I bought my first Leica in 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic. It was a second-hand M240, and I just needed it to get my creative juices flowing. Nothing was happening; my work evaporated overnight, and I thought this would be a great time to try something new. It was love at first touch. As much as you might hate it for the pricing, Leica cameras do feel absolutely great in the hand; you're compelled to pick it up and use it. If I were to describe it to you, it feels like a new iPhone, but you don’t hate yourself after using it because you've spent hours scrolling through social media. It’s just a nice, chunky, premium piece of metal that’s also great at what it does. The images from my M240 on my everyday cycle rides were fantastic, and the small form factor really made me want to take this camera everywhere I went. Even with my Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4, the camera performed superbly!

I’ve used that camera for quite some time, but the thing is that (and I can already sense the haters popping up) a Leica doesn’t really shine until you put some Leica glass in front of it. I’m trying to be objective here, and I’ve done numerous comparisons of lenses: the Zeiss 50mm f/1.5 ZM, the Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 MC, the Summicron 35mm, the Summilux 35mm Asph FLE, the Summilux 50mm Asph, and plenty of various Sony lenses. The contrast and color rendition that you get from Leica lenses really is incredible. And just like that, with time, I found myself to be the owner of a Leica M240, Leica M6, Leica Summilux 50mm Asph, and Leica Summilux 35mm Asph FLE. If you’ve already done the math, that’s around £8000 in second-hand gear. Pretty steep for a hobby. I do photography commercially as well, but it’s mostly architectural and documentary, and most of it requires large resolution files, bracketing, and focus stacking. Not to mention that a high dynamic range is a massive benefit. Thus, the only camera to ever make me money is my trusty Sony.

During the lockdowns, none of that mattered. I wanted a small camera to document daily life, so the Leica was perfect. Between March 2020 and January 2021, I took 6000 photos with that M240, and quite a few film rolls went through my M6.

Then the issues started. I live in London. We don’t get snow here, practically ever, but one day in January 2021, it snowed relatively heavily for London, so I decided to grab my Leica and capture some street shots. Sadly, some of the snow got into the hot shoe mount. My camera started acting up, so I gave it to the guys at Leica to get it fixed. That relatively simple fix took three months… In the meantime, I bought another M240 in silver, so when the old one came back, I immediately sold it.

A few weeks later, I started noticing a weird line across all of my images. It was very, very faint, but with time, it started becoming more and more obvious. Turns out the sensor had a row of dead pixels, and I had to return it and exchange it for another black M240. By that point, I started thinking about switching to a Leica M10, realistically only because of the form factor. The M10 is noticeably smaller than the M240, so I finally decided to sell my black M240 and get a black M10. It was a great choice.

I’ve owned my Leica M10 since June 2021. I’ve shot 25000 photos with it since. I love it. It’s my favourite thing that I own.

If you’re waiting for a “but…”, you won’t be disappointed.

I don't recall exactly where, possibly Japan or the Dolomites, but I got back home afterwards, and one of the photos was incredible. This rarely happens, but I really liked that photo. It was captured with my M10. I started working on post-production for it, and then it hit me. The sky was a bit blown out, and there was no data to retrieve it. If you try to recover blown-out highlights from a Leica, you won’t be able to; it’ll all come out weirdly desaturated and… “mushy.” I started thinking that this wouldn’t happen with my Sony. Plus, after so many years of shooting exclusively with a Leica, the manual focus started to annoy me a bit. I was again thinking that this wouldn’t be an issue with the Sony.

And so it began. I’ve recently started shooting my Sony again, forcing myself to take only the A7r3 wherever I was going. It’s great. It’s amazing. I feel like having all of that technology really does help me be a better photographer. I will keep my Leica M10. I love it and still think it’s the best camera for everyday meetups and casual trips. However, I’ve already started noticing how many more good photos I’m capturing with the Sony.

