IN THE FIELD
Professional landscape shooter Jeremy Walker reflects on a year of working with Leica’s highresolution rangefinder camera
Once upon a time, I used Nikon DSLRs for all my professional photography. But a few years ago, I switched to using a Leica M10 rangefinder instead.
Later, I complemented this with the higher-resolution M10-R, with its 41MP (rather than 24MP) sensor being a real advantage for my landscape work.
When Leica introduced the M11, it made what I feel were significant changes compared to the M10 and M10R. Aside from the increased 60MP pixel count, losing the fussy removeable bottom plate was a big improvement (traditional Leica users may disagree!). Used with the add-on handgrip, the whole of the base of the camera becomes an Arca Swiss fit dovetail plate, while retaining access to the vastly improved battery and memory card slot. The internal memory of 64GB was also a valuable addition, while the reduction from four buttons on the rear of the camera to three helped streamline and simplify the M11’s looks and usability. So, were these updates and improvements worthy of changing my M10-R to the impressivelooking M11?
Well, after a year and a half of using the M11 I have to say that so far, I have no regrets. In the past few years, I have had a huge change, not only in the camera system I am using, but also in my approach to my work. Over the past 18 months I have now sold my remaining DSLR kit, my travel flash packs, lighting stands, large filters, flash guns and just about every conceivable piece of kit I had bought over the years. My camera kit now consists of only a rangefinder body and four incredibly small prime lenses that fit neatly into a Billingham Hadley Pro bag. Travelling abroad has become a joy, with no fighting for overhead cabin storage and no worrying about having a huge camera rucksack taken away to be put into hold luggage. I call it small-bag smugness.
Freeing, not limiting
But is there a risk limiting myself to just a small range of focal lengths? Possibly, but I would rather concentrate on what I can shoot, not what I can’t. I find this approach rather refreshing, trying to make the small amount of kit work for you and having to use your eyes and imagination a bit more. After all, it’s possible to carry too much kit and still miss a shot. Small but perfectly formed is ideal for me when shooting my landscape, travel and architectural work.
My first overseas job with the Leica M11 came just a couple of weeks after purchasing it, a few days shooting in Florence, Italy. It was the middle of the summer, not my favourite time for travel and daytime temperatures were pushing towards the hi
