The Leica Q3 can capture images in a truly unprecedented level of detail because it is able to utilize the entire size of the sensor for all resolutions, with a sensitivity range of ISO 50 to 100,000. In addition, the latest generation of the Maestro Series processor with L 2 Technology ensures a seamless processing speed and enhanced operations.
The Leica Summilux 28 mm f/1.7 aspherical lens lends the Q3 another layer of excellence in performance. Leveraging its integrated macro mode, the ASPH lens allows for strikingly clear close-up shots from a minimum focusing distance of 6.69 inches.
The extended digital zoom enables cropping images to the focal lengths of 28, 35, 50, 75 mm, and now also 90 mm. In addition, the Leica Perspective Control (LPC) and Leica Dynamic Range (LDR) ensure that JPG images are seamlessly created directly from the camera.
The new hybrid autofocus system of the Q3 features phase detection in order to ensure a superior focus when tracking objects, people or animals.
The DFD system and phase detection autofocus combined with intelligent subject recognition allows all Q3 users to capture the sharpest and most detailed images and colors.
To make the Q3 even more unique, the camera is equipped with a new tiltable 3 inch high-resolution touchscreen with the possibility of tilting vertically and finding new angles to capture images. As with all Leica products, durability is paramount and the Q3 is IP52 certified against dust and water, even with the new tilt screen and additional ports.
In order to ensure seamless connectivity on any projects, the Q3 is equipped with advanced Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology, which was shown to improve transfer speed to the Leica FOTOS app by up to 10 times. The Q3 also features the Apple certification “Made for iPhone ® and iPad ®”, which enables for smooth connectivity with a variety of devices and more opportunities for creative leeway.
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Q: How and when did you get started with photography?
A: I have been shooting pictures since I was a teenager. In my early 20’s, I went to Europe and lived for 2 years. I did not speak the language of the countries I was living in, so sometimes I wouldn’t speak for weeks. I walked the streets, took pictures, and looked at art most of the time. My observational skills became quite keen because that is all I had really. I would make up stories about people, and what was happening in a scene, and I guess this is when I really started to do street photography. When I returned home, I became a photo assistant and did personal documentary projects. Photography was the only thing that fully engaged me in every way.
Q: You are a great street photographer, but you do commercial work too. I love both souls of your work, and I consider your work with models to be very inspiring. Do you feel there is a way to integrate your documentary vision into your commercial work? I am particularly interested to learn about your experience as a street photographer as you made stunning works on assignment for your clients.
A: I embrace the challenges of assignments. I like to shoot assignments and fashion on the streets because of the uncontrollable variables. A fashion shoot on the street is not necessarily documentary in nature but when you go to the streets to do something, you are in a sea of other people and anything can and does happen, particularly when you are shooting models; it’s really fun and funny. At this point of my career, I get hired to do what I do for the most part, which is awesome. So I get to put the documentary, discovery, and the unpredictability of street photography into my work most of the time.
As a street photographer, you really have to react fast, predict behavior, chase light, or wait for action to happen. All of these skills are very helpful while doing assignments. On the street, maybe you don’t have a time limit to make the shot, but you certainly do on assignment. Being able to see the best situation quickly and solve problems fast comes from all of these shooting experiences. You just get better at it.
Q: Apart from still photography, you are also a filmmaker. How did you get started making films?
A: I started making films in the mid ’90s. I always seemed to be shooting film of artists and sub-cultures, and I also documented a lot of graffiti writers. I thought it was super important to document artists and their processes, because things change so fast, so that is why I started making films about individual creatives and collaborations between artists.
Q: Your 2013 documentary “Everybody Street” is considered one of the best films ever dedicated to photography, and you received a lot of awards for it. When did you get the idea to make this film?
A: I was asked by a museum in lower Manhattan to come up with a film idea that could play within an Alfred Stieglitz exhibition, so I pitched the idea to make a film about photographers who went to the streets of NY, and created a substantial body of work inspired by that practice. Selfishly, I wanted to meet my idols (and I did) after showing the short at the museum, and then I was invited to show it at the Tate modern. I went back into the project to expand it to feature-length because there was so much more to say.
