The street as studio

While international advertising campaigns are often associated with sprawling crews, elaborate lighting rigs and technical complexity, The 2026 Lavazza Calendar is a refreshing reminder that powerful photography is about seeing and catching moments.

First unveiled at Art Basel in Florida, Pleasure Makes Us Human is the latest chapter in the coffee brand’s long-standing collaboration with the arts. It was shot by Magnum Photos photographer Alex Webb, who is known for his instinctive street work, layered compositions and masterful use of colour. 

Webb approached the project not as a high-gloss production, but as a journey through everyday Italy. Rather than constructing elaborate scenes, Webb embarked on a personal ‘grand tour’ across the country and responded to fleeting moments as they unfolded naturally along the way. The result is a body of work that feels spontaneous, intimate and authentic – proof that even a global brand campaign can be built on observation, not orchestration.

“I tried to follow the light, colours and movements of people,” Webb says. “As a photographer, I tend to see art, beauty and pleasure even in small gestures and simple moments, such as drinking coffee.”

Coffee sits quietly at the heart of the calendar: a pause at a bar, a shared moment in a trattoria and a fleeting interaction on a sunlit street – each image reflects Lavazza’s exploration of life in Italy.

What’s unusual is how no big lighting set-ups overpower the scene. Webb relies on available light, strong colour relationships and his ability to anticipate the unpredictable spark of real life. It’s a working method that reinforces how far patience and skill can go without excessive kit.

The calendar’s creative direction, led by Armando Testa, references cinema, paintings and classic street photography in the images, while trying to avoid clichés.

The lesson is that you don’t need endless lights, multiple cameras or elaborate control to make work with a global impact. What matters is sensitivity to light, an understanding of timing and the confidence to let real moments breathe.

Lavazza’s Francesca Lavazza says: “Pleasure Makes Us Human celebrates photography as an act of attention, not excess.”

Bold 1963 image wins picture of the year!

It’s not only global campaigns such as Lavazza’s that are relying on images based on the reality of street life but also major awards. Legendary street photographer Joel Meyerowitz won the Leica Picture of the Year for his iconic image Puerto Rican Day Parade, taken in Manhattan, New York in 1963. 

Meyerowitz, who was inducted into the Leica Hall of Fame in 2016, joins a distinguished lineage of past recipients including Elliott Erwitt, Ralph Gibson and Thomas Hoepker.

From early in Meyerowitz’s career, the winning image shows four women in a shop doorway on Fifth Avenue. Meyerowitz recalls: “I used the parades as a way to overcome my shyness. They were about the heat of the moment.”

Born in 1938, Meyerowitz is widely regarded as a pioneer of colour street photography. Eighty-one copies of the winning photograph will be released in a limited-edition print, available to buy from Leica Galleries worldwide.

leica-camera.com

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