ON THE COVER (Front Cover) From Kirsten Vignes' article, "Two Weeks in India with the Leica CL" (pp. 24-33) (Inside Cover) The recently-announced Leica M10-P. (Back Cover) From Bill Rosauer's book review on "Black Paint Leicas" by Douglas So.
2 a letter from the president by Gary Hough
3 a letter from the editor by Bill Rosauer
3 the opening of leitz park iii by Bill Rosauer 8 remember 9/11 by David Knoble
14 kurt kuhn & photographia zu wetzlar by Ed Schwartzreich
20 in the andes with the 28mm summaron by James Lehmann
24 two weeks in india with the cl by Kirsten Vignes
34 an english garden tour by Albert B. Knapp MD & Ruth Oratz MD
40 the m10-p by Jonathan Slack
46 it's a cap & a tool! by Jim Lager
47 book review: allen bourgeois' streets, alleys & other... by Bill Rosauer
48 book review: lars netopil's museum leica by Ed Schwartzreich
50 book review: douglas so's black paint leica by Bill Rosauer
OFFICERS & DIRECTORS
Inquries about membership, upcoming events, replacement Viewfinder issues, and special orders should be directed to:
Richard Rejino, LHSA Executive Director 14070 Proton Road, Dallas, TX 75244 info@lhsa.org, (972) 233-9107
Viewfinder is the official publication of the LHSA, The International Leica Society, a nonprofit organization incorporated in the state of Delaware. Copyright 2014. Reproduction or use of any material contained herein without permission of the Sociey if forbidden.
Leica is a registered trademark. It and other trademarks pertaining to the Leica System are the property of LEICA CAMERA, USA, INC.
ISSN 1543-8732
PRESIDENT Gary Hough gary.hough@lhsa.org (425) 485-7865
VICE PRESIDENT Alan Weinschel alan.weinschel@lhsa.org
SECRETARY/TREASURER
Thomas Campbell leicar7@aol.com (843) 345-1213
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Stephen Clowery clowerys@aol.com (215) 283-1799
PRESIDENT EMERITUS
James L. Lager
Rolf Fricke Bill Rosauer
APPOINTED OFFICERS
Viewfinder Editor
Bill Rosauer P.O. Box 5916 Buffalo Grove, IL 60089 lhsaeditor@yahoo.com (847) 634-9211
www.lhsa.org
Associate Viewfinder Editor
Ed Schwartzreich ed.schwartzreich@imagere.com (802) 244-4925
ELECTED DIRECTORS
Class of 2018
Nicholas Pinto npphotog@gmail.com
David Farkas david@leicastoremiami.com (954) 920-3648
David Spielman david@davidspielman.com (504) 899-7670
Class of 2019
Andrew Godlewski harley772@yahoo.com (973) 459-9533
Bill Royce wfroyce@gmail.com
Peter Dooling peter@leicastoremiami.com
Class of 2020
Douglas Drumheller dougdrum@comcast.net (412) 366-5871
Jay Paxton
jaypax@mlhs.net (713) 966-7200
Dan Tamarkin dan@tamarkin.com (312) 642-2255
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
S.R. Gilcreast, Jr. Peterborough, NH 03458 (603) 381-8293
James L. Lager
jlager@bellatlantic.net (201) 768-9347
S. Willis Wright beoon@aol.com (516) 381-8418
A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
"JOINED AT THE
HIP" by GARY HOUGH
fe w years ago, I met Roland Wolff (then Leica USA VP of Marketing and Corporate Retail- now Exec. VP) at Glazers Camera here in Seattle. During our discussions, I emphasized to Roland that we needed to find ways to collectively support each other because we play in the same space. Leica wants to sell product; we want to gain membership. Furthermore, that working as partners to that end would be a win-win for everyone. I used the cliché “joined at the hip” to metaphorically make the visual connection. He seemed receptive to the concept.
Fast forward to today! It sounded like it was good discussion, as we have been developing that relationship at both Leica USA with Roger Horn, Roland Wolff, Jim Wagner, Tom Smith, and Stefan Daniel of Leica AG.
In the spring of 2017, we initiated an Annual Membership Drive with the help of Jim Wagner and 13 Leica Dealers throughout the USA. It was coordinated by our marketing consultant, Sociality Squared, and produced 385 free trial members with a one-year free membership. This summer we are in the process of converting those members into paying members and experiencing about a 20% conversion rate.
Bill Rosauer’s efforts with a commemorative LHSA retro version of the current 50mm APO was produced. It turned out to be extremely successful with 500 units disappearing quickly into the hands of collectors and users all over the world to the benefit of both Leica and LHSA.
This year Alan Weinschel has worked with Stefan Daniel and others at Leica AG which has led to a program whereby the Leica website “owners page” will include an offer of a free one-year digital trial membership to all purchasers of Leica system cameras and Leica Qs. Intended for those who have not already joined, the site will allow the purchaser to click and be directed to a landing page on our website, and from there, lead through all the reasons (attributes, value propositions, solving viewer problems, providing meaningful experiences, meeting with fellow Leica enthusiasts) for joining our organization. (This is similar to a program Leica has had with Adobe for quite some time for trials of Adobe photo editing programs). It will be our job to convince the new members that LHSA has value for their position in their Leica Journey.
Part of this program will expand a prior program where we provided flyers to Leica USA that were placed into Leica product boxes for USA Dealer distribution. Now, Leica AG will be including LHSA flyers offering our trial memberships worldwide into the broad international Leica community. We will be getting true international exposure courtesy of Leica AG.
In an effort to further develop our international footprint (we are currently represented in 35 countries), we will be appointing members in several countries as liaisons to advise us on how best to effectively expand our reach. These liaison efforts will begin this fall in a few countries where we have established a beachhead, and these programs will take some time and effort to establish and operate, and we will need to provide oversight. Any member willing to help in this regard would be appreciated, and all suggestions welcomed.
With the cooperation of Jim Wagner, we are working on a program of Leica Dealer collaborative efforts to mutually support programs. We will be developing that program further with Jim at Wetzlar.
By the time of this publication, we will have completed a very successful 50th Anniversary at Wetzlar Germany and attended by approximately 135 LHSA members and in addition to Leica Executives from both Leica AG and Leica USA.
As you can see from the recent activity, Leica AG and Leica USA have worked with us and we are grateful and appreciate their inclusion. We are reciprocating and working hard to build our Society for our own future and the future of the Leica organization and brand. We hope we both continue to see value in working with each other to provide services to Leica owners as they travel along their Leica Journey.
Our Transformation continues! The last few years have brought LHSA into an entirely new and different posture: a revitalized culture and a strong focus in building membership and community, and we are expanding our reach to truly be “The International Leica Society.” We will continue to expand our influence individually and collaboratively with Leica and to continue to also be “The Go to Place for All things Leica.” In closing, I want to say that for me, personally, the last two and one-half years have been an incredible ride and worthwhile experience. It has been an honor to serve as your
President. I hope that my efforts have positioned LHSA to be in a better place, and that the Organization has developed the leadership skills in Alan Weinschel and Richard Rejino plus the new younger Directors to carry the tradition and transformation to the next level.
A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
by BILL ROSAUER
51-3 is another great issue continuing the celebration of our 50th Anniversary. We began our celebration with the meeting last fall in Chicago along with the roll-out of our LHSA Special Edition APO 50/2 Summicron M ASPH. Next month, we will have our annual meeting at Leitz Park, Wetzlar. Those attending will be in for a real treat.
I report on the celebration of the completion of Leitz Park 3 last June in Wetzlar. I was privileged to have been in attendance for the historic event. Andreas Kaufmann and Leica are on a roll, and the expanded Leica campus was most impressive. As part of the festivities at Leitz Park, Bruce Davidson became the latest inductee into the Leica Hall of Fame. It was a well-deserved recognition of Bruce’s lifetime body of work. I’d like to see our good friend Costa Manos be inducted next year! Perhaps we can put a good word in for Costa during our visit to Leitz Park.
Of course, we have another exciting new product from Leica to report on here in Viewfinder. Jonathan Slack is an advanced tester for Leica and gives us his take on the new M10-P. I’m sure you are as anxious as I am to get your hands on this new camera after reading Jono’s review!
Ed Schwartzreich tells the story of Kurt Kühn, our good friend Knut Kühn-Leitz’s father. Little has been reported on Kurt and his photo related entrepreneurial career. He has long been overshadowed by the other more well-known and illustrious members of the Leitz family. I am glad Ed has been able to shed some light on the life of Kurt, which is long overdue. Ed also has a review of Lars Netopil’s latest book, Museum Leica. David Knoble recounts his visit to Ground Zero and the World Trade Center Memorial in his touching article, “Remembering 9/11”. Having just observed the 17th anniversary of this tragic event, it is important that we never forget.
Thank you for your confidence and for listening.
Happy Shooting! - Gary
Kirsten Vignes, our incredibly talented layout person, documents her recent trip to India she made with her father. Her travels were far from the beaten path and her images beyond the usual tourist fare. Kirsten demonstrates what a wonderful tool and travel companion the new Leica CL is, producing many fascinating images of a world many of us would never see. I hope you enjoy her story. Regular contributors to Viewfinder Albert Knapp and Ruth Oratz, take us on a wonderful photo tour of some scenic English Gardens. James Lehman takes us along mountain climbing into the High Andes, with some impressive images taken along the way. James espoused the minimalist discipline of one camera, one lens with the retro 28 Summaron M on his M10 to great effect.
