It is a curious world we inhabit. Even in 2025, we still refer to the device we carry in our pockets as ‚a phone‘. But do we truly utilize it for making calls? For many, the smartphone serves a far greater purpose as a miniature computer. Others view it primarily as a high-quality camera.
When it comes to elite photography, the iPhone has historically dominated, but now others are presenting serious competition. In fact, during Milan Design Week last month, tech journalists widely agreed that the Chinese brand Xiaomi’s 15 Ultra, developed in collaboration with German camera company Leica, currently reigns supreme.
Therefore, when Xiaomi—known well in Asia but less so in the UK—invited me to their latest event in London, I eagerly accepted. This was not the usual product launch but an exhibition unveiling their latest flagship devices through the artistic lens of photographer and Leica Ambassador Alixe Lay.
As an admirer of Alixe’s expressive architectural photography, I couldn’t resist this opportunity. I was eager to discuss her approach to this collaboration and her perspective on mobile photography evolving as an art form.
Spirit of Place
Hailing from Malaysia and now a resident of London, Alixe is a self-taught photographer. She first encountered photography as a teenager, capturing her friends and the Malaysian landscapes of her youth. After earning a doctorate in Psychology at University College London, she transitioned to a career in photography.
Known for blending cultural heritage with a modern sensibility in her work, Alixe’s style captures the emotional essence of her subjects through a dramatic visual language in documentary storytelling.
Above all, her work is defined by her ability to capture what she calls „the spirit of place“. This focus, she explains, developed gradually over her career.
„In my early years as a photographer, I was driven by a strong urge to document my travels, the places I visited, and my home at the time, Bath,“ she says. „Over time, I began to notice a pattern in what attracted me: the spirit of place.“
This realization led her to a deeper exploration of cultural heritage in her work. „By capturing that spirit, I naturally gravitated towards the cultural heritage of the locations I visited, both tangible and intangible,“ she notes. „It often defines a place; its history permeates everything, from architecture and artifacts to urban planning and human interactions within it.“
What gives her work its emotive quality is the nostalgic yearning for a bygone era that she infuses into her images. „This connection often triggers a romantic nostalgia in me—a longing for a simpler, less modernized world—something I subtly convey through my work,“ she shares.
Psychology Meets Photography
Unsurprisingly, Alixe incorporates her background in psychology into her creative process. „During my PhD, I studied how people’s choices and behaviors reveal patterns on a larger scale,“ she reflects. „While it may seem distant, that research now informs how I observe and photograph, particularly in the subtle gestures and human traces that hint at the lives unfolding within spaces.“
This perspective extends to her approach to composition and visual elements. „My understanding of cognitive processes, particularly attention and perception, has made me more mindful of the types of attention I employ when creating art and how different forms of attention can yield distinct images,“ she explains. „It has also heightened my awareness of how color, contrast, and visual composition can elicit emotional responses in viewers.“
Photography is a deeply personal medium, and Alixe embraces this aspect wholeheartedly. „I recognize that no image has a fixed meaning,“ she emphasizes. „Each viewer brings their own memories, associations, and life experiences, and I find it exhilarating that an image can act as an unfinished canvas, completed by each individual who encounters it.“
Graphic Qualities
For her collaboration with Xiaomi, Alixe produced a series titled London in Leisure, exploring how individuals utilize public spaces in the city. She recounts a specific moment from her shoot. „In Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, the afternoon sunlight streamed through the massive windows, casting soft, elongated shadows across the floor,“ she remembers. „Children were playing and running around, creating a beautifully theatrical scene.“
The technical capabilities of the Xiaomi 15 proved invaluable in this scenario. „From an elevated platform, I used the telephoto zoom to capture the groups interacting below,“ she details. „I patiently waited for compositions to form, intending to play with silhouettes, textures, and light. During post-production, I heightened the abstraction by enhancing contrast and deepening shadows, allowing the graphic qualities of the moment to shine through.“
For Alixe, smartphones offer unique benefits that complement her approach to capturing genuine moments. „Je nachdem, wo du dich auf der Welt befindest, reagieren Menschen unterschiedlich auf das Gerät, das du trägst, sei es eine Kamera oder ein Smartphone“, weist sie hin. „Oft ziehe ich es vor, Momente zu fotografieren, wie sie sich natürlich entfalten, ohne Aufmerksamkeit auf mich zu ziehen, und genau hier glänzt ein Smartphone wirklich: Es ermöglicht es, dass Momente ein wenig länger leben, bevor sie unterbrochen werden.“
Sie räumt jedoch ein, dass es Kompromisse gibt. „Ich liebe die diskrete Natur von Telefonen und die Spontaneität, die sie ermöglichen“, sagt sie. „Aber wenn ich Einstellungen wie die Anpassung der Verschlussgeschwindigkeit, um Bewegungen einzufangen, feinabstimmen muss, kann es manchmal langsamer oder weniger intuitiv sein als bei einer herkömmlichen Kamera.“
Änderung im Ansatz
Technische Herausforderungen waren jedoch nur die halbe Geschichte hinter diesem Projekt, erklärt Alixe. Sie merkt an, dass eine ihrer größten Herausforderungen darin bestand, ihre Heimatstadt mit frischen Augen zu fotografieren.
„Wenn man an einen neuen Ort reist, ist alles neu und die Aufmerksamkeit wird natürlich nach außen gelenkt“, stellt sie fest. „Aber wenn man seine eigene Stadt fotografiert, einen Ort, den man intim kennt, muss man seine Aufmerksamkeit bewusst lenken, auch wenn nichts aktiv danach verlangt.“
Dies erforderte eine Verschiebung in ihrem Ansatz zur Beobachtung: „Das Erfassen des ‚Alltäglichen‘ erforderte von mir, auf eine bewusstere, achtsamere Art des Sehens umzustellen, um vertraute Gesten und Momente mit frischen Augen zu beobachten“, erklärt sie. „Es erfordert mehr Anstrengung als die Reaktion auf Neuheit, aber letztendlich ist es durch diese Art aufmerksamen Sehens, dass gewöhnliche Momente in etwas Außergewöhnliches verwandelt werden können.“