongly recommend my Streets of India workshop. My hope was to design the best street photography experience for guests and this year, it’s shaping up to be the best one yet.

GB

It was during these travels in 2023 that I came to learn about t…

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Now, before we start remapping buttons, make sure your camera is synced to the Leica FOTOS App on your smartphone and updated to firmware 4.00 or later. Technology moves fast, so I’ll be updating this guide annually to reflect new firmware and my own evolving best practices. Bookmark this page, check back often, and let’s get your gear sorted.

Function Buttons

Leica cameras have earned a reputation for being clean, modern instruments for photography. Part of that comes from how little text is plastered around the body. It’s minimalism by design. Which makes button remapping less conflating.

On any new camera, once it’s been synced and updated, I’ll look to customize the individual function buttons. To do this, you just need to hold down any one of the seven Custom Fn Buttons for a couple seconds and choose the setting that best suits your style. This is how I’ve set up my layout:

• Top Left Fn: AF Frame Size to adjust my focus area size

• Top Right Fn: AF Mode to change my focus area type

• Front Top Fn: Dial Lock to mitigate accidental changes

• Front Bottom Fn: Toggle AF to quickly engage manual focus

• Back Centre Fn: Toggle AF Point to move my focus point to the centre

• Thumb Wheel Fn: Magnification to better focus on a scene

• Fn Button: Toggle Info Levels to change between Info Profiles

At the moment, this is how I have my buttons mapped for the work I do. As you can see, it’s largely around tuning my autofocus experience exactly for the environment I’m in. The SL cameras have come a long way with respect to autofocus and to ensure I’m getting the best performance, I’ll always make adjustments that best compliment my subject.

Should a specific environment require a different workflow, I’ll change the function buttons on the top of the camera, save it to a profile, and then change it back when I’m done shooting. It’s about making the tool responsive to your specific needs.

Control Center

Next, I’ll look to customize the Control Center. It’s the primary touch interface that pops up the moment you hit the MENU button.

You’ll find eight tiles here. Just press and hold any of them to map a new function. Moving from left to right, top to bottom, these are the functions I’ve assigned for PHOTO MODE:

• Exposure Mode: moving between manual or aperture priority

• User Profiles: choosing the best custom profile for my environment

• White Balance: selecting the best WB for my environment

• Connectivity: smartphone sync or file uploads

• Focus Mode: toggle between single or continuous autofocus

• AF Detection: choosing a specific subject detection or none at all

• Exposure Metering: selecting the metering for a specific scene

• Leica Looks: selecting a Look for my in-field preview

While my physical function buttons mostly handle binary toggles, these tiles offer a deeper menu of options to suit the surroundings. Later, I’ll show you how I’ve set these for VIDEO MODE.

Joystick & Dials

In the Customize Control menu, you can tweak exactly how the dials and joystick behave. This is the logic behind my layout:

• Thumb Wheel: Aperture adjustment with counter-clockwise rotation. This mimics the physical experience of rotating an aperture ring on an M lens from the bottom.

• Right Dial: Shutter speed adjustment with counter-clockwise rotation because turning the dial ‘back’ for a slower shutter makes sense, like time travel.

• Left Dial: ISO control with clockwise rotation, similar to how a gain knob would work.

• Joystick: AE-L in the CLICK mode so I can press and lock the exposure of any given scene.

After years with the SL system, this is the configuration that’s wired itself into my muscle memory. While others may champion an alternative setup, I prefer the correct way ;)

Capture Assistants

Whether you’re looking through the EVF or the back LCD, you’ll see a lot of data. Or none at all. Out of the box, the clutter can be overwhelming, so I’ve built a configuration that keeps the noise down.

In the Capture Assistants menu, you can customize specific Info Profiles. I keep four of them active and use the back Fn button to cycle through them. This is how each is set up:

• Info Profile 1: Everything off for a clean preview of the scene

• Info Profile 2: Info Bars top & bottom with the dark background to highglight critical settings

• Info Profile 3: All Info Bars with Focus Peaking on (Red & Medium) for more data and accurate manual focus

• Info Profile 4: Info Bars top & bottom, 3x3 Grid, Focus Peaking, and Level Gauge on to properly align a scene

These four perspectives give me the exact level of feedback I need for any environment. And with a couple of clicks, I can always strip the data away to ensure nothing stands between me and the shot.