Jim Lager shows us a little known feature of the old Leica M lens back cap, which doubled as a tool for removing the Screw to bayonet adapter from an M mount camera. I wish Leica would still have this feature of their lens caps. It certainly comes in handy when using your old screw mount lenses on your M and the adapter just doesn’t want to cooperate and dismount with the lens. I review two books for this issue of Viewfinder, Allen Bourgeois’ self-published book on his street photography, and Douglas So’s “Black Paint Leica”. Douglas was another new friend I met in Wetzlar. He is an enormous fan of black paint and I enjoyed spending time with him in Wetzlar.
This issue marks the end of Gary Hough’s two and a half years at the helm. We all owe Gary a big thank you for a job well done. Gary has been a tireless promoter of the Society and would not let it die when others were willing to throw in the towel. Please let Gary know you appreciate all of his hard work on our behalf. He leaves the Society in a much better place than when he assumed the presidency. I know Alan Weinschel will continue Gary’s work and help the Society grow and prosper during his term. Thank you Gary! - Bill
THE OPENING OF PARK III
by BILL ROSAUER
Leica Camera AG formally opened Leitz Park 3 on June 15 and 16, 2018. Leitz Park 3 encompasses several new buildings added to the Leitz Park campus which opened in 2014. These new buildings house the future Leica Museum, the Leica Archive, a new Leica Store, the Leica Akademie and the current exhibition of Eyes Wide Open. The event also marked the formal opening of the arcona Living Ernst Leitz Hotel and the dedication of the new headquarters of the CW Sonderoptic GmbH.
I was fortunate to be included among the 1,200 invited guests to the event, and I took advantage of the opportunity to attend. I had never been to the new Leitz Park before, even though I had been to Wetzlar and Leica too many times to count in the past. As a first time visitor, I was overwhelmed by the fantastic new campus that Andreas Kaufmann and his resurgent Leica company had built over the past few years. It was certainly a refreshing change from the survival mode the company had been in for decades. Having come directly from the Frankfurt airport after my overnight flight from the States, I wandered around for about a half hour admiring the campus, and then made my first priority getting something to eat. By this time, the only place still open was the Café Leitz. Over some amazing coffee and cake I was soon joined by so many of my Leica friends past and present. David Farkas and Josh Lehrer, Alan Weinschel our VP and my good friend Jonathan Slack were there. We were soon joined by Peter Karbe for an interesting talk about Leica lens design. I also paid my respects to Dr. Kaufmann and his wife, and their guest Jane Cui. Café Leitz became our home base over the next few days, where we watched the Leica world go by and I was re-acquainted with so many of my old Leica friends.
The next two days were a whirlwind of activity. Leica had erected a large tent, where several presentations and speeches from the company and government representatives were given. New CEO Matthius Harsch was one of the notables and Andreas Kaufmann spoke about where Leica stands today and the plans for the future. At the end of his remarks, he was presented with a beautiful Leica enameled dealer sign from the 30’s. He also introduced Dr. Andrea Zagato and the limited Zagato Edition M10 they had jointly created. Stefan Daniel and Karin Rehn-Kaufmann showed the new Leica C-Lux camera. Magnum photographer Bruce Davidson was inducted into the Leica Hall of Fame for 2018 and was presented with his own personalized M10. Bruce was interviewed on stage about his life’s work as a Leica photographer. A touching retrospective of Bruce’s work was shown, which highlighted his life’s work and how impressive and sensitive his (top) Lars Netopil presents Museum Leica (middle) Andreas Kaufmann presented enameled 1930's Leica Dealer sign (bottom) Andreas Kaufmann and Karin Rehn-Kaufmann present Bruce Davidson with his own personalized M10
photography is. Bruce’s work was also featured in the lobby of the main building of Leica AG at Leitz Park.
The next day, I attended presentations by good friend Lars Netopil introducing his impressive new book, Museum Leica and Craig Semetko on his approach to photography entitled Serendipity . I also toured the Eyes Wide Open photography exhibit, which was quite well done. Another highlight of the trip was the tour of the new Leica Archives, where I met Monika Bock, the new Manager of the collections. Leica has built a rather impressive facility for the Archives, with records and materials going back to Oskar Barnack along with many prototypes and one of a kind pieces of Leica history. I look forward to visiting the Archive again soon for a more detailed look into their collections.
Of course, I had the opportunity to renew old friendships with many people I have not seen at Leica in many years and to meet many people I had only known through cyberspace such as Jo Geier, Kevin Raber of Luminous Landscape, Fabrizio Pangrazi of My Leica Historica, Paolo Folzami, Douglas So (see my review of his book in this issue), Hari Subramanyam and “Chats” Chatterjee. I also found the time to stop by Lars Netopils’ fabulous Leica store and Ottmar Michaely’s Leica workshop, as well as making a pilgrimage to the old Leitz Factory, the Hausertor Werke and Eisenmarkt. Those who are going to Wetzlar this Fall for the Annual Meeting are in for a treat!
this page
(top left) Craig Semetko (middle left) Ottmar Michaely in his shop (bottom left) Jonathan Slack in Lars Netopil's Leica Shop
opposite page, clockwise from left
1. Cafe Leitz, our home base
2. Part of the collection in the new Leitz Archiv
3. Monika Bock, Manager of Collections, points out an interesting entry in the production records to Fabrizio Pangrazi and Paolo Folzami
4. Lots of room for records storage in the new Archiv
5. View from the new campus of Leitz Park
6. Peter Karbe explains a fine point of Leica lens design to David Farkas and Jonathan Slack
DAVID KNOBLE
I originally wrote this article in May 2014, the day after visiting the 911 Memorial while still under construction. The museum is now finished, and security is a bit different than it was then.
We waited in line, checking pockets, removing belts and placing all objects in a container for scanning. The room was full of chatter as we walked through the gates. Assembling ourselves back together, I realized one of the sacrifices we now all make. Part of the price of feeling secure is losing a little freedom. That was when I decided to shoot something unique, something more than just a postcard or pictorial of this 9/11 monument. I wanted something that depicted the emotion I felt while standing on this ground sanctified by so many. I wanted to show the emotion that those people must have felt that terrible day. I created the portfolio, Remembering 9/11
For my age group, the attacks of 9/11 were the overbearing loss of life that we viewed as it happened in real time. I remember other events as a child and many more from history lessons with wasteful loss of life, but none I experienced this closely. Visiting those historical sites is moving, but nothing evokes my emotion like 9/11. I now understand my parents statement, "I remember where I was and what I was doing when Kennedy was shot…" This site carries a somber meaning to me both as a human being and a citizen of this country.
As we entered the memorial, I noticed how quiet it was. Surveying the area, I found a rose set in someone's name and made the image permanent. Using a Leica M9, I felt much less intrusive because it was small, fitting well inside my hands. I quickly felt the sadness and respect that was present.
I started taking images of the two large fountains. Four sided cubes with water falling from every side to a large square drain in the middle, these occupied the foundations of the former
"I NEEDED TO SHOW THE INTIMATE CONNECTION OF THE MONUMENTS AND THE PEOPLE THERE."
Twin Towers. The black sides of the fountains were stark in the shade of the tall office building across the street. Shutting my eyes, I could hear the white noise resulting from the falling water. I imagined the tears of those trapped in the top floors of the Twin Towers.
After clicking a few quick images of the hole in the center of the drain, I pulled the focus back to the reflections of the skyline contained in the water at the top. This was the skyline that now stood watch over the Tower memorial.
After pausing, I pulled the focus back even more to capture the names that were engraved in the stone surrounding each fountain. As the Vietnam Memorial came to mind in Washington, DC I decided I liked the names surrounding the fountain. It was almost like a gathering place for their memories. The deep etching would stand the test of time and later generations would be able to see and hear the stories of that day.
Reviewing the images, a realization came that I needed to show the intimate connection of the monuments and the people there. I wanted to include enough of the people present, but not take away from the focal point of the memories. The images had to speak of the silence all around. I came back to that somber feeling when I first entered. I thought again about the people at the tops of the towers, waiting for help that could not come. Some, I imagined, were crying as they determined how to meet their fate. I could picture them looking down the building towards the ground but not being able to see through the smoke. I decided to represent the tear-filled eyes through the fountains. I decided to represent the smoke through the sharp shadows of this sunny day.
I started taking images of the ground shadows from people surrounding the fountain and their interaction with each other. I looked at other shadows formed on the ground and mid-April meant only the Cherry trees had blooms - the other trees had not yet sprouted leaves. I began shooting the shadows of the crooked, and spindled branches on the ground. It reminded me of the needless hand of death, reaching out to those it came to claim.
There was still a fair amount of construction as the visitor's center was not yet complete. The chain link fence provided two backdrops. First, the length of fencing provided a border that people couldn't cross. The fence represented containment. I saw the containment of the people trapped in the tower and our containment now as we look for more security in our life. Second, the shadow of the chain link also represented the brief time during 9/11 we were trapped as a country. Planes were grounded causing travel to halt, large cities closed down for safety, New York was barricaded to
everyone in and out. It represented fear then and fear now.
There were heroes that day and in the days that followed, even though many of them perished - and I consider each person caught in that tragedy a hero. With them in mind, I began taking images of shadows as people entered the frame. Feet and hands entering the frame from the edges repre -
sented the help coming to the Towers. It represented the bravery and help that the passengers provided to each other when grounding the plane in Pittsburgh. It represented the aftermath cleaning up the damage to the Pentagon. This was the connection I was looking for.
