[Leica] Just joined

[dankhong at gmail.com (D Khong)]

Welcome Jim.

By now you will have experienced some degree of the LUG warm feeling shared
by an international community brought together by a camera whose brand name
still commands great respect.

While individual folks may have their respective preferences for some
models, be assured that all working Leica cameras are perfectly usable and
enjoyable. Some cameras have more inherent play in them (like the early
screwmount models) compared to the later M models, all are capable of
capturing that image sooner or later. Sometimes, you don't want everything
to be so instant but rather enjoy the more contemplative style of film
photography. Some are just nice to carry around, and like jewels, they
attract lots of attention and you gain lots of new friends that way too.

One fine day, you will begin to understand what is this "Leica Mystique"
that some people  have talked about. This is difficult to define and is not
just about taking photographs. It involves history, technique, equipment,
style, images, cult status and many other areas that are associated with
Leica photography. On the aspect of cult status, the Leica brand seems to
have achieved that in some degree of style.

There are many books that will help you understand more about Leica
equipment and style photography. My two favourites are Leica M photography
by Jonathan Eastland and also another one written by Gunther Osterloh.

This LUG community has much to share. While there are times when people
appear to be quarrelsome, there are others in which are found a rich source
of information that goes beyond Leica photography. I am looking forward to
the 2007 Leica Yearbook that will be organised by Jim Shulman. He did a
great job for the group last year. I hope you can contribute some images to
make the book meaningful for you as well as it did for me in 2006.

Leically (see, we even have our branded parting style!)

Dan K.