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We first got to know Bobby Lee at a seminar he gave
as part of Leica Day in October 2008. He was relaxed
as he chatted casually about his experience of pho-
tography as a Leica user, but in fact this man, who had
already set his sights on a career as a photographer
in junior middle school, has been running his own stu-
dio since 1985. With more than 30 years experience,
talking about photography is certainly no challenge
for Bobby Lee, and having had the good fortune to
encounter a photographer so willing to discuss his
work, we had to find an opportunity for a more in-
depth conversation. Moreover, perhaps a look at his
photographic journey will inspire you to pick up your
Leica and get snapping!
B = Bobby C = Cherry
C: The works you showed at Leica Day seemed to
mostly have been taken in remote mountain areas of
China. What prompted you to make this photographic
journey?
B: That’s right. This collection was taken on a trip with
“Save the Children Hong Kong” to conduct assess-
ments of primary schools in the mountains of north-
west China. At that time, a friend had just introduced
me to the director of the charity, and it happened that
they needed a photographer to go with them and help
record their work in the interior. I had just finished
my last job, and I was also looking to give myself a
challenge, so I agreed to record this journey for them
as a volunteer.
C: Why did you choose a Leica camera to accompany
you on the trip?
B: It didn’t take much deliberation to decide to use
a Leica M6. The main reason was that in a situation
without any support (we were travelling through the
mountains virtually every day), mechanical cameras
are always more reliable. Also, the M6 body and
lenses are very light and neatly designed, so with only
one medium-size camera bag I was able to take three
M6 bodies and 6 lenses (21mm f/2, f/2, 28mm f/2,
35mm f/2, 50mm f/2, 50mm f/1 and 90mm f/2.8).
In terms of film, I used 200 rolls of 100 ISO and 400
ISO positives (slide film).
C: Why did you bring three bodies and six lenses?
B: The main reason is that it took 7-10 hours by car
or bus to reach each school, so the actual time we
spent in the school was very limited, added to which
children’s expressions sometimes last for only the
briefest of moments, so the best thing is to minimise
the time spent changing lenses. With long (50mm)
and short lenses (28mm) on two different cameras,
you’re not likely to miss the chance to get a good shot.
I loaded the other M6 with 400 ISO film to avoid wast-
ing film and time when the light changed (e.g.: going
from outdoors to indoors).
What did I do in terms of super-long lenses? I used
a combination that a lot of war photographers used
at the time: the M6 camera as the main tool, com-
plemented by the most basic SLR with a 70-200mm
zoom. I shot with the M6 for about 90% of the time
on the 11 day trip (starting out from Gansu, passing
through Qinghai and ending up in Tibet).
C: What unique features of Leica cameras helped you
to complete this photographic odyssey?
B: The biggest difference with this trip was in terms of
the attitude to the photography itself. I had to fully ac-
commodate the local environment, there was no way
to force impose or re-shoot the events of a particular
moment. For this reason, I did my best to interact
with the kids, but a lot of the time the children’s faces
would only be there for a split second. One of the
advantages of the Leica Rangefinder’s superimposed
image focus system is that you can focus in an ex-
tremely short time. For example, in one image called
“The Eyes”, I was photographing the children eating in
the dining room of a school in the mountains; when
I turned around I saw a whole class of children fol-
lowing my movements from outside the window, their
eyes just bursting with curiosity. I used the red curtain
on the window as an introduction, while the water on
the window glass and the children crowding around
outside the window produced a very layered effect.
The whole process took only ten seconds or so. One
of the advantages of rangefinders’ superimposed
image focus system is that you can focus in an ex-
tremely short time.
Another example would be a shot called “Seven
Stuff”. I was drawn in by the rice bowls and worn out
flasks sitting on the table in this dilapidated building.
There wasn’t really enough light at the time, but the
Leica doesn’t have the moving parts of an SLR, so you
can use extremely slow shutter speeds (1/4 second),
even when holding the camera.
The ultra-wide apertures of Leica lenses also help to
compensate for poor light, but it’s worth mentioning
at this point that I have always thought of the Noc-
tilux-M 50mm f/1 as not just a great wide-aperture
lens for poor lighting conditions, but more importantly
as a standard lens with great depth of field. Just as
in my photograph entitled “Little Angels”, you can
see the effect really stands out even at a very limited
distance.
C: You are a very experienced photographer, so do
you have any insights on composition you can share
with us? How do rangefinder cameras help you to
compose images?
