Shooting Architecture - using the Leica Q as an artistic tool
I love to shoot architecture. For me a building is much more than a space where people live or work - a building with its form, light and space can be like poetry to my eyes.
A few weeks ago I have been in Rome and had the opportunity to take some pictures at the Maxxi Museum. Zaha Hadid is the architect and I always wanted to present her work seen through my eyes.
For that I used the Leica Q with the 28mm 1.7 Summilux lens. I had the Leica Q for a few weeks and was mostly shooting street photography with it. I was curious how I could use the Q, not just to shoot architecture - I also wanted to see if I could use the Q as an artistic tool.
The advantage of the Q is that it is a small and light camera. The 28mm lens is superb and so it was easy to take shots at the museum without being noticed too much. I experimented with perspectives, ISO and the aperture. Used the AF and MF. I did not have a tripod with me and took most of my interior shots at ISO 800.
Being back home I went through my shots and tried to analyze the files of the Leica Q. With any new camera there is a learning curve to use the camera, but also a process to read and edit the files.
I couldn't see any distortion, which makes is perfectly for shooting architecture. But I have to admit, that I didn't like the noise handling at ISO 800. In my opinion it was a bit too much digital noise and I had the feeling to loose some details. There is no problem to fix this in LR - but I don't like to spent too much time editing. At ISO 3200 the noise of the Leica Q looks great, mainly natural, and it is great to use it as an artistic tool.
It is fun to use the Leica Q as an artistic tool. The size of the camera and the live view makes everything easy. I like to use the thumb wheel for the exposure compensation. Everything works easy and smooth.
I am using the Leica Q for a couple of weeks now... Honestly there were days where I was thinking to sell the Q again. I had trouble to get used to the AF and sometimes I think the files are a bit too clean. But then there are days where the Leica Q surprises me. I finally found a great way to use the Q in manual focus to shoot fast enough on the street and liked using the Q as an artistic tool. I think I am gonna stick with it for while and give it time to get to know each other better.