Quoting a review about the movie: “I appreciate the diversity of thought and approach in the street that Dunn’s documentary depicts: this is an invitation to reflect for everyone. There is not homologation, and this is an invitation to reflect for everyone. We can see photographers more focused on portraits, others on the decisive moment. Bruce Gilden is very different by Joel Meyerowitz…”
Q: I think the great merit of this movie is how it presents a diversity of approach and aesthetics without simply demonstrating a way to take pictures in the street. Do you agree? Aren’t we all street photographers?
A: Yes, I agree. I wanted to show all the different ways people do it. The photographers in my film are all very different, with varied approaches. There are so many great street photographers, but there is more to photography than simply pressing a button.
Q: “Everybody Street” presents New York City as the city for excellence in street photography. What are some of the unique characteristics that come with taking street photography here?
A: The one thing about NY that makes it interesting for me is the way the light is here. Manhattan is a small island surrounded by water. Skyscrapers of glass and steel, and tons of people in concentration. Light is bouncing everywhere; people are on top of each other with crazy scenes unfolding before your eyes. It’s ripe for street photographers.
Q: And do you think the Big Apple still represents the capital of street photography?
A: There are many great cities for street photography as populations increase all over the world. But in the last century, NY was the center of the arts, it was in what they called “The New World.” This city was having an industrial revolution and most of all, it is maybe one of the most multicultural cities; there is every type of person walking the streets. And yes, it is a city that everyone walks in.
Q: Among all the photographers presented and interviewed in the documentary, do you have a favorite?
A: Not really. They are all so different, and I am a fan of each of them. I became good friends with Jill Freedman and Boogie in the making of the film.
Q: It’s been two years, is there anything you wish you could change about the project?
A: This film took me four years. And what I want to change is having more time to shoot on the streets.
Q: Are you preparing another documentary? What will be the theme this time?
A: Yes, I am starting on a new film about the New York artist Dash Snow.
Q: I think the ’60s and ’70s, but also the ’80s in the Big Apple with photographers like Garry Winogrand and Joel Meyerowitz, and then Bruce Gilden and Bruce Davidson, representing an unrepeatable period for this genre. They choose to go out to take pictures as a genuine need; they never imagined that they would become recognized as the masters today, when street photographers are living in the social network era where everyone thinks of being famous. What is the state of Street Photography today? And what are the main differences from the golden era of street photography?
A: There are great street photographers today, but the judge of what is great now are followers on Instagram and likes. And who are those people? Are they the same people that make Instagram accounts about cats and dogs the most popular? So who is really deciding what is great or not now? It is a different time. The golden age of photography included artists that knew every aspect of the medium and did them all –processing film, printing pictures, etc. They all had darkrooms. They were artisans. Most people that are popular on Instagram don’t know anything about that stuff. And does it matter? I don’t know, but that is one of the differences.
Q: Is there an artist that you feel shares your attitude and approach to the photographic medium?
A: In my film, I would say Boogie.
Q: What does street photography mean to you?
A: It’s something I need to do. I am always riddled with anxiety because I have a lot of other work to do, and I don’t get to the streets as much as I want to.
Q: How did you first become interested in Leica?
A: I think probably studying the masters: Cartier-Bresson, Bruce Davidson, Garry Winogrand, and the like. I wanted to be as nimble and quick as I could, and I knew this was my camera. It took me a while to save up for the gear I have. Since Leica really stands the test of time, it’s fine to buy used gear, and I have done that a lot, one piece at a time; if I got a decent job, I would buy a new lens or something. It’s just the best camera for me, such a beautiful machine. The lenses are incredible, and I can handle the weight. I am always shooting them, so they are like an extension of my body at this point.
Q: You are using Leica M6, M7, and M9. Do you have you a preference between film and digital photography? When you prefer to use film? When do you go digital?
A: I shoot film mostly for my personal work. I’m trying to like digital more. I use it commercially more so, but my film pictures are what I love.
Q: Do you have any favorite lens?
