October 18, 2026

2023 US Journey | Hasselblad & Leica

Hasselblad

In 2023, photographer Daran traveled to Yosemite, USA on a shooting assignment. Carrying his beloved Hasselblad X2D and Leica M240, he captured travel moments beyond work — and through his cameras, retraced his younger footsteps on the streets of New York.

By Daran Wu

Yosemite Taft Point | A wedding couple embracing on the granite cliff top at sunset, with Yosemite Valley behind them — shot on Hasselblad X2D + XCD 55V
Yosemite Taft Point | Hasselblad X2D + 55V

I used to always travel with the Leica M240 — but as the toy collection grew (ha~), it rarely got its turn. On my last trip of 2023, I wanted to recapture that old feeling, carrying my familiar one-body-two-lens kit (ZM 50mm F1.5 + Leica 35mm F2 7-element), using eyes and intuition to anticipate each frame, treating every shutter press as luck and practice, one frame at a time.

Shooting with the M is pure joy — spiritually and aesthetically. With a Leica in hand, no journey feels impossible. Without the power of modern mirrorless, the M still energizes my photography; through such a tiny lens, images take on a completely different character.

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Just out of the subway — the familiar entrance of New York's Penn Station, where I still remember dropping an iPhone 6 years ago. A brief few hours in New York became a walk down memory lane. While the sun was still out, I became a street photographer, hunting for interesting light and subjects. The Hasselblad X2D on my shoulder unexpectedly became a conversation starter with several foreign friends.

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I remember during this trip playing Cheer Chen's "The Meaning of Travel" — sitting quietly on a street bench as the melody played, my mind flooded with images of the past: the unforgettable, the special, the regretted, and the deeply felt people, moments, and things.

I remain full of curiosity about this world — and how will my own life journey unfold?

Let the next journey — and its images — tell the story~

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Leica M240 + ZM 50mm F1.5 + Leica 35mm F2 7-element

US road trip | A man in flip-flops crossing a suburban intersection beneath a San Tomas street sign — shot on Leica M240
US road trip | Back view of a man in a yellow-green polo shirt standing on hexagonal paving, looking across a parking lot toward a palm-lined shopping mall — shot on Leica M240
US street photography | Two people standing beside a 'Free Bible Course' JW.ORG display stand on a sidewalk, as a man carrying a Nike shopping bag walks past talking on his phone — shot on Leica M240
California | The US flag and the California Republic bear flag flying from a flagpole against a cloudy sky — shot on Leica M240
California | A family walks past a park building painted with a heron-and-clouds mural — the father carrying a baby car seat, the mother in a pink sun hat, and a little girl in a princess dress holding a pink bucket — shot on Leica M240
California | A woman photographing a man with her phone in a bayside parking lot, a dark Lexus sedan parked beside them, with the bay and low hills behind — shot on Leica M240
California | Two people sitting on a wooden fence chatting at a bay trailhead, trail map and information boards beside them, wetlands and golden hills behind — shot on Leica M240
California | Golden marsh grassland stretching toward a bay slough, with dry rolling hills and a small shoreline settlement in the distance — shot on Leica M240
California | Visitors gathered on the white salt-crusted shore of a pink salt pond, taking photos beside the rose-colored water — shot on Leica M240
California | A couple posing for a portrait on the shore of the pink salt pond, white birds floating on the rose-colored water behind them — shot on Leica M240
California | A line of white birds wading in the shallow salt pond under a wide cloudy sky, one more bird in flight, with hills on the horizon — shot on Leica M240
California | A couple embracing and smiling at each other at the edge of the pink salt pond, its rose-tinted water rippling behind them — shot on Leica M240
California | Photographers gathered on a dry grassy hilltop with tripods and cameras, a couple standing on the slope below in the evening light — shot on Leica M240
California | A woman in a pale pink dress posing at the water's edge of the salt pond while two friends photograph her from the white shore — shot on Leica M240
California | An older woman in a wide-brimmed hat holding a phone and a drink, standing on a trail lined with golden grass at dusk — shot on Leica M240
California | Blue hour over a suburban strip mall — the shopfronts of an 'Office Ship Center' and 'techCU' glowing under street lamps beside a silhouetted tree — shot on Leica M240
US road trip | View from the terminal onto the apron — ground crew loading baggage carts beside the wing and engine of a United airliner — shot on Leica M240
US road trip | An airline pilot in uniform with his rolling luggage, checking his phone by the terminal window overlooking the apron — shot on Leica M240
US street photography | Reflections in an airport terminal's glass — a woman's face mirrored above silhouetted travelers against orange sunset light, an 'Accessible Entrance' sign at the side — shot on Leica M240
US street photography | Black-and-white silhouette of a traveler holding a child, standing with a suitcase before the slanted columns and bright windows of an airport terminal — shot on Leica M240
US road trip | A United airliner parked at the jet bridge while a Gate Gourmet catering truck loads the galley, more United jets on the apron behind — shot on Leica M240
US street photography | An older couple with backpacks walking through a bright airport terminal corridor — shot on Leica M240
New York | Pedestrians on a zebra crossing between glass office towers, two women walking side by side in the foreground — shot on Leica M240

