the slow frame

Exploring the legacy of analogue photography through iconic vintage cameras and lenses

 This project is about my rediscovery of analogue photography. It’s about authentic images. About intentional framing, mindfulness and a way to value slowness. And the appreciation of German engineering and craftsmanship. 

In a world driven by speed and digital excess, where images are taken effortlessly, in overwhelming abundance and forgotten just as quickly, I seek a return to the slow, deliberate craft of analogue photography. My project stands in resistance to the speed of the digital age. It’s rooted in the mechanical beauty of great vintage cameras and the distinctive character of analogue film.

There is no instant playback, no checking of the result right after pressing the shutter. Instead, each frame is a decision, every exposure a commitment. Images needs to be created with care: framed slowly, focused by hand, exposed with intent. Every step in the process is manual, and because frames are limited and every shot costs something, it demands thought. Without auto-corrections or unlimited retries, intention matters more. I don’t see that as a limitation, for me, it’s a chance. It teaches patience and discipline.

I was born in the film era. For me, this project is also a return to my roots. I will work exclusively with black-and-white films, partly for the nostalgia, but more for its authentic images. Silver and grain, the ritual of loading film, the precision of manual focus and exposure, developer and fixer baths, and finally holding real negatives in hand. And all this using classic and iconic German gear, beautifully engineered tools from another time: Voigtländer, Rollei, Zeiss Ikon, Leica and many others - with their solid metal bodies, mechanical controls and masterfully crafted lenses. They require attention and I’m sure, they reward it. Holding the same cameras once used by some great photographers of the past, I feel inspired and excited to continue that tradition in my own way.

In my project, I am not searching for perfection. I use modern, precise and technically matured digital equipment every day. This project is the opposite: a return to the mechanical, the physical, the imperfect. And that’s exactly what gives analogue photography its soul – imperfection becomes character, its limitations create meaning.

I hope this project offers a kind of relief - from the overstimulation and speed of digital imagery. A roll of 36 exposures means something. It asks us to slow down, to reflect, to observe with care. This is my personal rediscovery of a timeless technology, my return to the essence of visual storytelling and the mindful, unhasty process of photography as a craft.

That’s it. Let’s get started…

200 years of photography. 100 years of Leica. Still shooting on film!

Marking two centuries since the birth of photography (first photograph by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1826) and one century since Leica revolutionized the medium with the first commercial 35mm camera (Leica I introduced in 1925), this analogue photography project celebrates the evolution and enduring resilience of film-based image making.