More Than A Camera
Four years with the Leica M11
Cameras are tools.
That’s the first thing I tell anyone in my workshops. It is a baseline: a way to kill the gear-lust and strip the mystique from the objects in our hands. We can appreciate the craftsmanship and the cachet, sure, but a camera is fundamentally a tool.
But that’s not the full picture.
Give a tool enough time, and it changes shape. It begins to take on new roles. Like a favourite piece of jewellery you feel naked without, a tool can become a talisman.
The Leica M11. It’s a tool. I’ve carried mine since the day it hit the streets. Four years. A quarter-million miles of putting it to work. In that time, it has evolved into something I never imagined.
I know that’s a lot of glaze to start with, but before you roll your eyes, hear me out. I believe the more you interact with a tool, the more it absorbs a meaning beyond its literal form. This camera? This tool? It has been through so much with me, that its become something else entirely.
Note To Readers
This is a longer story and if you’re reading this in email, there’s a good chance it may not load properly. This story is best experienced on Church & Street or through the Substack app.
Catalyst
There’s a honeymoon phase when you bring a new tool into the workflow. This natural excitement where you reassess everything you’ve done in the past and look to push further. But how long could that last?
For me, the answer was as long as possible. I was going to leverage every square inch of its capabilities to elevate my work and document the process along the way. I spent that first year pushing to be more intentional with my work, which resulted in one of my favourite portraits ever taken, The Schoolgirl. While any camera could’ve captured this frame, the M11 is what instigated this pursuit to go further.
By 2023, I realized that resolution and dynamic range could be much more than words on a page. They can be these technical assurances that allowed you to reclaim an image much later. An image like Headshot, which had so much contrast, literally and figuratively, that it would take me two years to find the frame that I was genuinely happy with.
Throughout the journey, the Leica M11 remained an unobtrusive partner, protecting delicate moments with its capabilities as much as its discretion.
In 2024, I looked to move beyond my creative safety net, exploring alternative compositions and textures. I’d try new lenses, study new artists, and explore the tangents of the photographic journey just to squeeze a little more out of this camera. This pursuit led to frames like this, where emotion was more at the heart of the experience than narrative.
By 2025, I was creating visuals with this camera that truly felt like a culmination of four years of deliberate effort. Like a chef that sees the final dish within the ingredients on the table, I felt like I reached a point where I could visualize the final frame before I took the picture.
The Leica M11 graduated from a piece of gear into a catalyst.
You see, I had already told myself that I wasn’t going to be another mediocre talking head on YouTube or Instagram feigning a lifestyle for the sake of an algorithm. I wanted to be great. When the M11 joined my journey, it became a catalyst for this deliberate and disciplined effort in striving for greatness.
The lenses, the image, the rangefinder, and hell, even the battery life, it all came together for this near-infinite source of accelerant that pushed me further, faster.
When I say the Leica M11 is more than a camera, what I’m saying is that it’s a unique product that, in the right hands, can feel larger than the sum of its parts. Now, this could be a natural end to the story, but I’m not done.
While the M11 is a catalyst for the ambitious, there’s another side to it. It’s a side that elevates the authentic and eludes the uninitiated. It’s something rarely discussed outside of those who actually carry one.
Key
This sounds crazy, but hear me out: the Leica M11 became a key for me.
Not to some khaki-clad boys club where people wax poetic about shiny objects. You don’t need a key for that; they’ll welcome anyone with a pulse and a credit card. I’m talking about a global network of creatives who actually celebrate the work.
The online stereotype of Leica being a playground for dentists and lawyers is a red Herring. While those blasé owners exist, talking about gear because their photos aren’t worth the conversation, they aren’t the heart of the brand.
Where other communities chase trends and thumbnails with a crab bucket mentality, the core Leica community is interested in fulfilling their best work and celebrating that of others. And I’ve been a direct beneficiary of this.
From the friends who’ve hosted me to the mentors who’ve guided me and even the students that hired me, this community celebrates the active storyteller more than any other.
Because a Leica is often cost-prohibitive, it sparks immediate curiosity among owners. If you have meaningful work to back it up, that initial curiosity can lead to meaningful conversations. And if you happen to not be a clout-chasing egomaniac, you inevitably tap into this network that’s happy to help you further your journey.
Carry a Leica. Chase greatness. And watch the doors open.
I know how pretentious that sounds, but it’s a reality I’ve lived and also shared with others. This camera isn’t just a catalyst. It’s also a key.
Filter
When the M11 arrived, it ditched the baseplate for a bigger battery and USB-C charging. This pissed off a lot of people. The early models had buggy firmware that would routinely require a battery pull. That pissed off even more people. Then came this magenta shift, which turned auto white balance into a target for manufactured rage.
For four years, the M11 has been a magnet for many detractors that believe Leica’s best days were behind them. And that’s just within the audience. Outside the bubble, critics piled on the lack of autofocus, stabilization, and even video. As a photographer who’s regularly contributing to the Leica discourse online, I’ve heard it all.
