Exploring New Perspectives with the Leica M11-P: A Street Photography Journey Through Old Sacramento and Lake Tahoe

Apr 14

I don’t plan on talking about gear too much in this newsletter because I feel it is so subjective nowadays. Any modern camera is capable of delivering images that support the vision of the photographer taking them. After all, as we photographers are fond of saying, “it’s not the camera but the photographer.” What cameras can give you, though, are a sense of excitement and motivation to go out and shoot. And that’s the most important aspect of any camera. Does it make you want to get off your ass and take it for a stroll?

Recently, I have purchased one such camera and lens. It was not without sacrifice as I finally sold my beloved M10 Monochrom in order to upgrade to an M11-P. I also traded up from my 35mm Summicron f/2 to a 35mm Summilux f/1.4. My plan is to go forth and only use this setup for quite a while. The limitations of using one setup will hopefully inspire more creativity.

Last week, I ventured out onto the streets of Old Sacramento, a particular favorite place for me to shoot street photography. I have thousands of photos, both film and digital, of the never boring historical town. The day I visited had those nice high clouds with partial sunny skies, almost like a giant soft box.

Over the past weekend, my wife and I drove up to Truckee and then Lake Tahoe for a nice little day trip. Clear blue skies and weather warm enough to only need a short-sleeve shirt made for the perfect outing. We stopped by a favorite coffee shop before strolling through the small town of Truckee. Lastly, we drove down to eat by the lake and take in it’s natural beauty.

I’ve been tinkering with the colors I’m getting out of the camera in order to create a preset that I can use as a starter before tinkering with each image. Below are the images I captured during last week’s adventures.