After all these years, do I regret spending all this money on a Leica? No. I still think it’s a fantastic system. The need to focus on what you’re capturing, slow down, think about the image, it all comes with a Leica, due to the forced manual focus and intuitive rangefinder. I feel like these cameras have seriously improved my creativity.

Knowing what I know now, would I still start my journey with this system from scratch? No. The issue is that this system is ridiculously expensive. It’s not even about the bodies themselves; it’s the lenses. They’re fantastic, absolutely mind-blowingly amazing, but at this price, they’re also a sign of insanity.

Do you own a Leica? Do you like it? Is it your only/main camera?

For years—decades even—we’ve learned to trust photographs and videos as the ultimate proof of life. You could take a video of the man who robbed your house to court as proof. You could submit photographs of your damaged car to an insurance company as proof. You could show your friends and family photos from that dream trip you finally took as proof.

I feel like all of that started to shift recently. What sparked this? It’s a worry that I’ve had ever since I saw the Pope in that white winter jacket. Remember that one? Recently, however, YouTube recommended this video to me (and yes, I am a die-hard Marvel fan), and it really made me realize that we’ve already made a wrong turn somewhere.

The above video is supposedly the main trailer for the upcoming Thunderbolts movie, but once you start reading the description, and once you start looking at some of the questionable shots and frames from previous trailers and old movies, you’ll realize that it’s a fan-made video, created using 'clever' editing techniques and a lot of AI-generated footage. I’m a 3D artist; I look at stuff like this every day, so I know and can tell which frames exactly are fake. But if you take a second and look through the comments, you’ll notice how many people have no idea that this is not real. This account has over a million subscribers and, I’m sure, is making quite the income from selling all those cheap T-shirts. It’s business; I get it. What disappoints me is that this is only the beginning of AI, and people’s trust is already being abused on a daily basis. Imagine where this will go. Have you seen Sora, the AI video generator by OpenAI? It is incredibly good and very convincing, even more so than the stuff in the video above. I fear that we’re slowly arriving at a point where we won’t be able to trust photos and videos. And my question is: what then? What will happen to that incredibly vital piece of CCTV footage with the face of your partner’s killer? Will it still be considered a 100% real representation of reality? Will the judge trust it?

Will you?

It made me feel so pumped for the whole thing that I decided to get up for sunrise the next day and cycle through half of Paris to see the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower. And I do not regret loosing sleep. The sunrise, being next to the tower, the beautiful golden glow… it was incredible! I’m really glad I’ve made the effort.

On a separate note this was the first time I’ve used a Lime/Uber bicycle! I’m a cycling purist and I’ve been exclusively using my Bianchi Via Nirona for years now, but even I have to admit that at 4:30am on a warm Parisian morning, if you’re trying to quickly get to the Eiffel Tower, these bikes do make sense, especially now, when you are only allowed to leave them in specific places.

Anyways, here are few more photos from that beautiful morning.

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Best,

Simon

All of the photographs shown above have been taken by and belong to Simon Migaj. Do not use without permission.

Our photography highlights the villa's exquisite details, from its classic Italian decor to its panoramic views of the Tuscan landscape. Discover the harmonious blend of traditional architecture and modern elegance through our lens.

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A part of Kyoto's Gion district is getting officially closed off for tourists. Due to the lack of respect, cases of herrassement towards the performers and their maiko and general trespassing, the local authorities have decided that the situation is getting out of control thus the private alleys and areas around teahouses from this point on (April 2024) will only be accessible to the geisha, their clients and local residents.

All images © Simon Migaj studio

I’m often worried by how easy it is for people to act in a way that they themselves would not have appreciated in their own home. If it’s something you wouldn’t like to happen to you, don’t do it, that’s a great rule of thumb that you should consider when travelling. Let’s do better!

Really glad I got to experience a tiny piece of it last year. Kyoto you truly are a marvel to behold.

