Watch 1
Craig Semetko: How to use a Leica M
Watch the focusing patch become one image. Then lower the camera and practise moving between a near edge and a distant edge before worrying about a photograph.
Curated video school
WATCH WITH
A PURPOSE.
Rangefinder and street classes, arranged into sessions. Each has films, a field assignment and a question for the edit. The kettle can stay on; the camera cannot stay in its bag.
Rangefinder classes
Session 01 / 3 films
The rangefinder: eyes, hands, distance
Start with the mechanism, then practise reliable focus and pre-focus. Pause between films. Your camera needs a turn.
Watch 2
Leica M Rangefinder Focusing Tips and Tricks
Start with the patch demonstration, then compare zone focusing at 4:33 with distance estimation at 7:41. Which decisions can you make before lifting the camera?
Watch 3
How to Master Zone Focusing on a Leica, Film Camera, Rangefinder, or Manual Lens
Watch how the distance and aperture scales work together. Set a modest working zone, then test its near and far limits on your own files at the size you actually use.
Take it outside
Make nine static focus tests at three distances. Then make twelve frames using one pre-focus distance. Separate focus misses from movement misses.
When you edit
Can you acquire focus deliberately, estimate the working distance and explain which misses were not focusing errors?
Read the practical lesson ↗Session 02 / 3 films
Light and movement, without the magic setting
Aperture, shutter and depth of field taught as choices. These are general photographic lessons; the principles travel between cameras.
Watch 1
Take Better Photos: Episode 1 - Apertures
Watch for what changes besides brightness when the aperture changes. Make two frames of the same layered scene and compare whether the background helps or competes.
Watch 2
Take Better Photos Episode 2 - Shutter Speeds
Pause on the movement examples. Choose whether your own passing subject should freeze or smear before you choose the shutter speed.
Watch 3
Take Better Photos Episode 4 - Depth of Field
Notice which choices change the appearance of sharpness. Test a nearby subject and its background instead of treating a depth-of-field scale as a guarantee.
Take it outside
Make six fast/slow pairs of a willing moving subject. Keep a note of aperture and ISO. Decide which version describes the movement best.
When you edit
Can you explain the trade between movement and depth, rather than simply reciting a favourite setting?
Read the practical lesson ↗Session 03 / 3 films
From the walk to an edit
Composition, working practice and the useful business of getting it wrong. Bring back six related photographs, not six prizes.
Watch 1
Take Better Photos Episode 7 - Composition
Look for relationships between elements rather than a grid to obey. Pause on a frame and name what changes if one object touches the edge.
Watch 2
Rangefinder Routes: Zurich with Phil Penman
Watch the relationship between a position in the street and the finished frame, then the digital editing choices. Decide which part of the picture was made by waiting and which by processing.
Watch 3
Matt Stuart on Failure in Street Photography - How I See
Listen for the role of repetition and failed attempts. Choose one useful habit to repeat for a week rather than expecting every walk to produce a keeper.
Take it outside
Photograph one route, leave the pictures overnight and choose six. Compare near-duplicates for gesture, overlap and spacing before judging fine detail.
When you edit
Does the sequence share a question? Which favourite did you leave out, and why?
Read the practical lesson ↗Street & seeing
Session 04 / 2 films
Find a relationship. Then wait.
Get past the lone interesting person and give the frame something to do.
Watch 1
Rangefinder Routes: Zurich with Phil Penman
Watch the relationship between a position in the street and the finished frame, then the digital editing choices. Decide which part of the picture was made by waiting and which by processing.
Watch 2
Photoville: Behind the Lens of Joel Meyerowitz & Melissa O’Shaughnessy
Listen for why a scene earns a photograph. On your next walk, look for a relationship between two things rather than a single interesting person; make three frames from different positions.
Take it outside
Spend ten minutes at one publicly accessible spot without photographing anyone. Note where people enter and where the light changes. Make up to twelve photographs connecting two elements: a gesture and a sign, a figure and a shadow, or foreground and background. Keep access clear and stop if someone objects. Choose three. Mark what each element contributes and remove any frame that relies on a caption to become interesting. Three photographs, with one sentence explaining the relationship in each.
When you edit
Can another person identify both elements without your explanation? Which step forward, backward or sideways changed the relationship?
Read the practical lesson ↗Session 05 / 2 films
Meet people. Lose the trophy hunt.
A photograph is an encounter before it becomes your picture.
Watch 1
Graciela Iturbide – 'I Take Photos of What Surprises Me' | TateShots
Watch how surprise and time with people sit together. Return to one familiar place, have a conversation if welcome, and make one picture whose meaning depends on what you learned.
Watch 2
Zanele Muholi – ‘In My World, Every Human is Beautiful’ | Tate
Notice who is being represented and who has a voice in that representation. With a willing participant, agree how a portrait will be used, make it together, and let them respond to your selection.
Take it outside
Return to somewhere familiar and introduce your small project honestly if a conversation is welcome. There is no requirement to photograph a stranger. With a willing participant, make three different portraits or details that they are comfortable sharing. Agree the intended use. Show the participant your selection before publishing it. Note what they notice that you missed; do not infer a personal history from appearance. One agreed portrait or a three-frame place study if nobody wishes to participate.
When you edit
What did the participant contribute beyond their appearance? Would the picture and its caption still feel fair if shown back to them?
Read the practical lesson ↗Session 06 / 3 films
Make six pictures speak to each other.
The edit is where a walk becomes a piece of work.
Watch 1
William Klein: In Pictures
Look for how the book and the street change each other. After watching, place six of your own photographs in two different orders and describe the difference without using the word cinematic.
Watch 2
Rinko Kawauchi contemplates the small mysteries of life
Look for a small ordinary detail that becomes strange through attention. Make a quiet three-picture sequence near home, connected by a shape or gesture rather than by identical subjects.
Watch 3
Agnès Varda: Filmmaker, photographer, Instagrammer | BFI
Listen for what carries across photography, film and a small screen. Make a five-frame account of one short walk: an opening, a detail, an encounter, a change and a departure.
Take it outside
Gather twelve of your own photographs from one project. Keep dates and factual captions available. Build two six-picture sequences: one following time, the other following visual echoes. Do not imply that photographs from different days are one continuous event. Remove the weakest repeat. Choose an opening that invites attention and an ending that changes how the opening feels. A six-picture sequence and a short factual caption sheet; use the Notebook selection exercise as a warm-up.
When you edit
Does each picture add information or a different pace? Would a quiet image improve the sequence more than another loud one?
Read the practical lesson ↗Official publisher embeds, loaded only when you press Play. Availability and captions can change; each film retains its publisher link. Watch at your own pace. Manufacturer and retailer demonstrations do not mean you need to buy their equipment.