[Leica] Re: Leica answer

[imagist3 at mac.com (Lottermoser George)]

One of the many aspects of photography, which I so love, rests in the  
search for the image - as the grail - not the tool - as the grail.  
However, the tools create the image.

So, we have an affinity for a particular subject: street action,  
portraits, flowers, landscapes, wars, famines, etc. Then we ask,  
"what will this or that subject 'look' like with this or that lens,  
film, sensor, format?" The search for the answer is one of the many  
rushes which the practice of photography offers us.

Kyle chose a digital/color/wide angle "look" for his impressive gun  
culture book. The book carries a Kyle signature right along with its  
Nikon/wide/digital signature. The same subject could have been  
photographed with 11x14 black and white film by another photographer  
with passion and vision equal in intensity to Kyles.

The new issue of Aperture <http://www.aperture.org/store/magazine- 
detail-flash.aspx?ID=605#spreadone> contains portraits of Avedon by  
Friedlander and Friedlander by Avedon. Each using different  
equipment. Different vision. Different passions. That is what makes  
photography (and this marvelous LUG community) so timelessly  
interesting. Leica has an historical, present, and future place in  
this never ending story. It brought us together, after all.

I do not imagine Leica equipment as a photographic holly grail. I do,  
however, depend on them to produce superb optical/mechanical/ 
electronic tools for me to pursue my visioning experiments. And, when  
it comes to small, precision, range finder cameras, whether digital  
or film, the Leica M system has no current competition that I'm aware  
of. If someone came up with a system that produced the same results  
for half the money I'd give 'em a try in a heart beat.

Regards,
George Lottermoser
george@imagist.com



On Aug 31, 2007, at 10:48 AM, grduprey@mchsi.com wrote:

> I don't hink anyone of us are calling the M8 the Holy Grail.
>
> It is after all just a tool.