Looking for an original take in a scene set up by Pat Domingo, I asked the model if she could get into the driving seat of the car on the set. I wanted to see how much of the huge strobe outside would make it through the narrow windscreen. I asked her to look forward, as if driving, then turn to her right, as if something had caught her attention. This is the moment she did. Leica SL3-P | Summilux-SL 50mm F1.4 | F5.6 | 1/200 sec | ISO 64 Photo: Richard Butler

The launch event for the Leica SL3-P included not only the chance to get trackside at the famous Nürburgring motor racing circuit and a studio setup by fashion photographer Pat Domingo but also the presence of famed photographer Steve McCurry.

This meant I found myself in the frankly ridiculous position of asking to shoot a portrait of one of the world's most famous portrait photographers, as well as the more familiar challenge of trying to find a unique shot in a pre-staged studio scenario.

Included in the gallery are a handful of shots taken with the new 50mm F1.4 and 100mm F2.8 Macro lenses.

Here's Leica SL3-P (and I) got on:

Leica SL3-P sample gallery

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Since it was released two months ago, Olivia Rodrigo's music video for the song "drop dead" has already garnered 42 million views. There are probably a lot of reasons it's been so popular: it's the lead single for a very popular artist's new album, was shot on location in Versailles and clips from it have been popular on social media sites like Instagram. But the aesthetic of the video probably helps too; it has a dreamy, old-school look to it that taps directly into 90s VHS nostalgia.

While that's well-trodden ground for modern music videos, the effect is very convincing... because it's real. A recent video from the YouTube channel Frame Set goes deep on how the video, directed by Petra Collins, was shot, in a wide-ranging interview with its cinematographer, Todd Banhazl.

The video obviously covers the mix of cameras used, going into why the crew chose to use BetaCam, VHS and MiniDV, and the different situations where they needed to go with one over the other. There are plenty of interesting details in it for camera nerds, but it also doesn't slack on discussing craft; a lot of the video is focused on the interesting lighting setups needed to film in a historic building with limited control while using cameras with very low sensitivity.

It also touches on other technical aspects, like the difficulties of editing interlaced footage that will eventually be shown using a platform designed for progressive video, and deeper topics like the rise of the lo-fi aesthetic in the age of AI-generated imagery. Even if you're not into music videos or Olivia Rodrigo's brand of pop-rock singer-songwriting, the interview is well worth a watch just to see a clearly talented creative talk about their process.