Leica M11

A Perfect Morning Drive

Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks are two of my favorite places in America, especially in winter. I tend to avoid them during the summer and even the fall. As someone who adores the minimalism of winter, I eagerly anticipate returning there with all my camera gear. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t visit Jackson Hole at other times of the year. Just this past week, I went to Jackson Hole with a photographer friend, Rod Clark of Wine Country Camera, to visit another photographer, David Brookover. We thought it would be a good idea to check out the fall colors and wildlife, though we weren’t certain how much of it would translate into memorable photos.

I decided to pack light. Instead of my usual Leica SL2S body, I chose to carry the Leica M11 with three lenses: 21mm, 50mm, and 90mm. For most of my visit, I relied on

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The Symphony of Nature’s Gradients

We are a city that celebrates fog, mist, clouds, and the marine layer. For a big part of the year, both sunrise and sunset are hidden from our view, obscured by the gray layer that greets us daily. However, during the months of September and October, we experience what we call the city’s “Indian summer.” This period is characterized by clearer skies and warmer days, which make sunrises and sunsets particularly colorful and filled with gradients.

These gradients have greeted me every day since I returned from my long photography-focused trip. Since returning, I’ve been less enthusiastic about picking up my camera and going for a walk. Instead, I’ve settled into a routine: waking up super early, heading to the gym, and returning to the apartment an hour later to make my coffee.

Only birds and I are the only ones who are up watching this gorgeous display!

It’s around

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I was skimming through my photo library and came across this image from my most recent trip to Iceland. Given it didn’t get dark till very late, these photos were made in the wee hours of the morning. I was sitting down and having coffee in the hotel’s dining room, when the light caught my eye. It is nothing special, and yet it is.

February 14, 2023. San Francisco

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One night in Iceland

On a rare windless late-night drive along one of the fjords in Iceland’s Westfjords, moody cloud cover and near-perfect reflections were great ingredients for a monochromatic landscape vista. Made with Lecia M11 using Leica 90mm f/2.8 Elmarit-M. ISO 800. Shutter speed 1/90th of a second. Aperture f/4.8.

August 2, 2022. San Francisco.

This photo was featured on Leica Camera’s social media feeds on August 1, 2022

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When the birds go home

One of the great joys of living in San Francisco is having a cool and foggy summer. This year especially, I feel grateful for the chilly weather. The entire planet seems to have been enveloped by obscene heat, which is taking its toll not only on humans but also on flora and fauna.

Early in the morning or late in the evening, I find myself on the edge of the waters, enjoying the cool air of the ocean. In the evenings, however, I am enthralled by the multiple formations of Pelicans flying over the restless waters of San Francisco Bay. I captured a few such formations using the Leica M11 camera with a Leica Summilux-M 90mm f/1.5 ASPH Lens. These are edited versions of the photos I captured with the Leica M11.

The 90-Lux lens is a beast of a lens and renders the highlights in only a Leica lens

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An Icelandic Friend

An aerial view of waves crashing against a shore.
An aerial view of a field. A road runs through the upper right corner.

Given my eyesight, I have struggled to use Leica’s rangefinder cameras. I love the M-Monochrom series of cameras, and I love the colors that come out of the old M9 camera. But they are more collector’s items than my everyday cameras. For me, the SL bodies with their astonishingly good viewfinders make them ideal devices, especially for using the M-lenses and other vintage lenses.

Despite my reticence, I decided to try out Leica’s latest flagship rangefinder — the61 megapixel M11 model. With this camera, Leica has streamlined its entire range of cameras around a singular interface — three buttons layout, the menu layouts, and the features on SL and M-bodies mimic each other. The M11 can be used with a new version of Leica’s viewfinder, a boon for someone like me who struggles with the rangefinder.

I don’t quite have a full opinion on the new camera, but I wanted

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The Weight Of Creativity

Leica M11 with 35 & 50mm Summicron and 135 Telmar lenses.

Photography, or rather landscape photography, strums my heartstrings like none other. A trip undertaken to indulge in one’s passion in life is often a reason for one’s soul to smile. And then why do I find myself cringing at the idea of such adventures? 

The answer is relatively simple – I’m not too fond of the gear. To be more specific, I hate the weight of the gear. Is it such an unreasonable reaction? Or is it?

Perhaps, I have become accustomed to the idea of my devices — iPhone, iPad, and MacBooks — becoming more powerful and adding features. And at the same time, finding ways to trim their weight.

The sight of a backpack filled with gear – camera bodies, lenses, and other paraphilia fills me with dread. My two camera bodies — my original Leica SL

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