In an age of athleisure and other casual clothing, you don’t often see a woman in a white dress complete with a parasol. I spotted her in the Tribeca/SoHo area, and I had to take a picture.

The first photo was the easier one, shot with the Leica D-Lux 8, a compact, autofocusing camera with a zoom lens. As I gently followed the woman, I made several exposures, zooming to different focal lengths. I guess I was double zooming, both with my feet and the camera, creating what I thought was the ideal framing. The arrangement of pedestrians sort of forms an inverted V-shape, with the woman at the central apex.

Making this next photograph took more tries and required more skill. Using a Leica M Monochrom, with its old-school manual focusing lens, can be challenging even when the subject is stationary. In this case, both she and I were moving as I attempted to use the rangefinder to lock proper focus. This was my favorite picture from the M, with the woman clear of the other pedestrians, creating a low-clutter scene.

As is often the case, there is something special about pictures shot with the Monochrom. The contrasty scene, the pop of white, the woman’s dark shadow, and the shallow depth of field all contribute to a unique rendering. I also feel like I worked for and earned the image.

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