X2D + XCD 55v + XCD 38v

New York | A bearded man with glasses and curly hair looking up on a Manhattan sidewalk, a classical stone building and glass towers behind him — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | A rider on an e-scooter crossing the street in motion blur, cars and Manhattan towers sharp behind him — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | A woman in sunglasses and a burgundy scarf crossing the zebra crossing at Eighth Avenue, phone in hand — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | A man checking his phone under sidewalk scaffolding beside a red bus lane, the Empire State Building rising at the end of the avenue — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | A woman with a striped shopping bag walking past green construction hoarding striped with scaffolding shadows, a 'Please Use Pedestrian Walkway' sign beside her — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | A woman with a red bag walking through a shadowed colonnade, its columns casting long shadows across the wall — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | A gray-haired man seen from behind, looking up at billboards advertising 'Frasier' above a Subway restaurant on a Manhattan corner — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | A man in a scarf checking his phone in front of a cosmetics shop window, dwarfed by a giant beauty advertisement portrait behind the glass — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | Looking up at Midtown towers — the Empire State Building rising behind older stone high-rises beside a blue glass facade — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | Pedestrians passing a hot dog cart with a yellow-and-blue umbrella at a Manhattan subway entrance, office towers rising behind — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | A traffic officer directing cars and pedestrians at a busy Manhattan intersection below a grand white stone corner building — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | An NYPD traffic officer in a reflective vest holding up his hand to stop a yellow cab in the middle of a Manhattan avenue — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | The Macy's Herald Square flagship with its red 'The World's Largest Store' sign and rows of American flags, pedestrians crossing below — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | Black-and-white view of the Macy's 'World's Largest Store' corner, a pedestrian's legs blurred in the foreground and traffic crossing below — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | Black-and-white street scene — a man with a backpack and cap crossing through rising steam, a classical columned stone building behind the traffic — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | A small fluffy tan dog on a leash looking up at the camera from the sidewalk — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | Two dogs on leashes meeting nose-to-nose on a paved plaza — a tan dog in a red harness and a black-and-white dog in a blue harness — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | People relaxing at café tables under tall plane trees in a city park, glass kiosk stalls lit warmly beside them — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | Close portrait of a bearded man in a black jacket and plaid scarf, holding his road bike beside a park kiosk — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | People seated at high tables under a 'Bryant Park' umbrella at the park's edge, food carts and glass office towers behind — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | A man eating at the serving window of a green-and-red park food kiosk, pastries displayed behind its glass — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | A bald man in a black coat checking his phone by a park railing, a large planted urn and green lampposts beside him — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | The New York Public Library's marble facade seen from Bryant Park — its red lion banner hanging above the park railing, glass towers rising behind — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | A couple sitting on a stone ledge, seen through the blurred balusters of a park railing — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | A young man leaning on a stone balustrade checking his phone, the marble library facade and its tall arched windows behind him — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | Black-and-white street scene — a man in a white cap leaning on a park balustrade checking his phone, crowds passing a 'Park News' kiosk — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | Looking up a Manhattan canyon — dark brick and stone towers catching late sunlight on either side of a strip of blue sky — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | People sitting on the front steps of the New York Public Library — two scrolling their phones, a yellow LEGO shopping bag at their feet — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | A yellow NYC taxi van crossing the zebra crossing at West 40th Street, a 'One Way' sign and traffic light above — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | A pedicab driver pedaling his blue-canopied tricycle across a red bus lane, a yellow cab and SUV beside him — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | Black-and-white — a woman in a long coat stepping off an M3 bus bound for the East Village, another bus waiting behind — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | Black-and-white self-portrait in a shop window reflection — a man with glasses holding his camera up to photograph himself — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | A woman in a black puffer jacket standing beside a bus-stop ad asking 'What's Good NYC?', traffic blurred behind her — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | Close-up from behind of a pedestrian's black OGIO backpack printed with the words 'ain't too proud', crossing the street — shot on Hasselblad X2D
New York | Looking through the open doors of a service entrance on West 33rd Street — a worker pushing a loaded cart down a corridor lined with dumpsters — shot on Hasselblad X2D
US road trip | An elderly man in a suit and tie reading a newspaper aboard a train, seated between rows of green carriage seats — shot on Hasselblad X2D

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