There is no question that the Leica M rangefinder was what made this revelation possible for me to photograph. Even with the 35mm focal length, which fills much of the viewfinder, I still had room to see people entering the image, before they got there. It gave me the ability to anticipate the moment. One of my favorite images in this series is the shadow of the tree with two feet entering, one from the left and one from the
right. Are they trying to escape death or are they oblivious to it? I could not have made this image with a viewfinder that only showed me the view through the lens.
I began learning photography with black and white film. I considered making these images black and white in the tradition of documentary work. While that was a very easy choice I could make with the digital work, I decided the shadows and the black stone of the fountain gave me the dark, black I needed, so I continued in color. In fact, there is one strong color shot that spoke to me - the Survivor Tree. Aptly named, it was the single tree in the area that lived through the falling of the two large Twin Towers. In some ways, I wish I had taken more images that day of the tree, but my focus was on the ground and what it represented.
As I pulled together the images for this essay, I decided to make one additional choice. I decided to use the RAW images out of the camera, unaltered in any manner save contrast and brightness adjustments (which most RAW files need). There is no cropping or color adjustments in these images. My thinking was that I would show the unaltered view of what I had seen and felt. While I do not believe altering the images through basic settings changes the craft, similar to film work, I did want an exact replica the way my Leica saved the images. There is somehow a sense of completeness to this work knowing that I cannot change the images, a sense of finality.
The sounds of nature. The sparkle of the falling water. The blurred backgrounds and inability to focus through it. All this reminds me of the tears shed that fateful day and those that followed. I thank the heroes of 9/11 for the strength and patriotism they have given to me through their sacrifice and that of their families.
I will remember.
"I BEGAN SHOOTING THE SHADOWS OF THE CROOKED, AND SPINDLED BRANCHES ON THE GROUND. IT REMINDED ME OF THE NEEDLESS HAND OF DEATH, REACHING OUT TO THOSE IT CAME TO CLAIM."
KURT KUHN & PHOTOGRAPHIA
ZU WETZLAR
[ WITH AN ASIDE ABOUT DR. WOLFF ]
by ED SCHWARTZREICH
Viewfinder Volume 44, Issue 2 (2011) I placed the above query. Recently and fortuitously I was put in contact with Dr. Knut Kühn-Leitz, who it turns out has information about Photographia zu Wetzlar, since his father, Kurt Kühn, was one of its principals; the other founder and partner was Friedrich von Rosen who had previously represented E. Leitz in Bulgaria. Photographia indeed had only a brief life as a flourishing commercial entity, 1945 until 1949. The following article is mostly about the life and career of Kurt Kühn, touching also on his company Photographia, as well as interactions with Ernst Leitz and Dr. Wolff.
Both Knut and his Wetzlar classmate Gerhard Neumann, former general manager of the Industrie und Handelskammer, Wetzlar, have contributed to this article, as has Thomas Sommer from Dr. Wolff’s photo archive. With their information, I have learned more about Photographia and also the career of Kurt Kühn. •
Kurt Kühn (born Kassel, 1904, died Bad Homburg, 1981) had earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Kiel, and married Elsie Leitz, both in 1935. After that and before the War he worked first for the Adler-Werke in Frankfurt and later with the GlanzstoffWerke in Wuppertal. After the War, Kurt Kühn returned to Wetzlar. Like many in immediate post-war Germany, he had to improvise for income. The original idea behind Photographia had to do with the art seminars at the nearby University of Marburg and its large image archive of art and architecture photos, Bildarchiv Foto Marburg. Foto Marburg had been started in 1913 by Prof. Richard Hamann, and immediately post-War had 230,000 negatives. Thinking that these images might be of interest and saleable to the German public, Kühn approached Hamann to have titles originating in their artworks published by Photographia under some sort of a contractual arrangement. Knut writes that publishing “the wonderful pictures of art of the Acropolis or the Bordesholmer Altar [was] a result of a close cooperation with Foto Marburg which had in Marburg / Lahn a large amount of negatives protected against U.S. bombardments during World War II.” Some of the Foto Marburg images were from Leica negatives, and are so labeled in Photographia’s offerings. It seems reasonable to assume that Kurt Kühn had a large role in making the choices of which topics and which images to publish, and that both he and Prof. Hamann also saw that such a venture made economic sense.
Per Mr. Neumann, Photographia had two departments, “the scientific and the photographical”. Since there are photos stamped [vide infra]: ‘Photographia, Gesellschaft für Phototechnik’, which would imply photo-technology rather than simply photography, it is not clear how these departments were differentiated. Perhaps the photographic enlargements themselves were made by the ‘scientific department’ personnel, or perhaps it concentrated upon advertising, whereas the ‘photographical department’ implied the Verlag / Publishing House. We do not know either how many employees were involved in Photographia, or how many of the processes needed to make the portfolios were done in house. Knut had speculated to me that the portfolio presentation boxes and envelopes themselves were likely contracted out.
From Knut I found out that there was not, as I had assumed, any in-house connection between Photographia and the E. Leitz Wetzlar firm on the Leica Brevier or other projects. While it is not clear who thought up the idea of the Leica Brevier , it would not surprise this author if Kurt Kühn had proposed this as one of his cooperative business endeavors; the Brevier masthead states that Photographia was under contract to E. Leitz. Knut said that his father had hoped, futilely it turned out, that there would be cooperation on further issues of the Leica Brevier, as it was pretty clearly implied by Ernst Leitz II that the 1949 edition was only the
(above) Leica Brevier book. The masthead states, in translation, that Photographia published this book “under contract” from Ernst Leitz GmbH. The printing of text and photographs in the book was done by third parties.
first such book*. According to Knut, to the degree that such a published outreach by E. Leitz to the Leica community existed later, it's place was likely taken instead by the publication of Leica Fotografie, edited by Heinrich Stöckler. Mr. Neumann writes that Photographia itself upon its ending in 1949 was apparently given to and integrated into the E. Leitz company. After the demise of Photographia zu Wetzlar, Friedrich von Rosen went on to found the Leitz Austria subsidiary, and Kurt Kühn established both a PR company, and other side business arrangements.
Kurt Kühn was also the owner of an eponymous camera company in Wetzlar (“Kurt Kühn-Wetzlar”), which produced in the early 1950’s the Flexameter reflex viewing accessory, an electronic flash unit, and the REKA and other cameras. Knut recalls “as a twelve old boy (perhaps in 1948) my father told me that besides his PR business, he started
(alone or with a partner) the production and distribution of a 35mm camera”. Because Wetzlar was a major optical center (not just Leitz, but also Leidolf and Hensoldt), a KühnWetzlar optical company may have been fairly easy to set up, either de novo with local experienced personnel, or via partnership or the relicensing of products from other small Wetzlar producers. Mr. Neumann spells this out further [text edited by the author]:
"In 1952 he founded a second enterprise: Kurt Kühn Apparatebau GmbH, in Wetzlar. In a paper from 14.1.1952 we find the information: 6 employees, and a second owner as well.
There exist today only a few pieces of information as to the company’s products. Most famous are an electronic flash unit (named the Kühn Blitz I or the Wetzlar Blitz), the REKA camera, and the FLEXAMETER. The first two of these products
(top left) Various image portfolios from Photographia zu Wetzlar that this writer has in his own collection. These offerings are beautifully presented. Most Photographia image portfolios were comprised of photographs, but others had reproductions of graphics or other artwork. Many portfolios also had text sheets incorporated.
(top right) Unvergängliches Hellas (from web illustration), one of Photographia’s most deluxe offerings.
(left) Kurt Kühn Wetzlar REKA camera, from the early 1950’s. Image is from the web. It apparently took 39mm SM interchangeable lenses and had a leaf shutter. There were also other later cameras from this firm: the Kühn-Reflexa, the INFRA, and the Ereka. There are also binoculars with this marking.
were intensively discussed at PHOTOKINA 1952 in Cologne. The Kühn Blitz was technically advanced and had good sales. It worked with a capacitor and it was possible to change the intensity of the electrical power. The charge allowed for about 1000 flashes. The REKA camera did not fare as well. This product was conventionally constructed, although with a variable 'Sucher' for 50 and 70 mm objectives. The camera had no economic success, and in the catalogue of PHOTOKINA 1954 it is missing.
Another camera outfit, the INFRA, for 24 x 24 images on 35mm film, stemmed from cooperation with the firm Bernhard Julius Oehler, Wetzlar.
When in 1954 the trend demanded 6 x 6 cm cameras, Kühn offered such too. He bought the cameras from Photavit GmbH in Nürnberg, made only few changes and sold it as Kühn Reflexa.
In 1954 The Kühn Aparatebau GmbH showed at Cologne the FLEXAMETER, a reflex viewing and focusing accessory. [N.B. from the author: currently one sees this device for sale occasionally on the internet with comments that it dates from the mid-1930’s; that date is not correct].
In 1957 Kurt Kühn sold his company to the Armaturen und Installationsfirma Dr. Konrad Wiegand. The company then relocated to Frankfurt early in 1958. [Per Knut, 'when my father ended his camera business in Wetzlar, Leitz took most of his employees and, maybe, some machines' as well.]"