Other Settings

Now that the camera is largely set up, I head to User Profiles and save these settings to Profile 1. It’s a temporary safety net so I don’t lose the progress if I accidentally toggle the factory defaults.

With the bulk of the customization handled, it’s time to dive into the menus for the fine-tuning. These are the choices I make for my specific environments, so take liberties wherever you see fit:

• EV Increment: 1/3

• File Format: L-DNG/L-JPG

• JPG Settings: Noise Reduction Low

• Noise Reduction Long Exposure: Off

• Flash Settings: On and Flash Sync Start

• Storage Management: Change the file name

• Shutter Type: Mechanical

• Auto Review: Off

• Group Display Mode: Off

• Live View Settings: P-A-S-M unless I’m shooting with flash

• Connectivity: Off by default

• USB Settings: USB Charging on and USB Mode is Select

• Camera Settings: Customize Display Settings as needed

Once this is all polished, I make sure the Exposure Mode is set to Manual and save it over that first user profile. This is the master template for every specific configuration that follows. It is the solid ground you build the rest of your creative house on.

User Profiles

In my opinion, User Profiles are the most underrated weapon in the Leica arsenal. They allow you to customize the camera at a granular level and save those settings for instant recall. If you’ve followed along, you’ve seen the groundwork we’ve already laid. I use that foundation to build specific profiles I can jump between based on the environments I shoot in most. Here are the three photography profiles I rely on most:

STUDIO 100

This profile works double duty. I’ll use it for when I’m shooting with a flash or when I want revert to manual mode, where I have complete control over key settings.

• Mode: Manual

• Aperture: Wide-Open, F4.0 or F8.0

• Shutter Speed: 1/200

• ISO: 100

• White Balance: Based on the environment

• Exposure Compensation: -1/3

• Exposure Metering: Multi-Field

• Leica Look: Greg Williams

• Autofocus Mode: Continuos

• AF Detection: Face/Eye

• AF Mode: Field (ie. small box)

• AF Profile (under AF Setup): Children/Pets

BRIGHT 400

For bright days where the sun is beaming and the colours are popping, I’ll use this profile to lean into the vibrancy. Now, I’ve been enjoying the Teal Leica Look as my starting point.

• Mode: Manual with auto ISO

• Aperture: F8.0 mostly

• Shutter Speed: 1/500 or faster

• ISO: Auto ISO up to 400

• White Balance: Daylight mostly

• Exposure Compensation: -1/3

• Drive Mode: Continuous 4 FPS

• Exposure Metering: Multi-Field

• Leica Look: Teal

• Autofocus Mode: Continuos

• AF Detection: Face/Eye

• AF Mode: Field (ie. small box)

• AF Profile (under AF Setup): Runner

STREET 3200

I’ll use this profile when the lighting of my environment is fluctuating, where shadows can vary from point to point. It gives me a little more latitude to expose a scene, where a ceiling of ISO 3200 is perfectly manageable on modern Leica sensors.

• Mode: Manual with auto ISO

• Aperture: F4.0 mostly

• Shutter Speed: 1/125 or faster

• ISO: Auto ISO up to 3200

• White Balance: Daylight

• Exposure Compensation: -1/3

• Exposure Metering: Center-Weighted

• Leica Look: Greg Williams

• Autofocus Mode: Continuos

• AF Detection: Face/Eye

• AF Mode: Field (ie. small box)

• AF Profile (under AF Setup): Children/Pets

Importantly, these profiles are just starting points. I’ll select one and, if the environment requires an adjustment, I’ll tweak it on the fly. If you aren’t taking advantage of User Profiles, I genuinely need to know why. It’s a small investment of effort upfront that saves an ocean of time throughout the lifespan of your camera. Stop overcomplicating your process. Create User Profiles.

Video Settings

If you plan on shooting video with your SL, I highly recommend reading my Filmmaking Guide. It goes into far more detail regarding settings and best practices. Bookmark that page and read it when you are done here.

