Former music teacher now photographer Lydia Ho presents a visual album of modern urban living.

Cityscapes captured with the Leica M10 and Noctilux-M 50 mm f/0.95 ASPH lens.

As a musician and lover of harmonic composition, Lydia Ho always had a creative impulse.

It was, however, her transition to digital photography and picking up a Leica camera that truly gave her free artistic rein.

The streets, not the songbook, became her main source of inspiration.

The people in her photos set against the backgrounds of Asian cities replaced the annotations on a musical score as her preferred form of self-expression.

Fittingly, Lydia’s photographic adventure reached its crescendo when she was “The Golden Winner” of the prestigious Prix De La Photographie Paris [PX3] 2018 Competition for her entry “Journey”.

Looking back on that defining moment, Lydia said: “I’m a self-taught photographer, not a full-time professional. So, I was honoured and humbled to learn that I was awarded the Gold in a prestigious international photography competition. My visual interpretation of Japan stood out from thousands of entries from over 85 countries.”

The award-winning submission was based on her first solo street photography exhibition “Urban Rhapsody – the Japan Series 2017” in collaboration with Leica Camera Malaysia, Isetan The Japan Store Kuala Lumpur and Epson.

“It was appropriate that my first exhibition had a musical theme, as sounds – whether music or the noise of the city – are an inspiration for me.

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Lydia had always been fascinated by the magic created by a camera, taking pictures of family and friends with a compact camera when she was young.

After picking up her first DSLR camera in 2013, her fascination evolved into a passion for portraits and street photography.

Just as Lydia explores cities, her ultimate destination of a Leica M10 camera was only reached after a journey of discovery through the M Series range.

“I had a Leica M262 with Summicron-M 35 mm & 50 mm f2 lenses. It was the logical progression to upgrade to the M10 with its better performance at higher ISOs and lower digital noise. I’m impressed with the M10’s dynamic range and contrast rendition.

“For me, using manual focus gives me a sense of satisfaction capturing fast-disappearing moments in the streets.”

A camera from the Leica M-System lets you experience a different kind of photography. The fast and discreet M10 rangefinder camera is extremely quiet and very compact, allowing you to get as close as possible to the action. The Leica M features intuitive controls, is simple to use and has no superfluous functions or overcomplicated menus. The characteristic features of the M-System give photographers the opportunity to concentrate on what’s essential – their pictures.

The combined viewfinder and rangefinder shows not only the subject, but also what is going on around it. This lets you observe how a scene develops, compose your shot and interact directly with your subject.

“For my lens, I was looking for fast and great low-light performance. That was the Leica Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95 ASPH.

“I’m impressed with its outstanding image quality and the extremely shallow depth of field. It gives your photos a unique quality. It isolates the foreground subject from the background.

“It enables me to create dreamy, artistic images.”

The name Noctilux is used by Leica to designate camera lenses that have a maximum aperture of f/0.95. This is the largest f-number offered by Leica in its lens range. It is capable of transmitting more light than any lens in the world.

Due to M-Lenses’ shorter focal lengths, M-Photographers have a unique viewpoint of the action. As a result, their pictures become more dynamic and look like they were “torn from real life”.

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A frequent traveller, Lydia enjoys slowing down to capture moments in fast-paced locations.

Her carefully curated street projects often convey a theme of calm contemplation, even in crowded cities.

The high notes in her portfolio really strike a chord with the viewer, often with their mellow and sensitive view of the world, whether in colour or monochrome. The chorus is always about life and how we make the best of it.

“The structure of an amazing building, reflections on the glass panels and the colourful people who inhabit them intrigue me.

Another popular motif in Lydia’s street photography are the cats and dogs that make their homes in our cities.

“Silent, fleeting moments in a fast-paced world are the gems that I seek in everyday life to preserve for all time – those tell a thousand stories waiting to be shared with the world.”

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So, what advice does this self-taught award-winner have for aspiring photographers?

“Photography is like any other craft,” says Lydia. “You need to practice. If you’re a pianist, you would sit in front of the keyboard to practice your scales.

“It’s the same with photography. You need to be out there shooting, as much as you can, as often as you can. You need to be familiar with your camera, so it’s an extension of how you see and feel.

“I also followed websites and scoured photography magazines. It was all to improve my knowledge and sharpen my skills.”

Lydia’s final words of motivation are:

“Explore your city or the places you travel to.

“Find a project that interests you.

“It will be the theme that will inspire your photography.”

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Written by Kieron Long