Panorama of an illuminated city at night.

shape

Daisuke Abe with the Leica SL3

Daisuke Abe, a photographer / cinematographer from the creative studio "bird and insect" which engages in image branding through photography and video has embarked on a new photographic challenge with the Leica SL3.

The first time I saw the Leica SL3, it was displayed on a desk next to a Leica SL2. 
I hadn’t even noticed it at first.
It wasn’t until I held it in my hands that I saw and felt the difference: a light camera that is easy to use.

A 60-megapixel sensor, tilt screen, 8K video recording mode, and enhanced AF performance:
I remember thinking, “I can’t wait to start taking pictures with this camera”.

 

Having had the opportunity to gain some hands-on experience with the SL3, this is a camera that will enable me to expand the scope of my photography work and widen the range of objects I can, and want to, photograph.

Cityscapes, nature, objects, animals, people… I wanted to point my camera at almost everything I saw, near or far away. 
But in art photography, too broad a range of subjects tends to become messy. 
I had to narrow it down, which wasn’t easy. 
One theme that ultimately emerged was “shapes”. 
 

Behind the scenes with the Leica SL3

Two things are important to me when I take pictures: how to best capture the light, and the shape of the subject within the frame. 
Regardless of what it is that I decide to shoot, it isn’t until those two things align to my satisfaction that I press the shutter button.

I liked the reassurance provided by the high pixel density (60 MP) when shooting still life. 
The tilting monitor made snapshots and video recording a breeze. 
Thanks to the enhanced AF performance I was able to shoot fast-moving subjects with ease and precision.
I felt I was able to do so much more, and more easily, with the Leica SL3.

Movie shot on the Leica SL3

Director: bird and insect  Tomonao Sakurayashiki
Cinematogpraher: bird and insect  Daisuke Abe, Tomonao Sakurayashiki

Daisuke Abe captures various shapes with the Leica SL3

 

So far, I have pressed the shutter button hundreds of thousands, perhaps even a million times, or more. But even as I continue to shoot, not every shot results in what I like to call “the birth of a photograph”. 
That moment when you decide that you have been able to capture what you saw or were aiming for.
Or when you find that the resulting image is even better than what you were looking for.
To me, that is the moment the “photograph” is born.

I have experienced many such moments since I started using Leica cameras, and I have found the SL3 to be a camera that matches my style and the kind of images I pursue.