A: I mostly had a 35 f/1.2. for so long. Then a 90 mm, and a 21 mm. After that, I got the 50 mm f/1.4 Summilux. I love it so much. The last one I got was a 28 mm ASPH.
Q: What about Leica today? What are the reasons your cameras are Leica, and not from other brands?
A: They are like a beautiful diamond ring: forever the best.
Q: If you could test a new Leica camera what would it be, and why?
A: I would like to try the Monochrom. I just ran into Boogie in my neighborhood, and he was rocking one. He kept going on about how great it was. And I have heard this from other people as well. I would like to try it.
Q: What are some of your challenges? What will be the new goals for Cheryl Dunn?
A: A balance of film and photography, and being able to have the time to explore the subjects that inspire me.
Thank you for your time, Cheryl!
– Leica Internet Team
Learn more about Everybody Street, or visit Cheryl’s website and tumblr to view more of her work.
Alex Coghe is an Italian editor and photojournalist currently based in Mexico City whose professional activity ranges from editorial photography to events. Learn more about Alex on his official website and download his book “THE STREET PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDE” here and other publications on iTunes. He is also the publisher of The Street Photographer Notebook, an inspirational monthly edition electronic magazine dedicated to street photography worldwide. Check out the pages on Facebook, tumblr and on Alex’s website.
]]>From all the photographic experimentations I had the chance to experience until now, New York remains the most thrilling. The contrast overrunning this city nourished with agitation, energy, extravagant personalities makes it incredibly captivating. I had the feeling I needed to accomplish a mission, not only in my artistic pace, but also the choice of the material I will be using.
I went in pursuit for emotions, the understanding of the human being in its social environment. Diversity, individuality, the approach of photography based on the isolation of the character, the distress expressed in its greatest beauty. Vacuous from drama, filled with dignity, yet fatalism. New York is a great theatre, bringing together protagonists following their destiny, staging slices of life where capturing the magic of the moment became my primary objective.
It is a story made of encounters, coincidence, a turn round the corner. Sometimes, it is a matter of a fraction of a second, for others it is about a few moving words, sharing a page of their story. The boxer, skipping in the middle of the street, free and half-naked, alone against all, with an abrasive look and bulging muscles. I had trouble to win him in, until he decided to take part in my project.
Sure-footed, sharp-eyed, wedging a cigar in his half-opened mouth, I cannot say if is a rapper or a gangster, whether he is about to release a disc or pull out a shiny knife.
This business man taken into the turmoil of the crowd distinguishes himself from others with the fierceness of his attitude, just like a trader quick on the draw for a stock option, and until his last breath.
And what about this young man from Harlem, the hint of a smile and a snake on his shoulder, tattoos all over his body by wave of distinctive marks, in search for his identity in New York’s hive of activity.
Through those characters, I wanted to understand the polarity of New York ; its hugeness as its neighbourhood life, how to switch from outstanding to desperation, the multiplicity of parallel lives cohabiting, yet creating the uniqueness of its energy. On one side, Wall Street, the fifth avenue, exacerbated depiction of the American dream. While on the other end, the marginalisation of the left-overs, the underground as only shelter, theatre of a suffocating disillusion.
How do they resist to the acute pressure of its architecture, and how despite all that, are they clinging to life and keep on trying to exist? New York could be the representation of surprise. We never know “what”, “when” or “where”, but “this” is going to show up, “it” is going to happen. You find the emotional richness, a glance that opens your eyes, a sight of view which changes your perception, an errant creature tearing you apart.
To support my project, I wanted to make my photos of New York with the rangefinder again, my analog Leica MP, which enables to work in hyper focal distance. This way the focal depth range facilitated my effectiveness to capture the decisive moment.
I couldn’t have had the same result with another camera. Indeed, its lightness and handiness brought me a great flexibility of use. As well, I could work closely, and create an atmosphere of intimacy with the character. For example, concerning the portraits, its little size put me in a comfortable and stress-free situation with the character, a certain confidence I couldn’t have had established with a bigger camera (which could impress or weaken).