Kurt Kühn then continued to be involved in several industries. At the height of his career Kühn ran primarily a large
(left) The Kühn / Oehler INFRA. (below) Kühn-Wetzlar Flexameter, image from the web. This viewer would fit in the accessory shoe of Leicas or other cameras, and allowed reflex viewing and composition as well as focusing; focus distance however had to be transferred manually between the Flexameter and the camera lens.
advertising and publicity agency in Frankfurt called “Griffon Gesellschaft für Marktpflege GmbH” with 70 – 80 employees. Knut writes: “besides advertising, Griffon produced many books of world-known companies. Unfortunately Griffon and Ernst Leitz GmbH Wetzlar never worked together on any public relations projects.” In addition, Kühn secured from family connections a licensing agreement with a Swedish company affording a German monopoly on the production of advertisements on matchboxes. To see images of some of these, one should Google “deutsche zündholz monopolgesellschaft”. As can be appreciated from this history, Kurt Kühn was definitely entrepreneurial, and repeatedly sought out mutually beneficial contractual arrangements with other business entities.
What ought to be of interest here, besides finding the answers to some of my earlier questions about Photographia and so much more, is the discovery of Kurt Kühn from a Leica perspective. As the spouse of Elsie Kühn-Leitz, he has been overshadowed historically by her formidable and inspiring story. While his direct commercial overlap with E. Leitz Wetzlar was fairly fleeting (essentially only the Leica Brevier), Kurt Kühn is definitely part of Leica history and should be remembered by us. And to return to this author’s original inquiry about Photographia zu Wetzlar, Kurt Kühn’s offerings to the public through his Photographia firm display both an appreciation of a marketing niche, and a fine sensibility towards filling that niche with a deluxe photographic product that often involved Leica images.
*Ernst Leitz II’s reproduced handwritten greeting in the frontispiece of the book says, in rough translation: “My heartfelt wishes accompany this first Leica-Brevier on its way. May you enjoy it. Wetzlar 1 March, 1949.”
the destruction of his house in Frankfurt. Braunfels is not far from Wetzlar, and Dr. Wolff had a good relationship with the Leitz Company and the Leitz family. Unfortunately, there are no documents in the archive concerning this time period for further information.”
It should be noted in this context that Dr. Wolff contributed a chapter to the Leica Brevier that Photographia published, as did also Wolff’s partner Alfred Tritschler. This author also recalls seeing a wall calendar published by Photographia with images by Wolff & Tritschler. Suffice it to be said that Kühn and Wolff at that time period each saw a good business deal if they worked together, much as had happened previously between Kühn and Prof. Hamann of Foto Marburg.
About the publication by Photographia of Dr. Paul Wolff’s photographic prints, Knut had no specific information, but mentioned that the portfolios were very expensive at the time (I assured him that they still were today). We know that Dr. Wolff was a tireless if understated self-promoter. His images of old Frankfurt turned up everywhere: in pamphlets, brochures, a datebook, postcards, a three-volume monograph produced with art historian and Frankfurt preservationist Fried Lübbecke, specific books on the Frankfurt Roman Catholic diocese and the Frankfurt cemetery, as well as with Photographia zu Wetzlar. While it thus seems quite possible that it would have been Wolff who approached Kühn about this endeavor, Kühn was also keenly aware of what might do well in the marketplace. Contact between the two men would seem to have been quite easily facilitated, because as Thomas Sommer of the Dr. Paul Wolff & Tritschler Historisches Bildarchiv writes me: “After the war, Paul Wolff’s beautiful prewar photos of Frankfurt and other cities were in high demand and he had the opportunity to earn money from them. Paul Wolff had moved to Braunfels in the spring of 1944 after
It appears that besides the formal publication of Dr. Wolff’s portfolios by Photographia, there may have been also a more casual commercial interaction between the parties. There is at least one photograph taken by Wolff and Tritschler, seen by the author, which is stamped on its reverse with the usual type of label associated with Dr. Wolff & Tritschler’s own direct photo sales, but also added / incorporated is: “Alleinvertrieb durch ‘Photographia’, Gesellschaft für Phototechnik, v. Rosen und Dr. Kühn Wetzlar, Ringstraße 1." Mr. Sommer from the Archiv says “I am familiar with this stamp in connection with the Frankfurt images. The numbering of the pictures is identical to the negative numbers from the archive.” This stamp indicates that von Rosen and Kühn are clearly involved in “exclusively marketing” (“Alleinvertrieb”) this photo. [see illustration]. Very similar stamps occur as well for many Foto Marburg images outside of Photographia’s formal portfolio offerings, so it is probably safe to conclude that Photographia typically also marketed individual photographic prints as part of their activities. •
Combined Dr. Wolff / Photographia stamp.
Knut Kühn-Leitz also wished us at LHSA to know of his résumé, and indeed it is most interesting, as he is the last of a notable line of Leitz family persons involved with our favorite camera / optical system.
“I studied economics and in addition business administration, and got my PhD in economics at the University of Marburg and my MBA from INSEAD (European Business School) in Fontainebleau, France.
I started my activities with Ernst Leitz Wetzlar in 1966 and became a member of the board of directors in 1971. I was responsible for the cooperation between Leitz and Minolta, which was very important in keeping the camera business alive. I was also very much involved in establishing the cooperation Leitz - Wild: my uncles Ernst and Ludwig Leitz delegated the responsibility in the negations between Leitz and Wild to me and Horst Siegfried, also a new member of the board of directors of Leitz in 1971/ 1972. We had to represent the interests of the company but also of the Leitz family - which we did.
When the Leitz family sold their shares to Wild Heerbrugg in 1986 I left the company and gave courses of Strategic Planning at the University of Witten - Herdecke. Then I joined for many years an M&A company in Düsseldorf.
Since 2005 I have written several biographies on the Leitz family and their company. Since 2012 I am the chairman of the Ernst Leitz Foundation, Wetzlar, which is the owner of “Haus Friedwart“ together with its complete furnishings.”
Kurt Kühn with his young son, Knut.
IN THE ANDES WITH THE 28MM SUMMARON
(right) Guide Peter Henestroza taking a break.
by JAMES LEHMANN
Ipacked Leica’s reissued 28mm Summaron f/5.6 as the sole companion to my M10 last summer during a two week expedition in the Peruvian Andes.
Our goal was to climb Alpamayo, an almost perfect pyramid nestled 5947 m high in the Cordillera Blanca. Its dramatic, fluted southwest face requires 13 pitches of ice climbing to reach the summit. But before attempting the face, it takes at least a week of approach and acclimatization.
Why bring the 28 Summaron? A lens I had never used before? There are practical reasons like its tiny size and reputation as a classic landscape focal length. But more importantly, vintage lenses capture the imagination. As hobbyists and aficionados, we study classic landscape and street images and dream of replicating them. Vintage reissues like the 28 Summaron give us a link to the past, the possibility to create something unique, timeless. I wanted contrasty, sharp images with vignetting and lens flare. I didn’t care about its slow f/5.6 aperture, because in the mountains, one thing you have enough of is light.
The Summaron did not disappoint. It was easy to use and carry, and while I didn’t appreciate the quality of images at the time, squinting at the LCD screen on the back of the M10, the RAW files looked good and required little processing.
In general, I am most comfortable with the 50 Lux used in the traditional manner — focusing through the rangefinder, using the A mode to balance depth of focus and exposure. It took a few days to get used to the Summaron, but eventually, I developed a workable system.
I discovered that its small aperture made focusing through the rangefinder redundant. I learned to set the aperture based on the depth of field desired, then set the focusing scale, note the hyperfocal distance, and frame the shot using live view. I never had to truly “focus” the lens unless I was attempting a portrait. Lastly, I kept the M10 on center-weighted metering and didn’t need to bracket my shots.
Cairn with Artesonraju in the background. Artesonraju was the inspiration for the Paramount logo.
Cotton candy snow at sunset from high camp.
The Southwest Face of Alpamayo at midday. Our campsite in the foreground.
Our journey to the summit of Alpamayo began in the hot, dusty town of Cashapampa (2500m). How could it be so hot at this altitude? Cashapampa and the Santa Cruz Valley rest just 9 degrees south of the Equator. Our caravan consisted of three climbers, two guides, a pair of porters, and a small herd of donkeys carrying our gear. During our two day hike to base camp, we gained about 1200 m, and as the temperature became cooler, the landscape became more beautiful, with glimpses of waterfalls, jagged white peaks, and unusual flora.
It is difficult to hike and carry a tank like the M10, so I kept it safely ensconced in my pack. We would take breaks every hour or so, and I would pull out the camera and take some shots.
Eventually, we arrived to basecamp and began our acclimatization routine — climb high and sleep low. I would carry the M10 in my pack and sneak shots as often as I could.
As we didn’t have electricity, my battery died after 8 days, but I have since come up with a solution — using a solar panel and a USB to DC adaptor purchased through Amazon that allows me to use the Leica DC charger linked directly to the solar panel.
We summited Alpamayo on the eighth day. It was a long, cold day, and I didn’t carry the M10 up to the summit because I was afraid it would suffer damage during the climb. During an ice climb, debris and ice are always falling from the climber above you, hitting your pack, making things inside wet, and I didn’t want to risk damaging the camera.
After I returned home and viewed the images in Adobe Lightroom, I was pleased with focus and composition of the images.
My normal workflow includes selection of the best images, then cropping, exposure adjustment, and color balance in Lightroom. Then I export the images to Nik Software’s Silver Efex Pro for black and white processing or Color Efex Pro for color processing. I have presets, or “recipes” as they are called in the software, that I have used for years and would be happy to share. Of the images included in this article, only the second and fourth required any significant processing.