Once my three photography profiles are locked, I jump into video (swipe left in the Control Center to switch modes). I customize all the same pages and buttons to largely mirror my photo workflow. Here is my setup:

Custom Button Setup

• Top Left Fn: AF Frame Size

• Top Right Fn: AF Mode

• Front Top Fn: Dial Lock

• Front Bottom Fn: Toggle AF

• Centre Fn: EVF/LCD

• Thumb Wheel: Magnification

• Fn: Info Profiles

Control Center in Video Mode

• Exposure Mode

• User Profile

• White Balance

• Connectivity

• Focus Mode

• AF Detection

• Microphone Gain

• Video Profiles

With the other settings, I mimic my photo setup wherever possible. For Info Profiles, I create a fifth option with top and bottom bars and a custom frameline of 11.00 x 23.00 at 98 percent scale. I turn on shading and a frame stroke of 1. This allows me to preview a rough 9:16 crop while recording 6K footage for social platforms.

Before I share my two specific video profiles, here are the core features I adjust:

• Cine Mode: On

• L-Log Settings: L-Log -2 Sharpness

• Wind Reduction: Off

• Segmented Video: Off

• Recording Frame: On

• Image Stabilization: On when needed

User Profiles

With the core setup locked, I dial in the settings for two video-centric profiles: one for standard work and one for slow motion.

C6K

This is my go-to profile. It offers the best combination of colour and dynamic range without requiring an external recorder.

• Format: MOV

• Resolution: C6K

• Frame Rate: 24 FPS

• Codec: ProRes

• Compression: ProRes

• Color Sampling: 4:2:2 HQ 10-bit

• Bitrate: 1553 Mbit/s

• Log Profile: L-Log

• Sensor Ratio: 35mm

• Proxy: OFF

• Recording Options: HDMI / SSD / CFexpress

SLO MO 60FPS

The SL3-S supports up to 120 FPS in Full HD, but I prefer filming at 60 FPS with higher resolution and slowing it down in post-production. If a project requires something slower, I adjust accordingly.

• Format: MOV

• Resolution: C4K

• Frame Rate: 59.94 FPS

• Codec: ProRes

• Compression: ProRes

• Color Sampling: 4:2:2 HQ 10-bit

• Bitrate: 1944 Mbit/s

• Log Profile: L-Log

• Sensor Ratio: APS-C

• Proxy: Off

• Recording Options: HDMI / SSD / CFexpress

Wrapping Up

This guide is the culmination of five years of mistakes, triumphs, and the hard-earned rhythm of a system that finally works. It’s built to be a shortcut for your own journey, a way to strip away the technical noise so you can get back to the art. If this guide helped you find your footing, please consider sharing it with others.

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Upcoming Events & Workshops

• Leica Akademie: Video for Photographers - London

  • This June, I’m leading a two-day workshop in London for photographers who want to learn video. Whether you’re looking to create short films, branded content, or simply elevate your visual storytelling, this workshop provides a practical introduction to filmmaking. Sign up here.

• India: North & South Workshop

  • Seats for my 2026 India workshop are currently sold out. If you’re still interested, you can join the waitlist here to be notified if a spot opens up or when new dates become available.

Previous Guides

• The Ultimate Leica Filmmaking Guide

• Leica SL3 & SL3-S Complete Setup Guide

• Understanding the 50mm Lens

• How To Build a Photography Newsletter

Visit the archive

January Contest

This month, I’ll be giving away a $250 gift card to the Moment Shop where the winner can save big on their next camera, lens, bag, or courses. Moment has so many creative products to choose from and $250 can absolutely make for a great deal.

How will I pick the winner? Make sure you’re signed up for this newsletter then leave a comment on at least one post from this month. I’ll be randomly picking one person, confirming they meet the requirements and contacting them directly before announcing the winner publicly.

As always, this contest is void where prohibited by law. Good luck!

My thanks to the team at Moment! Not only for this contest but for being the longest supporter of my work online. They’re a lean team of passionate creators that truly believe in supporting other creatives on their journey. Whether it’s a new camera, lens, workshop, or just some great articles, visit ShopMoment.com today.

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What’s Next?

Last fall, I mapped out the first six months of Church & Street stories and if you’ve been paying attention, you can tell it’s going to be a vibrant year for the newsletter. For subscribers, I’ll be widening the breadth of topics and share a series of intimate stories that really bring you closer to my journey.

It’s going to be a great year.

GB