In my approach, I decided to impose myself a type of image : one film camera body, one 35mm lens (35 mm Summicron), and only one type of film, the Kodak TRI-X 400. The 35mm lens, captures at the same time the person and its environment. When I shoot a photo, I try to frame the most precisely in function of my photographic intention, to be the most similar to my vision (none of the photos have been re-framed) and to keep an optimum quality of image.
This is a course of action I want to follow in my artistic approach and the choice of the material. Eventually, the film TRI-X 400, is unique to me : not only for the depiction of the film, but for its texture, the picture grain, which gave me the chance to reach a level of estheticism and an atmosphere close to cinematography.
-Nicolas Hermann
]]>Your photos have a nostalgic look and are reminiscent of the work of classics such as Meyerowitz. Is that by accident?
Gillard: The nostalgia found in my pictures is there on purpose. I look for it. I seek out people and moments that have a vague sense of time to them. My aim is to take pictures that don’t sit squarely in the time they are made but rather have a feeling that they might have been taken in the past.
Are you an autodidact or did you have some kind of professional photographic training?
I started taking pictures when I was around 20. I began by photographing my friends and the places where I traveled – a pretty typical start. Then I moved to New York. I worked in a restaurant at night and spent my days exploring the streets and neighborhoods of the city with my camera. I walked and walked. I became much more interested in taking photographs of strangers than of friends. Years later I studied photography for the first time at I.C.P. (The International Center of Photography), but it was during these first years of living in and wandering around New York that I began to learn to see with my camera.
What are you looking for in a picture or frame?
What I look for in a frame depends on the day, but generally I look for people. I look for color and shape, something ordinary that is also beautiful, something funny, something lonely, something joyful, something sincere.
On the whole you single out people. What kind of people catch your eye?
I am drawn to old and young people, the two ends of life where I find that people are more themselves. I am interested in how they move through a day and how they present themselves in public..
How do you capture these decisive moments?
I capture these moments by walking and looking. I walk a lot. New York rarely disappoints. The city is a peacock. Everyone is here, a sea of humanity, triumphant and crushing all at once. The streets of New York are a theater, a never-ending performance.
What makes New Yorkers special?
New Yorkers are comfortable in public. We are an extroverted city, and a large-spirited group of people.
Why do you shoot analogue?
I shoot film because I think it looks better. In so many ways digital cameras are helpful, more efficient even, but for my daily walks, film works better for me. I can more easily get in sync with the rhythm of the city when I don’t have the distraction of looking at what I just shot. The delay in seeing the picture itself is an important part of the process for me.
Why Leica? Please talk a little about the M6 and your experience with it!
My first Leica was an M4, which I fell in love with instantly. Years ago I got an M6, and that too is such a special camera for me. It’s small, fast and quiet; it allows me to shoot on the street in a kind of benign way. People don’t seem to notice me, which is an important element to how I shoot and the pictures I take. My goal is to go unnoticed. I don’t want to disturb the scenes I see, if at all possible, and the M6 is perfect for that.
Is this NY series finished or to be continued?
I don’t think I’ll ever be finished shooting in New York. It is such a special place; it’s inexplicably filled with a sort of newness every day; it’s kind of incredible that way. I can walk a city block a thousand times and have a thousand different experiences. Ironically now, I see it as a constantly shifting and moving animal, perpetually changing. But now the city is still, the city is quiet, heavy with grief and uncertainty.
What’s your next project?
Anything you want to plug?I am the featured photographer in The Journal of Grievances, a photography magazine coming out this week from the New York & Bogotá based publisher, Antics.
About Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard is a New York street photographer with a Midwesterner’s eye for observing open spaces. A graduate of the International Center of Photography’s Photojournalism and Documentary Studies program, Gillard’s work has been exhibited at The New York Historical Society, The International Center of Photography and The Brooklyn Museum. Her photographs have been published in The New York Times, Mother Jones, Photograph Magazine and The Financial Times. Gillard is a visiting artist at Bard College and St. John’s University and is the photo editor of the Diner Journal, an independent magazine featuring original art, literature and recipes. You can follow her on Instagram or visit her website.