Nexus: Six Years of Leica Street Photography in San Antonio

San Antonio, Texas | A Leica Street Photography Series
Shot with the Leica M240, M246 Monochrom, QP & SL
Six years. One city. A turning point in vision and voice.

Words and Photography by John Hendrick

Leica street photography series by San Antonio-based photographer John Hendrick. Captured over six years using the Leica M240, M246 Monochrom, Q-P, and SL with Leica M lenses including the 50mm Summicron, 35mm Summilux, 90mm Summicron, and 28mm Elmar

When I first arrived in San Antonio, I didn’t know it would become a chapter this long, or this formative. What started as a temporary landing zone slowly turned into a testing ground for new ideas, new routines, and new ways of seeing.

Nexus is about that convergence. It’s a project shaped by time, tension, and transition. These photographs span six years, moments captured between teaching, rebuilding, and rediscovering my voice as both a veteran and an artist. Through Leica rangefinders, first the M240, M246 Monochrom, QP & even the SL system. I began to understand the difference between looking and seeing.

Some images feel like raw first drafts. Others, more intentional. That variation is honest. These weren’t just six years in one place; they were six years of becoming. Style evolved. So did I.

What remains consistent is the act of walking. The camera became a companion for movement, a tool for processing. The city, once unfamiliar, gave me space to slow down and pay attention. And in doing so, it became a part of me.

Leica street photography series by San Antonio-based photographer John Hendrick. Captured over six years using the Leica M240, M246 Monochrom, Q-P, and SL with Leica M lenses including the 50mm Summicron, 35mm Summilux, 90mm Summicron, and 28mm Elmar
Leica street photography series by San Antonio-based photographer John Hendrick. Captured over six years using the Leica M240, M246 Monochrom, Q-P, and SL with Leica M lenses including the 50mm Summicron, 35mm Summilux, 90mm Summicron, and 28mm Elmar
Leica street photography series by San Antonio-based photographer John Hendrick. Captured over six years using the Leica M240, M246 Monochrom, Q-P, and SL with Leica M lenses including the 50mm Summicron, 35mm Summilux, 90mm Summicron, and 28mm Elmar
Leica street photography series by San Antonio-based photographer John Hendrick. Captured over six years using the Leica M240, M246 Monochrom, Q-P, and SL with Leica M lenses including the 50mm Summicron, 35mm Summilux, 90mm Summicron, and 28mm Elmar
Leica street photography series by San Antonio-based photographer John Hendrick. Captured over six years using the Leica M240, M246 Monochrom, Q-P, and SL with Leica M lenses including the 50mm Summicron, 35mm Summilux, 90mm Summicron, and 28mm Elmar

A Living Archive

This project is still unfolding. As I continue to revisit my archive, edit older frames, and explore the present, new images will be added. Like any true nexus, this isn’t a fixed point; it’s a flow state.

Whether you’ve called San Antonio home, passed through its streets, or are just beginning to discover it, I invite you to return to this page over time. There’s always more just beneath the surface.

Shot With Intention

The essentials

Over the course of this journey, my gear evolved as much as my perspective.

Leica M240: For its rich color depth, reliability, and everyday versatility.

Leica M246 Monochrom: For stripping away distractions and revealing the truth of a scene through tone, texture, and light.

Leica Q-P: Compact and discreet with a fixed 28mm lens, it allowed for fast, spontaneous captures, perfect for fleeting street moments and everyday carry.

Leica SL: A versatile tool that brought precision and dynamic range to more composed scenes, offering a different kind of control and weight in hand.

Equally essential were the lenses that helped shape this visual language:

50mm Summicron – A classic, trusted for its sharpness and balance.

35mm Summilux – Fast, intuitive, and intimate, perfect for close moments and low light.

90mm Summicron – For distance, restraint, and layered compression.

28mm Elmarit – Wide and precise, opening the frame to context and environment.

Each lens added its rhythm to the work, encouraging new ways of moving, composing, and reacting to the city around me.

Previous

Homeland-A return to Peru, roots, memory, and presence.
Next

Recollection- Blurred frames that mirror how memory feels.