exploring milan with the leica m10
It's been a while since I posted here! But if you’ve been following along over on Instagram you’ll know that Clare and I took a trip over to Italy, The first couple of nights were in Milan and that'll be the focus of this post! If you’d rather see a video then click below!
In terms of photography, I took the Leica M10. So all images are from that and have been edited with my preset pack! This was the first real trip since picking up the Leica M10 and I was keen to try it out with a bit more intent. Lens wise I limited myself to a single lens, and that lens is the Lecia 28mm f2.8 Elmarit which we will talk about in a bit more detail shortly, but let's get into some of the images and the trip itself first.
Having got to Milan the first real stop for us and the bit we were most excited to see was a mixture of the Cathedral called the Duomo which translates to Cathedral and the shopping area next to it called the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. These two locations are right next to each other in the heart of the city, and they didn't disappoint!
Both of these locations made me feel pretty good about my choice of the 28mm. The area in front of the cathedral is quite big, but even at 28mm it took some walking back to get it all in. The only thing that we had booked before coming was a trip onto the roof of the cathedral! This was a lot of fun, the views over the city are incredible. There was a fair bit of scaffolding up the top during our visit but you still got a great sense of scale and the level of detail is incredible.
Moving to the shopping area I was again pleased with my choice of 28mm as it meant I could get the environment in the images as well. Especially the ceiling as it is one of the more decorative areas. The light in here was also super flattering due to the glass roof acting as a large soft box resulting in some of my favorite photos of the trip. Also, don’t forget to come at night too! It's equally as stunning and a little quieter too.
As someone who lives in the U.K., the architecture feels very different in Italy, with many window shutters and balconies. I found myself frequently taking a lot of images just pointing up at buildings. They are a little subjectless, but the colors and architectural designs are so different from anything here that it drew me in.
Also in Europe trams are very commonplace, here in the U.K we have very few, this image ended up being one of my favorites from the Milan trip. I love the colors, and quite like the composition, I wish I’d been a little closer or had the 50mm in the bag, but either way still one of my favorites.
We also visited a Starbucks but not like any Starbucks you’ve ever seen before. Inside is a fully functional roastery that you can sit back and watch in action. Coffee beans are transported via tubes all over the building and it's a lot of fun, another added twist is there is also a bar, you read that right, you can drink some coffee-based cocktails!
The Castle and surrounding park were also a highlight of the trip, the castle itself is made of bricks! I've ever seen anything like this before and I liked the park towards the back end and going and seeing Acro Della Pace is a must.
In terms of some photography tips for Milan:
Wake up early, it doesn't have to be crazy early but being up and about at 8:00am made for better photos as the number of people up was considerably lower.
Next up would be to make sure you bring a lens that's at least 28mm wide, a lot of the architecture doesn't allow you to get far away enough for longer lenses to work if that’s what you are going for.
We didn't realize quite how big Milan was, we stayed in an Airbnb that looked close to the center of Milan but the scale of the city caught us out, we were a good 40min walk from the center! So just check distances before booking anything.
Also, be prepared to sit out the hottest parts of the day, we were there in September and it was over 30 degrees most days, and there was little wind to help. This made it feel way hotter than 30 degrees might suggest! but there's always gelato to help you cool off.
Throughout the trip, I loved using the M10 but importantly this was also my first experience using the 28mm Elmarit f2.8, one of the cheapest and smallest lenses that Leica makes. The small size doesn't interfere with usability and the lens is incredibly sharp. It also produces some very pleasing colors. If I was to be picky the aperture ring is a little loose which means I sometimes found myself changing the aperture by accident when I intended to change focus. One thing I was interested in was what level of background separation that possible from a lens that many would describe as slow at f2.8. I found that it was great, it's that perfect balance between separating your subject whilst still being able to see the environment which is exactly what I want from a 28mm.
So in conclusion, I loved Milan, and I enjoyed the M10 combined with the Elmarit. It felt like the perfect camera for the trip. I highly recommend Milan to anyone! our flights were super cheap and the accommodation was too. I think there's a stigma that Milan must be expensive but we didn't find it that way.