UPDATE! As this entry is getting a lot of attention at the moment, I feel like I need to add this update. By no means will the entire Gion district be closed off, the limitations cover only few smaller streets close to the Hanamikoji Street, a famous and historic shopping area of Kyoto. As far as I understand it, the streets that will be off limits are: 南園小路(Nanyuan alley), 弥生小路 (Yayoi Koji), 西花見小路通 (Nishihuami alleyway), 西松竹小路 (West Songzhu Trail), 松竹小路 (Shochiku Koji), 東松竹小路 (Dongsongzhu alley), 初音小路 (Hatsunekoji), 中路 (Middle Road) and few more smaller ones. Below is a map that should give you a rough idea of what’s included. As you can clearly see these are just smaller residential streets so pretty easy to remember. Hope this helps!

Thanks for reading, I hope this article was helpful. While you’re here check out these prints that might inspire your Japanese wanderlust even more!

Best,

Simon

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest is located in Kyoto, Japan, specifically in the Arashiyama district, which is known for its beautiful natural landscapes and cultural sites.

The forest itself is famous for its tall, slender bamboo stalks that rise high above, creating a dense, green canopy. When walking through the forest, you're surrounded by towering bamboo, and the pathway is often shaded by the stalks swaying gently in the breeze. The light that filters through gives the whole scene a soft, peaceful glow, and the sound of the bamboo creaking or rustling is often described as otherworldly.

This print boasts edge-to-edge printing, ensuring a seamless visual experience without border. The chosen archival paper, akin to lustre, showcases a slight gloss, subtle pearl-like texture and remarkable saturation, offering a giclee-quality photographic print that captivates with maximum ink coverage and resistance to fingerprints. Meticulously packaged, your print is delivered unframed, securely rolled, and encased in protective packaging for a flawless arrival.

Each product is individually printed and assembled upon your order so do please allow us 3-5 days to prepare your prints. Shipping, depending on your location, can take from 3 to 14 business days.

As each product is made to order, it is difficult for us to accept returns due to change of mind. However we want our customers to be satisfied so in the unlikely event that your prints arrive damaged, please rest assured that we will promptly replace it at no extra cost. We only ask that you kindly double-check that all the delivery details are correct as we are unable to replace or refund lost items due to incorrect details.

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Simon Migaj is an experienced editorial photographer, 3D artist, and art director who specializes in architectural and lifestyle photography, as well as architectural visualization and 3D animation. With 20 years of experience, Simon has won multiple awards and worked with notable clients such as KPF, Continental, Berkeley Group, The Boundary, Thomas Phifer and Partners, Joseph Dirand Architecture, Rafael Vinoly Architects, Grain London, Recent Spaces, Cameron Design House, Northacre London, Cityscape Digital and many more. His images are used by Booking.com, Forbes, Canva, BuzzFeed, GoDaddy, Adobe, Trello, Grain London, The Boundary, Android Central and many more.

Immerse yourself in the captivating allure of Kyoto's Gion district with this enchanting print. Transporting you to a world where tradition meets modernity, this artwork features a graceful geisha woman as she navigates the labyrinthine streets of Gion. Bathed in the soft glow of lanterns and framed by the iconinc Yasaka Pagoda, the geisha's presence exudes elegance and curiosity.

Add a touch of Kyoto's mystique and the enigmatic journey of a geisha to your space with this print. Whether you're a wanderlust dreamer or an avid admirer of Eastern aesthetics, this artwork is a testament to the enduring beauty of Gion and the captivating spirit of exploration.

The image is available as a unframed print. Each photography is printed on an archive quality, semi-gloss photographic paper, giving the image vibrancy and "punch", assuring a great look every time!

This image has been captured in Kyoto in Japan and processed by Simon Migaj

The image I submitted was a photograph capturing the aurora borealis above the world-renowned DC3 Plane Wreck on Sólheimasandur in Iceland. Please find the accompanying text below.

"Aurora over the plane wreck" holds a special place among my favorite images. Although the image itself possesses great visual impact, it required a substantial amount of effort to capture. Spending nearly a week in Iceland, sleeping in a car, my objective was to capture as many unique and remarkable images as possible. It was during this time that I observed the formation of an aurora in the sky. Considering that I hadn't yet had the opportunity to visit the renowned DC3 plane wreck, I realized that this presented an ideal chance to capture a captivating image.

