Calgary Stampede 2022

Calgary Stampede 2022

So it’s summer 2022 and I had finally saved up enough to buy a Leica. A camera I’ve been wanting to own since I started shooting film back in 2014. Stampede has always been one of those things that I was never really into but most of the time somehow ended going. I guess that’s just a part of living in Calgary. This year, I felt like I actually wanted to go. Maybe it’s because it feels like the first year in a while things have been “back to normal”. Or maybe it’s just because I found a new excuse to shoot my new camera. Either way, I got out, walked around and shot some photos.

Shooting this street/documentary style of photography really brought me back to a time where I was really discovering my love for photography. I haven’t done this style of street photography in years. The kind of photography where I photograph the people, places and moments that just happen in front of me. Doing so with my new Leica in hand was actually incredibly refreshing. Everything felt new to me again and this sense of curiosity made me feel like I was learning again. In a way, I was. I haven’t shot much with a proper rangefinder like this, but I had to learn a new way of loading film. I had to learn how to zone focus. The M4-P does not have a light meter so I challenged myself to guess every exposure. I had to relearn how to compose through a rangefinder and not my electronic viewfinder that I’ve become so used to. All these things added up and I felt like a complete newbie. All things considered once I got my film back, I felt like I did a pretty decent job. Check the gallery below of some of my favourite Stampede shots from 2022. It contains a mix of mainly Kodak Gold 200, some Fuji Superia 400 and a few digital shots as well. Enjoy!

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