In conclusion, the reissued 28mm Summaron has become my “go-to” lens for climbing trips. Its small form and distinctive signature add up to a versatile lens that works great with the M10. - James Lehmann, jameslehmann@gmail.com
Looking down at the glacial Lake Arhuaycocha from approximately 17,000 feet.
Shadows in Warangal. 11-23mm Super-Vario-Elmar-TL (at 19mm).
1/6th sec (tripod), f/4.2, ISO 3200
Two Weeks in India with the Leica CL: Getting Out of My Comfort Zone
by KIRSTEN VIGNES
“Do you want to go to India?”
“What are you talking about, dad?” I half-laughed through the phone.
My father, a recently-ordained pastor, eagerly explained that he’d been invited to India to speak at a few pastors' conferences being organized by his friends’ ministries.
INDIA
“Everything will be lined up for us,” he continued, trying to convince me. “Besides, it’ll be a good opportunity to spend some time with your dear old dad.” He’s been using this bargaining chip a lot more now that I’m grown up and live a thousand miles away. Between wanting to support my dad and my unquenchable desire to travel, I couldn’t say no. Besides, India is supposed to be a street photographer’s dream, right?
Fast forward a couple months, and I was on a 16-hour flight en route to Hyderabad, India. Tucked beneath the seat in front of me was the Leica CL, the newest addition to Leica’s interchangeable APS-C system. For the past few years my go-to camera setup has been the full-frame Leica Q, either solo, or accompanied by an also-full-frame Leica M with a single 50mm lens. My decision to bring the cropped-sensor CL to India wasn’t an easy one. For someone who is used to the comforts of a full-frame, it was hard to fathom traveling to the other side of world with only an APS-C camera. But, the CL was intriguing. With a sharp built-in viewfinder and simple button and dial layout, it was reminiscent of both my Q and M. I could shoot in my usual style and feel comfortable using it as my primary camera.
What ultimately solidified my decision to take the CL was its compact size paired with the flexibility of interchangeable lenses. For this trip, I was lucky enough to nab four of the seven CL-system lenses currently offered: the 11-23mm SuperVario-Elmar-TL, 35mm Summilux-TL, 60mm APO-MacroTL, and the new pancake prime, the 18mm Elmarit-TL.
PART I: WARANGAL We got into Hyderabad at 3 AM and my dad’s friend, Pastor Jesroon, was waiting for us at the airport. For the first week, we’d be staying at a hotel near his home in Warangal, Telangana, a three-hour drive from Hyderabad airport. The second week, he’d be handing us over to Pastor Israel in the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh. Both pastors had lined up several pastors' meetings as well as visits to local churches.
We were dropped off at our hotel in Warangal, advised to “take some good rest,” and to be ready in the lobby by 7 PM for an evening service. We were also cautioned not to leave the hotel because “maybe that’s not such a good idea” – just what a street photographer wants to hear. This was frustrating, but after our first night in town, I understood why. Warangal wasn’t really a destination for Western tourists and my dad and I didn’t exactly blend in. Everywhere we went, heads turned, crowds gathered and cameras clicked. There was no hope of being a fly on the wall. I would have to leave the spontaneous, unposed street scenes to Craig Semetko.
Our schedule was structured pretty much the same day-to-day. Wake up. Eat breakfast. Be picked up. Go to a pastors’ meeting or church service. Dine with the pastor’s family or congregation. Be dropped off back at the hotel. Repeat. Despite my inability to roam, I managed what street shots I could while being carted about town. However, that first week in Warangal, most of my photographs were taken during or after services.
During services, I was always designated a seat front and center behind the pulpit. At first it felt a little confining and terrifying (I’m mortified of being in front of crowds.), but after warming up, I realized this was an interesting angle and turned the camera outwards, towards the congregation.
It didn’t take long to warm up to the CL. Just like my M and Q, I was able to dial in my auto ISO settings, switch my shutter to AUTO, and shoot in aperture priority. After initial setup, I shut off the LCD and the CL’s dual thumb wheels allowed me to adjust every aspect of exposure, without having to ever go into a menu. Leica cleverly added a center button within
each thumb wheel, so you can easily toggle the functionality of each. I had it set up so the right thumb wheel’s primary function was Aperture, a quick press of the center button, and it switched to ISO. The left thumb wheel set to Exposure Compensation as primary functionality, and shooting mode (PASM) as secondary.
I found myself taking a lot of photographs from rooftops –of the hotel, of the pastor’s house, of the churches. I wasn’t allowed to wander out, but I could wander up. I always travel with my Sirui 025x carbon fiber tripod. With a folded length of only 12 inches and weighing just two pounds, I can fit it in my Oberwerth Kate camera bag. Any larger or heavier, and it would have been left at home. With the high ISO capabilities of the CL and fast prime lenses like the 35mm Summilux-TL f/1.4, a tripod wasn’t an absolute necessity, but I was happy to have it, allowing me to to play around with different lenses and get cleaner nightscapes.
Leica’s auto ISO function has become extremely advanced. If understood, it can be a powerful tool. By dialing in maximum ISO and minimum (slowest) shutter speed, I’m basically telling the camera to think like I do. Keep my ISO at 100 (base) as long as I’m able to stay at 1/125th sec or faster. Once I run out of light and have to start making changes, then boost the ISO. Keep raising the ISO until I hit 6400. These parame -
ters worked for most situations. For unique lighting situations such as extremely low light or back lit situations, I’d switch to a manual shutter speed and/or ISO.
Our last day in Warangal, Pastor Jesroon and his family planned a day trip around their home state of Telangana, which took us through a scattering of ruins from the Kakatiya dynasty, through protected forest areas and past lakes and waterfalls (which to our dismay weren’t flowing in the dry season). This outing not only gave me a chance to see the Indian countryside, but also an opportunity to further experiment with the different lenses I had brought, specifically the 11-23mm (18-35mm equiv.). I’ve always been shy of super-wide angles, but India already had me so far out of my comfort zone culturally, it only seemed natural to push my comfort zone photographically as well. Besides, the Kakatiya ruins posed a perfect subject for a super wide lens.
We probably spent most of our time in the car that day, but as the sun fell behind Telangana’s rolling hills and we sped back to Warangal, I couldn’t help but feel immensely satisfied. Just as I was getting comfortable in Warangal, it was now time to leave.
(left) Warangal from the pastor’s roof. 35mm Summilux-TL (handheld). 30 sec, f/13, ISO 200 (top right) Praying. 35mm Summilux-TL. 1/160th sec, f/1.4, ISO 3200. (bottom right) The Good Book. 35mm Summilux-TL. 1/60th sec, f/1.4, ISO 250.
PART II: ANDHRA PRADESH The following day we headed a few hours south to meet up with our second host, Pastor Israel. As soon as we pulled up to our new accommodations, I could immediately tell this next leg of our journey was going to be quite the change of pace. After our first week spent in a bustling, sleepless city of 12 million, we were now tucked away in a quiet lakeside oasis in the Andhra Pradesh countryside.
I would spend the next few mornings exploring our hotel, the Vijay Vihar Resort, and the wildlife that called it home. I would wake up at sunrise, sip my garam chai and watch as exotic birds, wild boars and rhesus monkeys got about the day. Again, I found myself grateful for the variety of lenses I had brought. The 60mm APO-MacroTL allowed me to get closer to nature both near and far. I was warned to not get too close to the monkeys, so the 90mm (equiv.) focal length gave me enough reach to get the shot, without riling up my excitable subjects. On the opposite end of the focusing scale, the macro function allowed me to capture the color and details of Vijay Vihar’s lush landscape.
inviting. We were welcomed into homes and offered meals. In one village, I was escorted with beating drums to a woman’s house where I was dressed in her grandmother’s traditional tribal clothing. A crowd of women giggled as they layered me in brightly colored fabrics and jewelry.
After each service or meeting, both in Warangal and in the villages, a local family would prepare a meal for us, which was
After my morning retreats, our entourage would head out for the afternoon. We spent most of our time in small towns and gypsy villages, each with its own characters and story to tell. Often times, the entire village would be waiting as we pulled up in our van, throwing marigold petals, beating drums, and bearing welcome banners. By this point in the trip I had learned to smile and accept the excessive, unwanted attention. This was their culture; this was how they welcomed their guests.
For each outing, I would take two lenses with me, usually one wide angle and one longer lens. During the day, I would shoot any combination of lens, but at night I would opt for the faster of the four lenses I brought: the 18mm (28mm equiv.) f/2.8 and the 35mm (50mm equiv.) f/1.4. As an M shooter, the 50mm Summilux-M f/1.4 was always a favorite, so it comes as no surprise that I gravitated towards the CL’s equivalent. Even though I had multiple lenses with me, I still shot with a one-camera-one-lens mentality. I’d pick a lens, mount it, and dedicate myself to that focal length. Changing lenses can often be distracting, causing us unnecessary frustration and missed shots.
The villages gave me the freedom and security to explore and shoot. The communities were small, the people curious and
inevitably always chicken biryani, with the exception of our last communal meal. On our drive to the village, Pastor Israel joked, “Today, we are having bird biryani.” By bird, I assumed he meant chicken. Nope. He meant crow.
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Lake Nagarjuna Sagar at the Vijay Vihar Resort.