However, two challenges emerged. First, the fatigue accumulated from days on the road made it difficult to stay alert while standing still. Secondly, since I had never been to the wreckage site before, I was unfamiliar with the route. Although locating the parking area proved relatively straightforward, finding the way to the actual plane in the darkness, close to midnight, proved more challenging. It took me approximately an hour of walking to reach the plane, after which I could barely remain upright. Despite my exhaustion, I managed to capture around ten photos in that location. Subsequently, on my journey back, I found myself so fatigued that I unintentionally fell asleep on the trail, using my tripod as a makeshift pillow.

Considering the circumstances, I can confidently say that the arduous journey was undoubtedly worthwhile.

Big thanks to all the judges: Koray Özpalamutçu, Raj Bose, Riko Best, Håggard Photography as well as the sponsors Haida Filters, Fotopro, Hollyland, YC.Onion and FeiyuTech

I’ve had the absolute pleasure of meeting Emma at a book presentation at The Photographer’s Gallery in London. That absolute gem of a lady only complimented what I’ve already thought about her work: there’s a lot of passion and feelings behind each and every single image.

I’ve been following Emma’s work through various social media platforms for some years now, but having the opportunity to hold a physical copy of it in a form of a really well made book, is definitely something else. The book contains 80 images spread across 160 pages, all of that neatly wrapped in a beautiful green hard cover, but that’s not what I want to talk about.

A book, same as everything else in life, is different things to different people. This particular one has really spoken to me personally. The book contains images mostly taken in the countryside, images of growing up children, of family and of everyday life. I’m 39 years old and I also grew up in the countryside so going through the images in this book made me feel very nostalgic, made me feel a longing for… well, for something that I’m not a part of anymore, but through this book I had the opportunity to feel like a part of it one more time.

The entire publication is a fantastic set of memories, inspiration, nostalgia and just beautiful imagery. Definitely a must-have for any photographer or anyone who misses home.

You can still purchase “Permissions” by Emma Hardy at Gost Books

Thanks for taking the time to read this article. If you’ve enjoyed it and are looking forward to read more articles like this one, please do subscribe to my newsletter.

Thanks

Simon

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]]>New interior photography for LMH LondoninspirationreviewsSimon MigajTue, 03 Jan 2023 14:43:15 +0000https://simonmigaj.com/blog/2023/chris-killip-retrospective-at-the-photographers-gallery-london58ab770217bffc6029e22863:58add41c9f74560c7415de1d:63b436fd700b111ec3abbb5c

Last month I had the pleasure of visiting the quite amazing exhibition of Chris Killip at The Photographers Gallery in London and honestly it was one of the most inspiring exhibitions I’ve seen in a while. The exhibition, titled “Retrospective”, focuses on Killip’s work in the North of England during an economically challenging period of the 70s and 80s of the XXth century.

“His sustained immersion into the communities he photographed remains without parallel. Whilst marking a moment of deindustrialisation, Killip's stark yet tender observation moves beyond the urgency to record such circumstances, to affirm the value of lives he grew close to - lives that, as he once described 'had history done to them', who felt history's malicious disregard and yet, like the photographer himself, refused to yield or look away. “ - The Photographers Gallery

What really pulled me into this body of work was Chris’s devotion to it, he wanted to be a part of it, he not only wanted to document it, but understand the people so that he could really highlight their life and stories. Best example of that would be the fact that at the beginning he was considered a stranger, people did not trust him and his camera and he was asked to leave everywhere he went. Despite this he just kept on showing up, trying to help people, trying to show them that he’s there because he’s interested. This ended with him buying a camper van and staying there for a long time, more than a year. Now that’s dedication!

