It's Dave from the camera store and We're excited today we're with stasha Smith who just won a very prestigious Leica award we're going to talk to her About that and the new Leica [Music] Sl3 we are with stasha here who just won A very prestigious award the Le a Woman's photo project can you tell us a Bit more about that for people who don't Know yeah absolutely it was it was very Exciting award the theme was resilience Reclamation and rebirth and so this Project that I had created seemed to be A really good fit it was it was a bit of A process applying for the award because There needed to be a written section About the project and then a proposal of What you would do if you did win the Award it was very unexpected it was very Exciting and and a company like Leica That has such a long history in Photography it's it's quite something to Be part of that yeah it really is and They've been so supportive so generous And really focusing on women Photographers and putting them in the Spotlight which I love so you are Relatively new to the Leica world I am Actually when you a few weeks when you First got this like a ship to your Doorstep there and you opened it up what Was your first impressions of the body Well it is uh definitely different than
What I'm used to now you're Runing a can In R5 right now yes and so it's a very Uh Streamlined Sleek looking camera which I Which I like all the buttons and all the Dials are completely customizable you Press them down for like a long hold Like two or 3 seconds and then a menu Comes up telling you what you can change Those to so this is a camera for Photographers who really want to dial in Their own systems within a camera body Yeah I mean leica's always been about Style and function and so very stylish It is very very stylish camera and Despite the blue skies we have today it Is somewhat raining here so we are Putting it to the test it is IP 54 rated Which we're not worried about any kind Of moisture hitting it right now which I'm quite happy about but in your Initial kind of playing around with the Camera the navigation are you having Some fun with it do you noticing Something different about the menu System compared to what Canon has the Menu system is actually really Interesting because it feels very German It's very easy to to navigate through The menu system it's really quite Intuitive I I quite like the menu system It's it's just a bit of a different Process for me setting up all of the the Functions where I want them it's always
Interesting getting someone's opinion on The first time looking at a like a Camera now I was working with the SL2 Beforehand this is really the first time I've had a chance to play around with The sl3 and seeing the design changes Here and like Saga says the very Minimalist sort of design with these Cameras are always really intriguing They've done a few design changes They've added a big dial to the left Hand side of the camera here and by Default it's set to change your ISO with It is slightly smaller than the SL2 and They've made some big changes to the the Back of the camera the most noticeable Is it has an articulating screen now it Goes up and down which is quite nice if You want to get low angle shots or look Over top of a crowd for instance like That instead of a power switch we do Have a power button now which is kind of Cool because it's white when it is Powered on and if you're plugging it in With the USBC to charge it turns green To tell you that it's charging which is Very cool to work with now all this Great style is wrapped around a great Sensor it's a 60 megapixel fullframe Sensor that is stabilized and to you Look through that sensor we have a Beautiful viewfinder as well it's 5. 76 Million dots of resolution and up to 120 Frames per second for a nice smooth
Viewing experience as well now the sl3 Also features a brand new battery it's The slc6 battery and I like how Leica Has it in the bottom here the battery And the weather ceiling and the door is All one unit there's no worry or Concerns about that we still have that Weather seal rating now these batteries Do provide more performance and a longer Shooting day for you the other thing I Do like about this camera it does have Dual cards so we do have an SD card slot As well as a CF Express type B card on The other side of the camera we have Under these rubber panels here we have a Fulls sizee HDMI which is very nice Video you guys are going to love that we Have a headphone jack a microphone Jack We also running a USB C Port as well Which is great how we're charging the Camera when we're on the go ping the Whole camera is the Maestro 4 processor Which is the same processor found in the Leica Q3 it has a bigger buffer giving Us better performance and very Snappy Autofocus when it comes to a Leica Camera we do have subject detection face And eye detection and it's working very Well and with this nice big viewfinder It's a pleasure to work with all right That's enough camera geek talk let's Find out where stasha is and talk to More what's coming up in her world tell Us a bit about your winning photo essay
Ferality and what sparked the idea to Capture feminine presence in a really Rugged environment so the project uh was I called it ephemerality because it was Like a ghostly present in presence in These rugged environments And I I was I think I was inspired to Start creating these images when I was Out adventuring with a group of people And and I just for myself I really Appreciated Being uh in these harsh environments I Appreciated the effort that it took to Get there and most of the people I Adventure with are men and so I really Wanted to present an alternative Viewpoint um in the mountains or on the Cliffs or in the dunes and it was it was It's a series of self-portraits I I Wanted to be anonymous so that the Viewer could then interpret the scene However they would yeah instead of like Like the like the traditional rugged Mountain climber kind of look it's nice To see something that's sort of a little More surreal yeah I really like the idea Of surrealism within the natural Environment it's something that is a Spark for me creatively there are some Incredible landscape photographers and Some incredible portrait photographers And and I just wanted to do something a Little different something that it kind Of ignited a fire I guess now when did
You come up with this idea it was right Before a trip that I took to Mongolia With a group of photographers and I just Wanted to do something different Something that was my very own and That's when I started shooting it I Think in June of 2022 and so how did you come up with This idea to carry around a you know a Giant uh blanket or giant sheet a giant Set of Drapes um I I liked the idea of Something being impermanent within a Landscape a feminine presence um I like The the lines of the the shape of the The ghost um I thought it was a a nice Kind of contrast between these they can Be very harsh Landscapes when you're Looking at Basalt Cliffs or icebergs or Uh dunes or ice caves And I I liked the softness the contrast Between the two surfaces and I just Wanted to create something different Yeah I mean the one with the basal Cliffs that one stands out for me Actually I like that you know was like You got the black and white you've got Soft and heart like it is it works on a Whole bunch of different levels so That's that my my choice that's one of My favorites as well so so it's great Listening and hearing about your your Thoughts are now you did very well You're on a rooll right now you won the
Like award did very well with the Exposure Festival here in Calgary yes That was so exciting I mean what's next For you where are we going to go next Yeah that's a again a really good Question I'm not entirely sure I have a Few different ideas that I'm throwing Around for new projects I do have a solo Show coming up with exposure as their Emerging artists of 2024 next February At contemporary Calgary I'm very excited To put that together and then yeah Putting together a a project with this Camera I'm headed to Bolivia in January Of next year to to shoot a photography Trip so fantastic now do you feel like The the pressure is on to produce now Yeah but I like I like the pressure a Little bit so I'm okay with it well it's Good well thank you so much for joining Us today this has been fantastic if we Want to check out more of your recent Work and how do I get in contact with You how do we do this uh so I have a Website uh stasha schmit.com also on Instagram there's like places you can Email or message me I love talking to People I'm I'm pretty personal if you Like what you saw today's episode make Sure leave comments down below follow us Both on Instagram and it's Day from the Camera store we'll catch you again [Music] [Applause]
Soon hey thanks for sticking around and Watching this very exciting episode if You want to check out more of our recent Content click up here and if you're Canadian you want to shop local check Out the cam store.com down here