60mm APO-Macro-Elmarit-TL. 2 sec (tripod), f/13, ISO 100
60mm APO-Macro-Elmarit-TL. 1/250th, f/2.8, ISO 125
PART III: THOUGHTS ON THE CL Of the 1,500 photos I took during my two weeks in India, about 500 were taken with the 35mm, another 500 with the 18mm, 350 with the 11-23mm, and 150 with the 60mm.
If I had to pick only one lens for the CL, it would hands-down be the 35mm (50mm equiv.) Summilux. I might be a little biased as a die-hard 50mm shooter, but focal length aside, the Lux proved its worth over and over again. With a two-stop advantage over the other lenses in my bag, it let me take on tricky handheld night shots without resorting to slow shutter speeds or ridiculously high ISO’s. As the only Summilux in the TL system, it rivaled its full-frame equivalents in terms of sharpness and bokeh. I was also surprised by the shallow depth of field I was able to achieve with an APS-C sensor, one of my bigger concerns of giving up full frame. I’m crossing my fingers that Leica will introduce more Summilux lenses for the C/ TL system.
When packing for this trip, I threw both the 11-23mm (18-35mm equiv.) and the 60mm (90 equiv.) in my bag thinking maybe I’d use them once or twice for the occasional architectural or macro shot. I was surprised by how much I actually used both these lenses. Even though I shot significantly less with 60mm, the percentage of “keepers” was much higher than the other lenses. Because it allowed me to capture details both near and far, I had just as many shots with 60mm as the other lenses in my final edit.
their case. It’s sharp edge-to-edge throughout the focal range and distortion, even at the widest setting, is minimal.
With the 18mm (28mm equiv.) attached, the CL weighed a mere pound and was reminiscent of a baby Q. Protruding only one inch from the camera and virtually weightless, I barely knew it was there. Slung across my shoulder and tucked underneath my sari, nobody else knew it was there either. In an environment where eyes were constantly following me, this proved to be the best setup for being discreet.
One lens I didn’t have access to but would have liked to bring along was the 23mm (35mm equiv.) Summicron-TL. A stop faster than the 18mm and only slightly larger, it would have given me a little more wiggle room in low light.
The 11-23mm (18-35mm equiv.) was the lens that surprised me the most. I’ve never been a big fan of zooms or wide angles. Like changing lenses, zooming in and out always felt like more of a distraction than anything else. Not to mention the commonly held notions that distortion in super-wide angles is unavoidable and that zoom lenses aren’t as sharp as their prime counterparts. The 11-23mm, however, breaks all of these stereotypes. Leica has thrown the idea that zoom lenses are inferior out the window. They’ve proved this with the SL’s 24-90mm and 90-280mm lenses, and the 11-23mm furthers
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(top) Gypsy village welcome party.
The CL at 24MP has the same resolution as Leica’s fullframe cameras (M, SL, Q), but cramming the same number of pixels onto an APS-C sensor comes at a cost: smaller pixels. This generally results in more modest ISO performance and less dynamic range. This was my biggest concern in shooting APS-C. Would it give me the same image quality that I was used to in my Q and M? APS-C sensors have come a long way in the last few years and I was eager to process the images and see just how close the CL files came to Leica’s full-frame cameras.
11-23mm Super-Vario-Elmar-TL (at 23mm). 1/125th sec. f/4.5, ISO 3200
In terms of dynamic range, the Leica CL blew me away. In shots that were seemingly blown out, I was able to bring back the highlights in Lightroom and recover an incredible amount of detail.
I was also pleasantly surprised with the CL’s ISO performance. At 3200, the CL produces a nice, clean file with well-defined shadows. Bump it up to 6400 and a well-exposed image with a little noise reduction in Lightroom still makes a clear image. However, push it to 10000 and things fall apart. While I haven’t done a side by side comparison, I feel this is where I could separate the CL from my Q and M files. The full frame sensors could manage at 10,000 what the CL could only handle at 6400. For being a smaller sensor, one stop less of ISO performance and equivalent dynamic range isn’t too shabby at all.
The CL is hands-down Leica’s most compact and versatile interchangeable lens system. While the CL doesn’t have the full-frame advantage, it makes up for it in its range of focal lengths and flexibility. I don’t think the CL could ever replace my Q, but it certainly compliment it. Since returning from India, I went on a hiking trip to Zion National Park in Utah. I brought the Q, as well as the CL with the 35mm (50mm equiv.) Summilux and 11-23mm (18-35mm equiv.). This was a nice combination. Not only did this setup provide an extra body –God forbid one were to tumble down Angel’s Landing – but it also gave me a faster 28mm.
Both India and the Leica CL forced me out of my comfort zone. With a camera I never thought I would shoot, in a country I never dreamt of traveling to, I broke my own rules and discovered a new way of shooting.
(left) Open air service. 35mm Summilux-TL. 1/125th sec, f/1.4, ISO 1250
(right) Doorway. 18mm Elmarit-TL. 1/60th sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200
( top ) Pink and purple and playgrounds.
35mm Summilux-TL. 1/250th sec, f/4.5, ISO 3200 (center) The pastor’s daughter.
35mm Summilux-TL, 1/60th sec, f/8, ISO 200 (bottom) Arriving for dinner.
18mm Elmarit-TL. 1/60th sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200
Kedleston Hall, Derby, Derbyshire, UK
Leica S (007) & APO-Macro-Summarit-S 120mm
Shot at f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO 400.
English Garden an tour
by ALBERT B. KNAPP MD & RUTH ORATZ MD
English gardens inhabit our imagination: fine country estates, grand parks, historic manor houses adorned by formal floral beds, quaint & quirky homes with their kitchen gardens.
the first fine weeks of June 2017, we entered into this enchanting landscape on a driving trip in the English countryside. Ruth brought her ubiquitous Q and I had my S (007) kit along with a RRS L bracket & tripod.
Our destination was Sussex, and the first stop was Monk’s House in Rodmell, the country home of the writer Virginia Woolf and her husband Leonard. She came to escape the
stressful demands of London and found enough tranquility to work on her breathtaking novels. Her husband, Leonard, created a garden of fragrant roses blooming just outside her bedroom window, a millstone terrace adorned with tall ancient urns and a lush orchard, all always in sight of the nearby church steeple. Her books Jacob’s Room, Mrs. Dalloway, to the Lighthouse, Orlando, The Waves, The Years and Between the Acts are all deeply connected to Monk’s House and the garden.
The Woolf’s were members of the Bloomsbury Group, an intellectual social set of writers, painters, poets and philosophers including TS Eliot, Lytton Strachey, EM Forster, John Maynard Keynes and Vita Sackville- West.
Vita Sackville-West and Virigina Woolf were great friends, an intimate and complicated lifelong relationship. SackvilleWest grew up in a grand house nearby, but she could not inherit under English law, so she and husband Harold Nicholson purchased Sissinghurst in the weald of Kent in 1930, a dilapidated Elizabethan castle. “Hurst” is an Old Saxon term for hillock, knoll or wooded mound, a pile of dirt. And so the place was when Vita and Harold first moved in. Immediately they began building, creating what came to be one of the most famous gardens in the world, a series of outdoor “rooms”
(top) Village Church, Monk's House, Rodmell, East Sussex. Leica S (007) & Summicron-S 100mm. Shot at f/8, 1/1000 sec, ISO 800.
(bottom) Sissinghurst Castle, Cranbrook, Kent. Leica S (007) & Vario-Elmar-S 30-90mm. Shot at f/8, 1/350 sec, SO 400.
Great Dixter, Northiam, East Sussex. Leica S (007) & APO-Macro-Summarit-S 120mm shot at f/5.6, 1/350 sec, ISO 800. Sissinghurst Castle, Cranbrook, Kent. Leica S (007) & APO-Macro-Summarit-S 120mm shot at f/8, 1/750 sec, ISO 800.
Great Dixter, Northiam, East Sussex. Leica S (007) & Vario-Elmar-S 30-90mm. Shot at f/9.5, 1/250 sec @ ISO 800. Great Dixter, Northiam, East Sussex. Leica S (007) & Vario-Elmar-S 30-90mm. Shot at f/11, 1/125 sec, ISO 800.
(clockwise from top right)
connected by a variety of “doors”, each with it’s own atmosphere, style, function, decoration and mood. High clipped hedges and warm brick walls, enclose and reveal unique planting schemes, one all white, another roses, one bright hot and another pure utter simplicity.
Driving through the winding, verdant lanes of Sussex and Kent we remarked on the funny looking white cones that topped what seemed to be barns. At Sissinghurst there is a remarkable example of these cowl shaped tops of oast houses, designed to funnel warm dry air into a large ventilated barn. Harking back to the 16th century when fresh drinking water was rare, and fermented beverages, beer and ale were more generally consumed, oast houses were built to dry the hops used in the brewing.
Sackville-West was strongly influenced in her garden design by other important English garden designers -Gertrude Jekyll and Edwin Luytens. They both worked in the South of England and on nearby properties. The Arts and Crafts Movement in synch
with the values of the Bloomsbury group featured prominently in the architecture and landscape of the period.
Situated about halfway between Monk’s House and Sissinghurst is Great Dixter, a Tudor period house refurbished and expanded by Lutyens, and home to gardener and writer Christopher Lloyd. Lloyd was a horticulturist who embraced inventive and nearly revolutionary ideas. He devised his garden as an intricate web with interconnected but separate spaces, exuberant floral arrangements, inventive topiaries and an immense wild flower meadow.
