Leica M240
作者：Daran Wu
The fashion world was never my familiar territory, but by a chance opportunity I got to shoot backstage as a designer's staff member — which gave me much greater freedom.
I chose the Leica M240 partly because the whole lens kit is simple and compact, not drawing attention — but the biggest reason is enjoying photography this way: aperture, shutter, focus. The whole process can't be called convenient, but it's an interesting one.
Focus carefully, wait, then press the shutter — no burst mode, only the photographer's anticipation. With a modern mirrorless camera it's all too easy, but once these advanced features are taken away, photography becomes interesting again.
Because my assignment was free rein, I could willfully shoot with the M this way — in my heart wanting to follow in the footsteps of photographers abroad. This passion of sentiment remains a part I cherish.
Leica M 50mm F1.4 ASPH
Lenses used
Leica M 35mm F2
ZM 28mm F2.8
For lenses, most of the time I used the Leica M 50mm F1.4 ASPH. As a standard lens it performs remarkably well, with good optical performance at every aperture. The other was the Leica M 35mm F2, known as the "seven-element" — an old lens without sharp image quality, but its wide-open bokeh is nice, good for creating a slightly wide-angle mood. Finally I brought a ZM 28mm F2.8 as my wide-angle backup. Though not an expensive lens, Zeiss optics never disappoint; the f/2.8 aperture struggles a bit in dim environments, but with the M camera's slow-shutter, low-vibration character, 1/30s still gave chances of sharp shots.
I remember looking forward to shooting fashion week in New York the year before last, but the pandemic delayed many plans. This shoot was quite enjoyable, and I got to experience what backstage shooting is like. Looking forward to more interesting shoots in the future.
Further reading:
Leica SL2 + APO SL 50mm F2: First Impressions
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