I won’t tell you they’re all wrong either because many of them had a point. The early bugs were real, and were swiftly addressed. White balance is something you can control and adjust, but it’s nice for users to now be able to tweak it at a more granular level. But here’s the thing, throughout this time, this camera has also become a filter for me.
As I learned the full breadth of it capabilities, as it demanded more out of me as a photographer, as I began to really understand what it meant, it helped me discern the bullshit.
It became really apparent when the rage-baiters were looking to illicit a response for relevancy. Or when the sycophants craved a gaze that their photography could never earn.
When you’re fulfilled by your work and the tools that bring them to life, you no longer react to the noise of incompetency. And the more I put this camera to work, year after year, the better it served as a filter for the attention-seekers on both sides of the aisle.
Antidote
Perhaps the most surprising transformation for me is how this camera has become an antidote to the times we’re all navigating now as artists.
We’re constantly bombarded by technology designed to make everything easier. These efficiency-seeking missiles aimed at our workflows in the name of productivity, and we go along with it because we’re told time is precious. You can never get back time. Time is everything!
We’re being lied to.
In the pursuit of squeezing out as much time as possible, we risk losing our humanity and the experiences that could go on to define our best work.
We’ve become too comfortable relinquishing meaningful work to algorithms, risking the transition from artist to glorified button pusher. We’re becoming hairless apes just tapping on glass. This isn’t a luddite’s argument against progress, but a plea to hold onto the archaic practices of the creative journey. Scribbling ideas on paper, digging through magazines, or manually focusing a lens. This is the cure.
The Leica M11 is a road less travelled. It demands more from you, and by rising to meet those demands, you elevate your craft. The physical nature of a rangefinder creates a feedback loop that deepens your relationship with the world around you. You aren’t just capturing context; you’re becoming part of it.
I’m reminded of Kurt Vonnegut, who preferred walking to the post office for a single envelope rather than ordering a stack of them like his wife suggested. For him, it was a chance to interact with people and entertain the dancing animal within him.
The M11 is serves as an antidote to this efficiency poison seeping into photography. It’s a middle finger to the auto-everything cameras that make life too damn easy. Those soulless boxes have their place. Hell, I own a few of my own. But I’m glad I can choose a tool that sits diametrically opposed to them. Something that lets me entertain that dancing animal.
When given the opportunity, I’m always reaching for my M11 first.
Passport
Here’s the thing: while this entire story was structured around the Leica M11, the truth is that it can ring just as true for any camera.
Every one of us, we are so varied and nuanced in our creative journeys that theres a plethora of cameras that become more than a camera for what we’re hoping to achieve. There’s countless examples of great artists that have made remarkable careers from humble instruments of creation.
That’s the beauty of this journey. As you explore it with deep conviction, the tools you rely on start to become more than bits of metal, plastic, and glass. They can transport you, across time and space, putting you on a collision course to transcend this border that separates good from great.
It’s with that in mind that at the end of any of my workshops, I’ll tell people: Cameras are passports and photography is time travel.
The truth is, I didn’t write this story to convince anyone to buy an M11 or to appease the Leica crowd. I wrote this to underscore the potential that lies within our tools. Whether it’s a camera, a lens, a keyboard, or a pen, there are these objects that if we interact with regularly and deeply, they become more.
Don’t look for a tool that makes the job easier; look for the catalyst that pushes you further. Find the key that unlocks a community that values your intention over your influence. Turn it into a filter that strains out the noise until only your authentic voice remains. Reach for this antidote that preserves your humanity against a rising tide of automated, soulless results. Above all, put in the work so this camera suddenly becomes passport into a new tier of creativity.
Because if you’re asking me, the right camera doesn’t just help you tell a story. It changes the person telling it.
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
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.
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 BIG December Contest Winner
Congratulations to the winner of last month’s contest:
Alan G.
You’ll receive an email directly from me on receiving your prize. Enjoy!
NEW 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.
What’s Next?
I hosted my first studio photography workshop last year in Toronto, and students were blown away by the experience. It was two days of engaged material that’s designed to sharpen the skills of photographers in a studio environment.
Based on the feedback, I’m confident we have an experience that be taken all over the world. If you’re interested, I’d love to know where we should host the next one.
The goal of this workshop is to share a wealth of knowledge in a disciplined environment so that photographers can level up their studio experience. My last group was genuinely blown away by the amount of value that was shared. And I can’t wait to share that energy with photographers around the world.
GB
The next time I see someone on threads ask why shoot Leica I’ll share this link. Great post.
Really well put, and I appreciate your perspective after four years! I’ve owned an M11 for four months now, and it really has breathed new life into photography for me in all the ways you mention here. It simply puts you in a position to be more attentive to the moment and the person in front of you. Well said.