B: Insights into composition... that is a difficult thing
to explain in a few words. The best thing would be to
look at a photo and explain it.
Editor’s note: (At this point Bobby brought out one of
his photographs and explained why he shot it the way
that he did, the circumstances at the time, the story
behind it and so on. His explanation was inevitably
more than a few words, and we joked with him that we
should invite him to explain it at the office and give an
art appreciation course.)
Of course, the rangefinder system helps me to deal
with image composition.
The first feature of rangefinder cameras is their focus-
ing system. The photographer see what is in the view-
finder, which is not restricted by the aperture of the
lens, and thus the various focusing problems caused
by poor light conditions. This means that rangefinders
are at an especially great advantage in dark environ-
ments. It is also precisely for this reason that some
SLR users find it relatively difficult to control depth
of field.
The second feature is in terms of how they frame
the image. SLR cameras are designed so that 100%
of the viewfinder image is what will be shot, and so
the photographer has no way of knowing what is go-
ing out outside the frame. With a rangefinder, there
is still some space outside the borders of the view-
finder frame, so that the photographer can keep his
eye on changes in the environment that are outside
the frame. I recommend that people also keep the
eye that is not looking through the viewfinder open,
so that they can see what is happening on the other
side of the viewfinder (such as people walking into
your shot!).
Also, in terms of their mechanical construction, the
shutter on M-series cameras is operated directly by
the shutter button, which means that the shutter
reacts faster and more directly than on SLRs. This
feature is very important for capturing the decisive
moment. Added to this, the body doesn’t need all the
devices that are required on an SLR, so it is quieter
and more stable when you are shooting.
Bobby Lee’s Bio:
初中時巳愛上攝影並立志當攝影師，甚至交功課也是用自己拍攝的照片代替剪報。
中五畢業後曾兩次考獲美國的Brooks Institute 及英國的愛丁堡理工學院入學資格，但兩次都因外來因素
而未能成行。於是從當助手開始商業攝影生涯。
1976 年開始跟隨 Mr. Benno Gross 及 Mr. Dinshaw Balsara 當助手。1985 年，Bobby Lee Photography Ltd. 正式
成立。80年中期由廣告攝影轉型至企業攝影 (corporate photography)，為客戶拍攝的年報曾多次在Interna-
tional ARC Awards中獲獎。
1996年，再次拾起 Leica M6 尋找自己的攝影風格。2003年跟隨「香港救助兒童會」到中國西北山區紀
錄學童的生活狀況，從中得到很大的樂趣及啟發──在有限的資源中盡力去紀錄及創作，這才是「真
攝影」（Pure Photography）。2004年開始跟不同的攝影器材生產商合作舉辦講座及工作室。對象主要是
業餘攝影愛好者及中學生，主力在介紹技術之餘希望在推廣攝影文化。
Bobby的工作理念；在日常工作中相信團隊精神，工作上得到之獎項其實是經客戶，美術指導，助手以
至接送拍攝隊伍的司機合作所得來的成果。
Bobby fell in love with photography while in junior middle school and was determined to become a photogra-
pher, to the extent that he even used his own photos as substitutes for newspaper clippings when doing home-
work. After graduating from Form 5, he passed the entrance exams on two occasions for both Brooks Institute
(US) and Edinburgh Polytechnic (UK), but outside events rendered him unable to follow through on these plans
in both cases. For this reason, he entered the world of commercial photography as an assistant.
He began working as assistant to Mr Benno Gross and Mr Dinshaw Balsara in 1976. In 1985, Bobby Lee Pho-
tography Ltd. was formally incorporated. Through the 80s, he gradually switched from advertising photography
to corporate photography, winning a prize at the International ARC Awards for a client’s annual report.
In 1996, Bobby went back to his Leica M6 and began to create his own photographic style. He followed “Save
the Children Hong Kong” on a 2003 trip to the mountains of northwest China to record children’s living condi-
tions, from which he gained a great deal of enjoyment and inspiration. Doing one’s best with limited resources
to record and create is what is known as “Pure Photography”. In 2004, Bobby started collaborating with
various photographic equipment manufacturers to hold seminar and workshops. These events were mainly
targeted at amateur enthusiasts and middle school students, and focused on teaching technical skills, as well
as on developing photographic culture. Bobby’s philosophy of work is to have faith in team spirit in everyday
work; any awards he has received for his work are actually the fruits of working together with everyone from
clients, aesthetic directors and assistants to even the drivers that shuttle the team back and forth.
<女仔房>”The Girl’s Room”
< > “The Eyes”
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