Street Stories: Shooting Wide Open with Morten Albek

Photographer Morten Albek and the Leica Akademie invite you to a full day of street photography, focusing on shooting with a wide-open aperture. Morten works the street in a way most street photographers would advise against – instead of a wide lens and small aperture, he often uses his M camera with a 50mm Summilux at f/1.4. This approach leaves little room for error and forces you to decide exactly what matters in your subject before you press the shutter.

In the workshop, Morten demonstrates how he reads light, layers and distance to make the thin plane of focus carry the story, and how you can do the same. The wide-open aperture approach is an invitation, not a rule – whether you shoot a fast prime, zoom or compact, you will learn to work at the widest aperture your lens allows and see depth of field as a storytelling tool rather than a technical setting. Anyone interested in street photography is welcome.

The workshop begins with a brief introduction in the store before heading outside to photograph whatever the day brings. All camera types are welcome. There is the option to borrow a Leica M, SL or Q camera for the day – please note your preferences when signing up.

Morten Albek is an award-winning Danish photographer and visual journalist at TV2Fyn who has worked across books, exhibitions and broadcast media, including the European Circom Award-winning publication The Last Stitch.