I visit Budapest very often — probably more than 40 times. Back when we were dancing, we'd come for rehearsals, performances, workshops. Now my brother has been living there for 7 years, which gives me another reason to keep returning.
In November 2024 I had just received a Leica M11 with a Summicron 28mm from Leica as a loan camera. My Leica Q3 had an issue in the EVF glass and I had to send it back to Leica for repair. In the meantime this was my first trip ever with a rangefinder camera, and these are my first ever photos.
Adaptation was quite wild for the first day. Manual focusing was an issue but since I was used to the Q3 manual focusing, I adapted really fast to the far more precise rangefinder system. The difficulty was on the composition side. I was not used to seeing the world without a screen. I was not sure exactly where my frame was and initially I thought I cannot easily compose.
However this was until I saw the images on a big screen after the 1st walk. I realized that I liked them and the thought I had about composition was just a preconception. I simply had to practice and get used to the new system.
Rangefinder cameras are more intuitive and let you make images without interfering with the environment. You learn to previsualize your shot in your mind. You learn to click in your mind and then simply raise your camera and press the button. The camera gets out of the way.
1 month later when I got my Q3 back from Leica, I realized the vast differences in the way a camera makes you see the world. I have to say that for street and travel photography I much prefer to not have any screens in my eyes. It really helps me to visualize rather than validate the scene before taking the shot.
