When Leica re-released the M6 in 2022, I had just made every effort to purchase my Q2… Even so, I couldn’t stop thinking about this trusty, little street companion. Intrigued by the rangefinder camera mechanism and the science behind film photography, I decided to take on the challenge of figuring out how to shoot film by purchasing a Leica M6 at the end of December 2023.

In a world of immediacy and instant gratification, film photography has allowed me to stop, think, focus, adjust and readjust on the go. Film, paired with the M6’s rangefinder’s mechanics, came in and opened a whole new way of crafting an image in my mind. Every single time before pressing the shutter, there is an active set of choices being made: no automatic or predetermined settings, no preview, nothing. Just your vision and your choice for that particular moment in time and then… you wait to see if your choices match what you envisioned in your mind. I have loads to learn but I know I made the right choice when I got Maeve (the name for my M6 -sorry, had to-).

All images in this section are taken on a Leica M6 with a 50 mm lens on a variety of film stock including: Cinestill 400D, Kodak Portra (400 & 800), Kodak Gold, Ilford HP5 and Kodak Ektar 100 (including expired rolls of it).