(left)
Kedleston Hall, Derby, Derbyshire
Leica S (007) & APO-Macro-Summarit-S 120mm
Shot at f/8, 1/750 sec, ISO 400
(right)
Gravetye Manor, West Hoathly, Sussex
Leica Q (116) with Summilux 28mm
Shot at f/8, 1/1000 sec @ ISO 800
(opposite, top)
Great Dixter, Northiam, East Sussex
Leica Q (116) with Summilux 28mm
Shot at f/5.6, 1/500 sec @ ISO 100
(opposite, bottom)
Kedleston Hall, Derby, Derbyshire
Leica S (007) & APO-Macro-Summarit-S 120mm
Shot at f/8, 1/350 sec, ISO 400
Heading north we drive up to Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire, seat of the Curzon family since the 13th century. The esteemed architect Robert Adam conceived this house and it’s surrounding gardens and grounds in the 1750’s. Based on the then new landscape design set by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, the plan is for wide open spaces, great lines against the horizon, loose groupings of mature trees with carefully positioned decorative elements including bridges, parterres, geometrically shaped lakes and pools, neatly enclosed by hedges and avenues.
In this landscape we see again and again the Cedar of Lebanon. his ancient tree, has been known on the slopes edging the Mediterranean for more than 2,500 years. It is the tree that is most mentioned in the Bible and symbolizes strength and fruitfulness. Tradition holds that a Dr. Edward Pococke brought the Cedar of Lebanon to Britain in 1641. “Capability” Brown and his followers quickly adopted the tree. Its characteristic and exotic horizontal habit populate many great estates – their silhouettes defining the outline of great ancestral homes. We know this tree today as the iconic image of Highclere Castle in Hampshire (aka Downton Abbey).
75mm APO-Summicron-M
by JONATHAN SLACK
leica
has been creating incremental updates of their digital M cameras since the M8.2 added a sapphire crystal rear display, different framelines and a quieter shutter in 2009. Of course, there have also been many limited-edition cameras, but they haven't normally had any technical changes.
The M9 existed in four models:
• M9, september 2009
• M9-P, june 2011
Established the 'P' version with a sapphire glass LCD, classic Leica script on top plate, and a screw in lieu of the red dot.
• M Monochrom, may 2012
All the features of the M9-P but with a revolutionary monochrome sensor.
• M-E, september 2012
A reduced cost model in anthracite grey, which eliminated the frameline selector and USB port.
The M (Typ 240) added more variants:
• M (Typ 240), september 2012
Base model. Announced at Photokina (alongside the M-E) but not delivered until 2013.
• M-P (Typ 240), august 2014
Larger buffer and sapphire glass screen. Larger screw replaces the red dot, and once again the classic Leica script logo is featured on the top plate.
• The M (Typ 262), december 2015.
Reduced cost model (the equivalent of the M-E). Eliminated video and introduced an aluminium top plate to reduce the weight.
• M-D (Typ 262), april 2016.
Inspired by the success of a limited edition camera (the M 'Edition 60' from 2014) without a rear LCD. The camera's rear screen was replaced by an ISO dial.
• M Monochrom (Typ 246), april 2015
All the featuresof the M-P240 but with a B&W sensor.
28mm Summilux-M
75mm APO-Summicron-M
75mm APO-Summicron-M
75mm APO-Summicron-M
75mm APO-Summicron-M
60mm Macro-Elmarit-R
60mm Macro-Elmarit-R
50mm APO-Summicron-M
75mm APO-Summicron-M
The M10 was released in January 2017 and has proved to be a real success: In a sense it was 'back to basics'. The camera has a body the same thickness as an M7 and has abandoned video (nobody seemed to notice) and much more controversially the level gauge of the M240. 18 months on (as has now become traditional) it's time for the first variant, and here is the M10-P.
In the past I haven't written about the 'P' cameras as they have only amounted to cosmetic changes (and I don't usually get sent a camera to test). The M10-P is rather a different thing, there are some serious changes from the M10, some of which are going to make a lot of people very happy!
Generally speaking I have a camera for several months, often (by coincidence) coinciding with one of our trips abroad. In this case I've only had a camera for a week or two, and we have been firmly embedded on the Norfolk and Suffolk border. So I decided to take pictures of the world around me,
Overview
Although the M10-P has the same sensor as the M10 (without any tweaks or changes), there are three radical technical changes to the camera:
• The Touch Screen
• The Return of the Level Gauge
• A Much (MUCH) Quieter Shutter
I'll deal with each of these different features in the rest of this article.
Body& Design
I've only handled the chrome camera, but the design changes are consistent with the M9 and M(240) 'P' models with the classic Leica logo on the top plate and an enlarged screw in place of the red dot on the front of the camera. No need for a sapphire glass LCD cover as the existing M10 screen is scratch resistant to a high degree (mine is unscratched after two years without protection). As I understand it Leica have diverted from tradition a little in that the black camera is black chrome rather than black paint; I imagine this will disappoint a few purists who like their cameras brassy!
zoomed in point can be moved around as you would expect. Just like the M10 it has the useful ability to move between images when zoomed in (by holding down the play button and turning the thumbwheel.
Menu & Status Screen - When you press the centre button of the rocker switch you get the standard status screen, which looks just the same as in the M10. Touching some of the controls brings up the relevant menu item directly:
Exposure Compensation - This brings up the normal exposure compensation dial which is also touch enabled.
ISO - Logically and correctly this only works when M is chosen on the ISO dial on the top-plate. This changes the M setting for ISO in the menu. Less consistently the ISO menu setting is not touch enabled.
White Balance - Tapping on the white balance symbol brings up the WB menu (again, this is not touch enabled).
File Format (DNG / JPG / both) - I'm not sure that one would often want to change that from here, but this is also touch enabled.
Generally speaking the Menu itself is not touch enabled.
The Touch Screen
This is a first for the M cameras and it's been implemented conservatively but really nicely.
Playback - This works just as you would expect, Swiping moves between pictures, pinching zooms in and out and the
Live View - When in Live View, you can touch the screen at any point, and then when turning the focus ring of any M lenses the camera will zoom in at this point. If you have spot metering enabled then the point is represented by a circle, with other metering types it is represented by a cross. Obviously to make this work you must have Focus Aid set to Automatic in the Capture Assistants section of the camera menu.
If you don't want the focus aid set to Manual (as I prefer) then it's still great to be able to move the zoom/spot metering mark around with your finger before zooming in by touching the button on the front of the camera (or the thumb dial).
28mm Summilux-M
28mm Summilux-M
I think this option will be particularly popular with tripod and landscape photographers, it's well thought out and works beautifully (I wish that Leica would implement the manual version of this functionality with the SL and CL operation when using M lenses).
The Return of the Level Gauge
I never did see the point of a level gauge, it seems to me that if there is a horizon you don't need it, and if there isn't then what 'feels right' is what you want. However, it seems that I'm in the minority here and lots of people really missed it in the M10. There was much talk about it being implemented in firmware, but in fact that isn't possible as the hardware is not present.
Leica have listened to the complaints and the hardware has been added to the M10-P and the level gauge is back. I'm sure that many people will be very happy (and I can turn it off!).
The Quieter Shutter
The shutter on the M10 is very quiet - and some might have thought that no improvement was needed. The shutter on the M10-P however is a real revelation, although the basic sound is the same, it's been damped to make it sound much quieter. When I first heard it I felt as if I had ear plugs in! The fact that the sequence of sound is the same suggests that this really is a damping exercise rather than a new shutter, but however they have managed it this will be a game changer for some Leica users.
I've posted an audio recording with the M10 and M10-P on my website: slack.co.uk/m10-p . I tested both cameras at 1/15th 1/60th 1/250th and 1/1000th second. The cameras were placed next to each other, equidistant from the microphone. I think it speaks for itself!
Conclusion
As you can see, the M10-P is not just a pretty face; in addition to the expected M10-P cosmetic changes it represents some real advantages over the M10.
At the time of writing I'm not sure how big the price differential between the two cameras will be, but I imagine that for those photographers who have been waiting for the 'P' version before replacing their M(240) cameras it will be worth every penny.
For the rest of us who have already bought their M10 the question of whether or not to upgrade is not so simple. I've really enjoyed using the touch screen and the quieter shutter makes one feel a great deal less obtrusive when shooting in quiet environments (not that I ever felt the M10 shutter noise was disturbing subjects!).
Many people thought that the M10 was the ultimate M camera, and that Leica would find it hard to improve on it without compromising its core values. I think they should be congratulated on improving the camera significantly on three different levels without compromising it in any sense.
IT'S A CAP & A TOOL
by JIM LAGER
have been using your Leica M with screw mount lenses via the Leitz screw to bayonet adapters IRZOO (50mm), ISBOO (90mm), or ISOOZ (135mm). Somehow you have jammed the adapter to the camera and are having difficulty removing it.
Do not reach for your hand tools! No pliers, screwdrivers, or prybars! Leitz produced a tool for removing stuck adapters. It is the M rear lens cap.Tiny tabs at the rear of the cap fit into the cutouts on the adapter. Position the tabs into the cutouts and twist to free the adapter. Simple and effective. The illustrations show cap and adapter variations.
Cap tab positioned into cutout.
M rear lens caps showing tabs on later units. Early caps 9mm thick, later 14mm
Early cap at left has no tabs. Note red dot for positioning lens.
