Between Streets, Coastlines and Encounters
Philipp Gladsome with the Leica M EV1
24 Sep 2026
Intimate and Unstaged
While travelling through Cuba and Panama, Philipp Gladsome turns his lens towards the day-to-day lives of locals, rather than well-known tourist attractions. He observes people on the streets, along the coastline and in public spaces. He has chance encounters, witnesses daily rituals and experiences those brief moments where light, movement and surroundings naturally come together.
His pictures tell a story of sun-bleached façades, deep shadows and warm colours. A traditional car passes a row of houses marked by time and its transformations. Children play basketball between historical buildings. Laundry is blown by the wind in front of the open sea. A man washes his horse while a young local proudly carries a rooster in his arms.
With the Leica M EV1, Philipp captures these scenes deliberately and directly. This is not the stuff of postcards – he is documenting his personal observations of two countries, full of contrasts, traces and human closeness.
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The Rhythm of Everyday Life
Philipp’s background in photography is rooted in music. He has covered artists, concerts and the international music scene for years. The feel he has developed for rhythm and timing shapes his travel photography, too.
On the street, this rhythm takes many different forms: a solitary figure traversing a wide esplanade, teenagers playing on a sports field or a car briefly adding colour and movement to an otherwise tranquil scene. Philipp reacts to these situations without forcing them. He watches, waits and releases the shutter when the individual elements converge into a clear composition.
His images alternate between motion and stillness. People, architecture and landscapes do not stand alone — they are in relationship with each other. This results in imagery where even ordinary everyday scenes are imbued with a very special presence.
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