If you own a Leica Monochrom, or have been curious about working with one, this experience is designed for you.
Now in its 10th year, this program has become one of our most celebrated offerings—a deep dive into seeing, thinking, and creating in black and white.

Richard Sexton will be your instructor. He is a widely published and exhibited photographer, who is also a lifelong Leica photographer, beginning with a used M4 in the 1970s and continuing to the present day with the M10 Monochrom. Along with Richard, Jonathan Traviesa of Richard Sexton Studio will help to guide you during your printing session. Leica Specialist Brandon Woods from Leica Store Miami will be on hand to give assistance and advice. He’ll share his favorite tips and tricks to getting the most out of these exceptional cameras. 

Black-and-white photography is not simply an image in the absence of color. It is a way of seeing. A tradition shaped by masters such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Mary Ellen Mark, Robert Frank, and Helen Levitt—all of whom embraced Leica cameras as instruments of precision and poetry. This workshop builds on that legacy, helping you refine your vision and fully unlock the extraordinary capabilities of the Monochrom system.

Few American cities offer the layered visual richness of New Orleans. From grand 19th-century architecture and historic above-ground cemeteries to the electric unpredictability of Bourbon Street and the soulful rhythms of Frenchmen Street, the city offers a remarkable range of tonal, architectural, and human subjects. It is a place where light, texture, history, and atmosphere converge. Ideal conditions for monochrome work.


As Richard Sexton writes in his book Creole World:
“I fell in love with all the things that make New Orleans feel like a foreign city on American soil – a city that belongs to the U.S. only by the accidents of politics and history.”

The Leica Monochrom is not simply a camera setting, it is a purpose-built instrument devoted entirely to black-and-white capture. Its files possess a depth, tonal subtlety, and luminous quality that cannot be replicated by converting color images to grayscale.


Working with a Monochrom requires intention. Throughout the workshop, we will focus on:


Seeing & Capture

• Pre-visualization and committing to black and white at the moment of exposure

• Recognizing contrast, texture, gesture, and light as primary compositional tools

• Achieving precise exposure with a monochrome sensor


Color Filters in Black & White

• Using yellow, orange, red, and green filters to translate color into tonal value

• Shaping skies, skin tones, and architectural detail at the moment of capture


Post-Production Workflow

• Optimizing Monochrom RAW files in Adobe Lightroom

• Refining tonal structure and local contrast in Photoshop

• Developing a consistent monochrome aesthetic


Printing

• Understanding why monochrome printing is more interpretive and nuanced than color

• Producing one or two gallery-quality black-and-white prints to take home (or ship)

• Exploring paper choice, tonal separation, and final presentation

Participants will enjoy exclusive location shoots, thoughtful critiques, hands-on processing sessions, and meaningful dialogue about photographic intent and authorship. Each attendee will also receive a signed book from Richard Sexton.

Richard Sexton will be your instructor. He is a widely published and exhibited photographer, who is also a lifelong Leica photographer, beginning with a used M4 in the 1970s and continuing to the present day with the M10 Monochrom. Along with Richard, Jonathan Traviesa of Richard Sexton Studio will help to guide you during your printing session. Leica Specialist Brandon Woods from Leica Store Miami will be on hand to give assistance and advice. He’ll share his favorite tips and tricks to getting the most out of these exceptional cameras. Take a look at a few behind the scenes images from a previous workshop.