MrLeica – Leica Photowalks 2023
Before we end 2022 I thought I would share a sample of my non-model photography images from my various solo photowalks this year. If you follow my YouTube channel you’ll know I love Leica but I don’t limit myself to only this brand. Most photos in this post will be shot with Leica cameras but I’ll try to mix it up a little!
Photowalks vs model photography
When I photograph models you see me using both digital cameras and film cameras side by side (like in the video below). When I wander the streets taking photos for my own interest I shoot film only. I like to capture artistic, imperfect and hopefully timeless representation of the scene and film helps me achieve this.
Solo photowalks vs group photowalks
When walking around various cities talking photos I thought perhaps people would be interested in how I compose my shots, what I look for, how I meter the image, what lens I use, what camera, what film etc. With this in mind I setup the MrLeica photowalk mailing list. When I visit a particular city I email those on the list (who stated that they have an interest in meeting in that city) and offer photo walks, model workshops or perhaps a mix of the two. I plan to be more pro-active with group events in 2023 so emails to follow!
Photos by city
I’ve divided this article into groups of photos from some of the cities I visited in 2022. In no particular order – Budapest, Gdansk, London, Warsaw, Spain, Lanzarote and a mention to Dubai and New York too. Let’s get started!
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Budapest photowalks
Budapest is one of my favourite cities to photograph. I used to pass through the city most months for my day job as I worked in Hungary for a time. That’s how I found it. If you missed the recent job change video, link below!
Guess the camera!
If you think Leica cameras take better photos than non-Leica cameras I challenge you to spot Leica verses non-Leica photos from the sequence below (and all other images to follow in this article). Click any image to see the camera, lens and film used plus film developing info. My Contax T2 video shows Budapest images too.
Gdansk photowalk
Gdansk is another one of my favourite cities and it perhaps my most visited area outside of the UK. Normally I’m there to photograph my Polish model friends but I usually fit in photowalks, workshops and runs too. Looking forward to being back there in 2023 for more of the same! See the Voigtlander 90mm f2.8 APO video for more shots of Gdansk.
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London photowalks
As a UK Leica photographer, the majority of my Leica workshops are in London. My first Leica photowalk of 2023 will be in London and I will send the date to everyone on the mailing list (see further down in the post). Here are some sample photos from my trips to London. (Usually I photograph models in London so I have less photo walk images). Some of my YouTube lens review videos were shot in London if you want to see more of the city. Voigtlander 35mm f2 APO for example.
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Spain (Alicante-Valencia Region) walks, runs and photo bike rides
I visited mainland Spain twice in 2022. Walking is great in built up cities but sometimes if you want to cover more ground faster running is a better strategy. To explore an even wider area hire a bike! I enjoy all 3 methods of transport with more to come in 2023.
Warsaw photowalk
After visiting Poland for 12+ years (since I used to travel there for work) I finally made the long overdue trip to Warsaw. Loved it! See my Jupiter-12 35mm f2.8 lens video for more of the city. High on my list to go back to in 2023!
Lanzarote photo bike ride
Lanzarote for me is a place to visit for better weather during the UK cold dark wet winter months. As mentioned above, sometimes I don’t find enough things of interest to photograph in a walkable area (25k step) so a bike is my solution. I’ll try to make a video of one of the bike trips in 2023.
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Dubai photowalk
Dubai is more of a “photodrive” than a walk as it’s not the easiest city to walk around. I was re-testing the Leica M9 when I visited to teach the model photography Leica workshops so I didn’t shoot much film sadly. See the M9 video below for more of Dubai.
New York photowalk (Throwback)
In late 2015 and then again in early 2016 I was flown to New York to teach Leica workshops. This is one city that I really loved for photo walk style photos. I took a Hasselblad Xpan on one trip (see NY Xpan post) and a Hasselblad 501c the next time (see post). Now with YouTube and Patreon and I have a few contacts in the US so hopefully I can get to New York in 2023 to run a few workshops and photowalks. If you are interested please make sure you are on the mailing list.
Leica photowalks 2023 – Are you on the mailing list?
What is included on my photowalk days? I’ve written a full page on this so you can see all the info here – https://mrleica.com/photowalks/
Learn how to photograph models too!
As mentioned above, as a model photographer, if the interest is there I can also arrange days where it is half walking around and then we meet a local model to practice our posing, lighting and communications skills. (If your interest is purely model photography state that on the mailing list form and I’ll aim to arrange some small group workshops with models (In addition to my usual 1:1 model workshops).
Download my FREE model photography eBook in the meantime –
Interesting. Very subject-entered to the point that your tendency is to frame your subject right in the center, unless, in a few cases, you establish a dialogue with two elements in a diagonal (usually bottom right to top left). You seem to rarely play with the edges, the light (deep light/shadow contrast), have more than 1 to 2 subjects (plus background) and photograph people close (street-photo style)… do you think that is all a consequence in specialising in model shooting? All the best for the coming new year Matt.
Hi thanks for your observations! Yes people in the west are said to read photos like a book, left to right, top to bottom, turn the page at the bottom right. By having leading lines from the bottom right it’s said to keep people on the image. I juts do it automatically but that’s the science. I tend to really fill the frame with model shots, with film (as here) I look for “things” to photo. I don’t want to “waste” film on many people in lots of the images as I like the control of the scene. 1 character, yes that suits me. Compostion is my main enjoyment with non-model shots. I might use the edges less as with some film cameras i’m approximating the framing (vintage cameras). With a more modern FE2 I will be looking at the edges much more closely. All these shots are film so they tend to be lower contrast vs digital. (How I develop). Happy new year!