Chris’s work is truly stunning, even more so when you start reading about his dedication to it, to the people and to the document as an idea in itself. The exhibition, containing some never-before-seen work as well, spans across two floors and is an absolute treat! Highly recommend, but be quick as it closes on the 19th of February 2023.

Happy New Year! Hope you’ve enjoyed this read.

Simon

Why am I saying this? Reasons are quite a few, but the main ones are these: potential clients don’t care about wanna be photographers on free stock websites and the second one is that these websites will ruin your own websites SEO.

There is also one bigger issue that’s specifically aimed at Unsplash. I do still support Pexels because they seem… genuine, they seem like they care. There are no massive ads on their website or numerous sponsored posts. And Pexels users also donated to me 70 USD in the last six months alone.

That is not the case with Unsplash. Although they allow users to donate to photographers the same as Pexels, for some reason no one ever donated a penny through my account on Unsplash (I just don’t think that that’s something that Unsplash genuinely believes in and promotes on their website). The biggest problem though is the fact that at this point they’re a massive corporation. Their net worth goes into millions, yet most of their hard working staff, which are the content creators, never see any of it. In March 2021 Unsplash was acquired by Getty Images, is now supported by Squarespace, Unfold, Zoom, Microsoft and many many more who decided not to support artists because apparently creativity isn’t worth anything anymore. It really feels like they’re exploiting the hopes and dreams of people purely for their own profit. Have a scroll through their home page. All the sponsored stuff has clear names written on them, while you have to hover over an image to see the artists name. Not to mention how much sponsored stuff is there! In comparison, let’s look at the website of Pexels. No sponsored content on the homepage and there is a clear ‘Donate’ button right next to the photographers name when you open any single photo, a feature that’s apparently impossible to implement for Unsplash.

I honestly can’t condone this selfish approach anymore and I hope that the above arguments make sense and you’ll understand my reasoning. I’d suggest you do the same, but please do feel free to prove me wrong.

P.S. There is a whole argument why you shouldn’t be using free stock websites altogether (and why I’ve deleted most of my content from both websites), but I’ll get into this one on another occasion.

See you out there,

Si

We’ve arrived in Tórshavn on the evening of 13th of October. The wind was quite strong that day so it took the pilot three attempts to land the plane, but that’s pretty normal in Faroe Islands so don’t be surprised if this happens to you. The next day we got straight into it by waking up early in the morning and traveling to the gorgeous village of Gjogv.

Now please remember that this was October. In theory we knew what we were doing when choosing this time of year, but in reality the weather was way more dramatic then expected. It was crazy windy and raining a lot of the time. I’m not sure how about Iain and Chris, but I had a great time nevertheless. Along the way to Gjógv we’ve already had few opportunities to admire the gorgeus landscapes of the Faroe Islands and no rain was going to stop us from taking photos!

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Let me be clear about one thing: I don’t know what led you here and what are you looking for in Gjógv, but it’s not a party town. Although we had a great time, for a casual everyday traveler there might not be that much to do. We went there for the old Viking port. This is definitely the highlight of the village (though we’ve stumbled across another one by accident) and I highly recommend visiting it.

It’s a great idea to not rush your visit in this village. There are three great viewpoint surrounding the port and it takes probably a bit over an hour to see and enjoy all of them properly. There’s the obvious one inside the port, pictured above. There’s one above the port, where it exits into the sea. That spot gives you a fantastic view of the ocean, port and the whole village itself!

And then there is the viewpoint at the very end of the village… a viewpoint that I personally never got to and I don’t think it’s that dramatic, but maybe you will and you’ll be able to share a photo of it with me! ;)

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As you can see above the views were incredible and totally worth getting wet a bit!

After we’ve finished admiring the picturesque harbour, we’ve started making our way towards the car with the though of driving almost straight to Trælanípan, but on our way through Gjógv we’ve stumbled across a shed where a farmer was making his winter preparations and slaughering some of his sheep for winter supplies for himself and the family. In the interest of full disclousure I’m a country boy myself, I grew up in a small town in Poland and this was something very familiar to me. It kind of made me feel at home. Even more so as the farmer in question allowed us to have a walk around, take some photos and started explaining the entire process and reasoning behind it. He owned a lot of sheep, but as the winters in the Faroe Islands tend to be quite strong and it might be difficult to get supplies, every year he needs to sacrifice few of them to feed his family and friends. Quite incredible!