Rear cap ready to remove ISOOZ adapter from M3. Three cutouts.
Ready to remove ISBOO. Single cutout at 12 o’clock.
Cap tab fits adapter cutout.
STREETS, ALLEYS & OTHER URBAN OBSERVATIONS
On June 1, 2018, Allen Bourgeois’ work was featured at the Leica Gallery at Dan Tamarkin’s here in Chicago. I was there for the opening night event along with scores of other attendees. It was also the official launch of Allen’s first book, Streets, Alleys and Other Urban Observations , featuring Allen’s street photography of the residents of Chicago. Having introduced Allen’s work in Viewfinder two years ago, he is now taking the next step with his work by bringing his book out.
Allen began his career in photography after leaving the Marines, studying photography on the GI Bill. He got his first full-time job as a photographer in 1986 and has been a professional photographer in the Chicago area ever since. Allen came to Leica late in his career with the purchase of a Leica M Monochrom in November of 2012. For his professional work, Allen had used Canon SLR and DSLR cameras and Hasselblad. Once he started working with the Leica he sold all of his other camera gear. He now works with the Monochrom, the M262 and now with the M10. He finds that the Leica rangefinder as a camera that really fits the way he works and sees.
In Allen’s own words: “I like equipment that is simple. When I am working, I don’t want to be thinking about the camera and navigating in-camera menus. For me, the Leica M is a camera that simply gets out of the way and gives me the room to work.
Seven or eight years ago I began to notice a change in the way I was seeing. A real turn to black and white photography. My work was becoming more about tone, values and shapes and less about color.
Cartier-Bresson, Frank, Erwitt, Winogrand, Davidson, Lyon, and Meyerowitz have all influenced me. Trying to find moments of visual meaning in the chaos of the street is what I find so frustrating and yet so satisfying. It is those rare moments when those elements all seem to come together that keeps pushing me out there.”
Allen chose to take the minimalist approach with his book, feeling that he would simply present his images without any explanatory captions or text. He wants his images to stand on their own, letting the viewer be drawn into them without any outside influence or prejudgment. I think his approach works well with his images, many of which have a strong element of irony, encouraging the viewer to become engaged in the act of seeing them. The images are presented in a very straight forward fashion, without any trick layouts or double trucks which would detract from the integrity of the original photos. If you would like to order your own copy of Allens’s book, please see the link below.
Those of us who have enjoyed Lars Netopil’s two prior books displaying notable rare to unique Leica items in beautiful large-format images will be most happy to learn that he has recently published yet another volume in what might be thought of as a series. It is actually two books in a slipcase, each the same size as the prior offerings.
The Museum referred to in the title is the Leica Factory Museum in Leica AG’s recently opened new home in Wetzlar’s Leitz Park. Included in the new books are images of rare cameras (starting with Prototype 3 and the UrLeica), many design studies, cameras that were developed but not commercially produced, unusual lenses, and various unexpected one-off pieces. The book’s subtitle states that items from the Rolf Fricke Collection are included; that is because Rolf’s collection is now part of the Factory Museum’s collection. It should be noted that while the presentation of items is in rough chronological order, there is no attempt to be completionist in the manner of other surveys of rare Leica equipment. We are given many items, but all from the existing museum collection; some items are however portrayed in depth, with several images. The photography is again performed by Wolfgang Sauer, as in the immediately prior volume “Rare Leica”, utilizing a Leica S (007), with a 120/2.5 Apo-Macro-Summarit CS for all equipment images. As in the prior volumes, the images are lighted against a dark background. A real attempt has been made not to duplicate items in Lars’ prior books, so that all the books so far more or less dovetail with each other.
Layout of the books is again expertly done by David Pitzer. Full bleed images (or images groups) are preceded in each section by a brief commentary, then by labeled thumbnails of the images to come. This makes for an airy, modern-looking presentation. Unfortunately (a hobby horse of mine, I fear), once again some images are double-truck with the gutter running in their middle. But to work around this by having foldouts of these images would greatly add to the thickness of each book, increase its expense, and likely make the books more fragile.
In the first book we are given SM and M cameras, including work on the digital M’s. The second volume has special editions including some presentation cameras, SLR cameras, digital compact camera studies, the Maestro attempt at a Four Thirds format, smartphones; and then lenses, military Leica, and finally: Leica copies, third party lenses for Leica, and third party cameras using Leica lenses. Once again it should be emphasized that the items pictured do not attempt a comprehensive overview of each subject, but rather show, gloriously in my opinion, some of the museum pieces available in each category.
I am showing in this review three images from the books that especially caught my attention. First is a full frontal view of the Ur-Leica. While I have seen the Ur-Leica close up and in person, nothing prepared me for the impact of this image, which on an initial glance I thought, against logic, could be a hologram! The double-truck image of the Ur-Leica in the book is several times larger than this Viewfinder images, so it has maximum impact. It is fully a foot wide!
The second image chosen is of an early Leicaflex, but a sample clad in white leather with a chrome lens. I burst out laughing at this one, especially thinking how inaccurate the metering might be with the reflection caused by all that whiteness. My second thought was how beautiful it was. See what you think.
Thirdly, we have an experimental M zoom lens, a 28 - 75 / 3.4 - 5.6 Vario-Elmar-M ASPH. If I remember correctly, rumors were that several samples of this lens were made, but I am not certain of its date, and had never seen it depicted. Unlike the 28 - 35 - 50 Tri-Elmar (but not apparently the WATE), this lens was a true zoom and could be used at in-between settings.
There is much in these books, obviously, for the in-depth Leica historian who wants to learn what those talented and industrious Leitz and Leica designers actually worked on; and plenty for folks who just like beautiful pictures of rare Leicas. For those of us of all categories who relish beautiful books, locate your white gloves and order the books.
Books can be ordered from LFI Shop online. Or from Lars Netopil Classic Cameras, directly
Lars Netopil. Museum Leica ( isbn 978-3000592614)
BLACK PAINT LEICA
A
BOOK REVIEW BY BILL ROSAUER
This past June in Wetzlar at the opening of Leitz Park III, I had the pleasure to meet Douglas So of Hong Kong. Douglas is the proprietor of the Museum F11 and Gallery F22 in Hong Kong. In June, Douglas hosted a photo exhibition of images from Lars Netopil’s new book, Museum Leica at F11. This was the Asian launch of Lars’s new book which was released in June. Lars and David Pitzer came to Hong Kong for the opening, and did a book signing as well. Monika Bock from the Leica Archives in Wetzlar and Siegmund Dukek, the Managing Director of Leica Greater China, were also present.
In Douglas’s own words:
Black Paint Leica cameras and photo exhibitions at F11 and f22, respectively, opened in June at the same time as Lars’ Museum Leica exhibition. We also released a book which contains images of over 200 black paint Leica cameras, lenses and accessories, generously contributed by a dozen collectors and users in Hong Kong. We hope to present the pieces in a different way, highlighting their key features, beautiful design and special ageing process which make black paint Leica items unique and so attractive. In selecting these items, we had to be satisfied that they were factory original in essentially every respect. A few replicas and after-market black painted items were included merely for illustration purposes, and they were stated as such. We hope that the book could become a useful reference for the Leica community worldwide.
We were also fortunate to have featured some of the black paint Leica equipment used by prominent photographers including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Elliott Erwitt, David Douglas Duncan, Bruno Barbey, Frank Horvat, Ian Berry, and Stuart Franklin to name a few.
The items shown in the book ranges from the 1925 Leica I Anastigmat to the latest models including the LHSA special editions, which are truly beautiful. Please accept my heartfelt congratulations for what LHSA has created with Leica over the years!
The black paint Leica cameras, lenses and accessories are currently being exhibited at F11 until 31 March 2019. Some of the photos from the book are on display at f22 till the end of August. LHSA members are most welcome to see the exhibitions if they happen to be visiting Hong Kong. Details can be found at www.f11.com and www.f22.com, as well as on our Facebook and Instagram sites.
This camera exhibition is likely the first of its kind in Asia. We have had Leica collectors and fans from over 15 countries visiting us since the opening. I hope to have the opportunity to welcome you to F11 and f22 as well in the near future!”
Douglas's book is beautifully presented with a textured soft cover, 8 x 10 format, with approximately 400 pages of content. The book is organized into four sections; Screw Mount and Experimental, M Bayonet, Leicaflex, and Lenses and Accessories. In addition, there are three appendices covering Leica Camera and Lens serial number listings and a bibliography. The high quality images are artfully composed and lit, with overall images of the pieces themselves, along with close-up images with details of special interest. We share some of the images from the book here in Viewfinder. The images convey the special character and texture of black paint very well, many with the unique patina that only black paint acquires after an active lifetime of use in the hands of their owners. It is this “magic” of the black paint finish that inspired Tom Abrahamsson and me to convince Leica to re-issue the black paint camera for the LHSA Special Edition back in 2000. Douglas’s book and exhibition caters well to the hard-core Leica enthusiast who appreciates the allure of black paint.
I can highly recommend Black Paint Leica, and it is a must have for your Leica library if you share the fascination of black paint Leicas. To obtain your own copy, please see Douglas’s note below.
"The book can be ordered on our website www.f22.com. The price is USD150 / Euro 130 / HKD 1,200 per copy, plus shipping. We accept payment via credit cards, Paypal and bank transfer. LHSA members interested in the book should feel free to contact us at sales@f22.com. We will follow up accordingly."
