“My approach has always been about bringing order to chaos.”
This Is How I See: Street Photography
Eolo Perfido is an Italian street photographer who finds Tokyo the perfect stage for his way of seeing. The city is fast-moving and endlessly varied. In Eolo’s eyes, the street is a place of disorder that can be shaped into form. A single figure can bring balance to everything around it. His photography is a way of understanding humanity. He pays close attention to gestures, light and emotions, searching for the small moments that reveal something deeper about the human experience.
This story is part of an ongoing Tokyo Street Series. Subscribe to our newsletter to follow the series as new photographers are featured.
Street Photography Shows Who You Are
Eolo often describes street photography as a kind of blood sample of a photographer. Put someone on the street with a camera and their instincts quickly reveal how they respond when nothing is fully under their control.
The street leaves little room to hide. Taste, timing, attention and failure all become visible. That is what makes the medium so honest. A good street photographer is not someone who never fails, but someone who fails a little less and learns to move with the flow.
What matters is not controlling the scene, but becoming part of it long enough to recognise when everything briefly falls into place.
Street photography had taught me that you cannot control an environment. You have to become part of the flow.
Eolo Perfido
One City, Many Worlds
Tokyo is a city where different worlds exist side by side. Contemporary architecture sits alongside older streets, while moments of intensity give way to unexpected calm.
What fascinates him is the contrast between collective rhythm and private solitude. Millions of people move in synchrony, yet each person seems wrapped in their own inner world. That emotional distance within such physical density gives the city its unique energy.
Tokyo is not only defined by its pace. It is shaped by the fragile human presence within it.
My approach has always been about bringing order to chaos.
Eolo Perfido
About Eolo
Eolo Perfido is an Italian portrait photographer and creative director based in Rome. His work spans portraiture, commercial photography, street photography, education and personal artistic projects. He is also connected to Leica as a Leica Certified Photographer and Leica Akademie Instructor.
He began as a commercial photographer, but street photography gradually became part of his photographic language. Over time, the lessons he learned on the street found their way into all of his work, shaping how he approaches portraiture in every setting.
At the centre of it all are people. The most meaningful moment often begins with eye contact. It is that brief second when someone looks at him, feels safe and allows the photograph to happen.
Eolo's Gear
Tools for Every Photographic Situation
Eolo’s professional work is built around Leica, but he is not tied to one fixed way of shooting. In the studio and on location, he relies on the Leica SL-System with the Leica SL3 and the Leica SL3-P for demanding assignments where precision and flexibility are essential.
On the street, he follows his intuition. The Leica Q3 allows him to react quickly to what unfolds in front of him, while the Leica M EV1 encourages a more intentional eye. With wide-angle M-System lenses, he stays close to the scene and composes his pictures with clarity and structure.
Each camera has its own role. The SL-System supports his portrait and commercial photography; the Leica Q3 keeps him responsive on the street; and the M-System offers a more intimate approach to composition.
The M Experience: Opened Up by M EV1
The Leica M has long been part of Eolo’s personal work, but the Leica M EV1 changes how far he can bring that system into his professional environment. What once felt better suited to personal projects can now be used with confidence in complex assignments, from portrait work to editorial and advertising sets.
With the M EV1, he sees the final image before it is made. Exposure, depth of field, light, and rendering become visible in real time through the built-in electronic viewfinder. For someone who works under pressure, that feedback creates certainty without taking away the character of the M system.
Focus peaking and instant magnification are especially important when working wide open or with longer lenses. Instead of simply focusing on a face, he can place sharp focus exactly where it matters — on the eye, even on the catchlight.
I always see the exact frame and rendering.
Eolo Perfido
M-Cameras: The Tools for Street Photography
The Leica M has long been regarded as the quintessential street-photography camera. More than just a device for capturing images, it is an instrument designed for truly seeing. Its minimalist design, manual controls and compact form factor make shooting intuitive and unobtrusive, allowing photographers to engage naturally with their surroundings. Over decades, M-Cameras have become synonymous with street photography, offering a connection to the moment that few other cameras can match.