I was really hoping for more situations like this one to happen! It was quite amazing how opened the people were to us during this trip.

As such after this encounter we’ve started making our way towards the hike to Trælanípan and the Bøsdalafossur waterfall stoping numerous times along the way!

When we’ve finally arrived at the parking spot for the Trælanípan hike, I was quite surprised by the fact that nowadays you have to pay for it. It’s not expensive, just 200 kr (which is about £20), but it took me by surprise due to the fact that this was all publicly accessible land the last time I was there. I have to honestly say that this hike is worth the price. When we got there the sky started clearing up a little and we’ve enjoyed the incredible views of the Faroe Islands.

The hike towards the lake and waterfall is not a challenging one and should take longer then and hour and a half. Plus it ends with some incredible views which make the journey worth it even more! Now when you’ll arrive there do take the time to go up the stairs first and enjoy the view from the top of the 142 meters tall cliffs of the Slave Mountain (that’s what Trælanípan means) and then make your way down towards the waterfall. The views across both are incredible!

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That’s it for our day 1 in the Faroe Islands! On day 2 we’re making our way towards Kalsoy, Mikladalur and the gorgeous area of Saksun so stay tuned and don’t forget to sign up for that newsletter!

I’ll see you on the trail!

Simon

Background. I stumbled across Théo’s work quite some time ago and while I’ve always liked his Instagram account, I learned to appreciate his work on Flickr early on (although he’s not updating it anymore) cause the images were looking amazing on a big screen! In April this year (2021) I learned that together with Fisheye Magazine he was releasing a new book and luckily I was quick enough to get my hands on a pre-order. The book arrived a few days ago and I have to tell you: it is one of the best books I have ever seen. Maybe the best? Let me explain.

Foreword. I’ve been a book worm since high school and I’ve learned that there are many different aspects to different books, aspects that make a book good, great or just ruin it completely. Some books might have an incredible story, but the foreword from the author might put you off. Some books might feel like a high quality item in your hand, but the mediocre content won’t be matching that quality. Recently I bought a photography book from a very well known photographer (name of which I’ll keep to myself), whose work is absolutely stunning and the images in it should inspire me to pick it up on a daily basis, but because of the paper it was printed on I’ve noticed that I’m not reaching for it as often as I thought I would.

Design. That is not the case with “Roll”. As soon as I got it out of the package it felt amazing in the hand. The cover feels almost like leather and there is a pleasing weight to it. It’s also thick. I was expecting something smaller, maybe 50-70 pages, but I think it has somewhere around 200 pages. The paper that the images are printed on feels really good to the touch and it really makes all the photographs pop. I’m in love with the clean design as well. No more than one image per page, the foreword and afterword are clean, written in a big simple font and they’re a pleasure to read as well! Theo’s introduction is short and sweet while Benoit Baume’s description of Théo really makes you connect with the artist. It’s perfect!

Content. When it comes to the content of the book… looking through Théo’s images gave me a completely different feeling than any other book I’ve ever seen! The images made me feel nostalgic, made me miss my people, made me want to hit the road again. There is one photo in this book, a group of people sitting around a car, and it somehow made me feel like I’m between friends, made me miss my own friends.

There’s a story, a theme to the whole book and it creates some incredible feelings. The images feel like they could’ve been taken over the course of many years, but might as well have been captured during last week’s road trip.

Summary. If you’ll get a chance to buy this book, do it, it’s really that good. It is the best book I’ve seen so far. It’ll inspire you to do things and isn’t that what books should be all about?

Buy “Roll” by Theo Gosselin

With love

Simon

Find out more about the project here.

Fantastic view from the Tavolino restaurant