As the fog rolls in off the bay, muting the sunlight and dampening the contrast, photographer Stephen Laszlo may be found walking the streets in his beloved San Francisco with Leica in hand and a sharp eye out for slices of life. His photography is at once recognizable, setting itself apart from the many who embrace street photography but don’t quite match style with vision. There is thought in what’s visible in the frame - and what isn’t. There is story in what is exposed - and what is underexposed. His photographs pull you in, and you find yourself asking questions, waiting for answers, and wanting more. Be it an expression, a doorway, a pair of hands, a pass-by, or a lone reader… the street and its subjects are elevated to fine art in the work of this master photographer.

Stephen Laszlo’s passion is the black and white image, captured by the rangefinder-style digital camera and cultivated in the software darkroom. Schooled in the use of traditional film and darkroom techniques, his approach has evolved as developments in both digital sensors and darkroom techniques within Lightroom allow him to capture and adjust tonalities to match his vision. As a dedicated Leica Monochrom and Q2 Monochrom user, he explores the potential of the familiar, finding stories in the place he calls home. His eyes see what the tourists miss. With his more than twenty years of experience shooting in the city where Tony Bennett left his heart, Stephen Laszlo’s fine art photography beautifully captures the dark and grittiness of the street and the people who live and work in San Francisco “above the blue and windy sea”.

Stephen is a published photographer, most notably in Black & White Magazine, Mass Magazine, The Pictorial List Magazine, IPA, and has won numerous editor’s choice and merit awards for his B&W work.