[Leica] Leica Century: initial proposal from Alastair: LONG!!

[s.dimitrov at charter.net (Slobodan Dimitrov)]

If you could use my involvement, I'll be more than glad to help.
sd



On Jan 4, 2009, at 2:33 AM, Alastair Firkin wrote:

>
> I want to outline my thoughts going forward with the Centenary  
> project. We do not have enough interest yet, but by firming up some  
> of the details I hope to encourage others to put their names into  
> the ring. I have now listed all the interested parties in the  
> proposed Leica Century project. We have only 37 thus far. That is a  
> fairly small number, and too small to run a full 5 year project. I  
> am glad to see so many coming forward who were not involved in  
> FOM2, and so many of my old friends prepared to fire up again ;-)
>
> I want it to be different to FOM2, but I want to learn from it as  
> well. The key to this project is having as many different people  
> involved as possible and pushing them to get out photograph the  
> world around them and begin to improve their photography to a level  
> which attracts general approval. What follows will be familiar to  
> those of you who were in FOM2 but there are some changes proposed:  
> in particular, all forms of photographic subject are included.
>
> I know that there are many of those already putting their hands up  
> who will help with judging and mentoring those of you who might  
> feel intimidated. I am NOT trying to replace the yearbook. The  
> yearbook is a great success and is a wonderful opportunity for all  
> of us to have images published. I am NOT trying to displace Brian?s  
> monthly LUG image fest. It too has been a wonderful addition, which  
> keeps all of us thinking about images over the course of the year.  
> Submitting images to either of the above or doing a long time LUG  
> favorite the PAW does not exclude you from being in Leica Century.  
> It helps all of us to edit out our images. The role of ?Leica  
> Century? will be to promote new images (not a retrospective) gather  
> the best of those images together and present them to the world  
> through the web and hopefully a book, and to allow all of us who  
> want to improve our photography to be in a competitive and  
> encouraging environment.
>
> Let?s look at what we are proposing and what we are NOT. Firstly,  
> this is not going to be some ?official? celebration. Leica showed  
> no real interest in FOM2 other than to wish it well. How could  
> they? The LUG is a small group on a world scale, and Leica would  
> only consider being involved in a much ?broader? vision. This does  
> not mean I have given up hope of help from Solms, only I don?t  
> think its likely. My plan is to write to the CEO, send him a copy  
> of FOM2, and see what response it brings.
>
> We are a family of friends, who came together due to some interest  
> in Leica cameras and photography. Brian?s group has been going for  
> a long time, and as some have mentioned, the LUG has an enduring  
> simple quality that has kept people ?coming back for more? even  
> when they have abandoned Leica equipment. FOM2 started in 99/2000.  
> It was a fascinating time for photography. When we first started  
> there were quite a few professionals in the team, but the film  
> world was turned on its head almost as soon as we started, and by  
> the third year only a few of the professionals remained. This  
> ?threatened? the project, but in some ways, it also strengthened  
> it, as lovers of traditional photography became more active, and  
> I?m sure that many of us had improved because of the project and  
> the help we had had from the pros, so that the quality really did  
> not fall off, and we had a broader range of people represented in  
> the final publication, (over 140).
>
> I can tell you, however, that out of the several thousand images  
> which were submitted every year, it was rare for many images to be  
> carried over. There were rarely many more than 100 which were  
> selected by the judges. I also learnt that no one person can choose  
> images, there is an enormous variation in style and taste.  
> Photographers are also (from my experience and this includes me)  
> the WORST judges of the value of their own images out in the big  
> bad world. What seems like a great shot to you will often fall  
> short when viewed by someone who either comes from a different  
> culture or simply was not there. So the first question to answer is  
> will the project be juried, and the answer is yes.
> I think the judging of images during the 5 years of FOM2 worked  
> brilliantly. It threw up a huge variety of images, styles, points  
> of view and subject matter, so I will go with that again. We will  
> call for judges each year, I will send them the images on a CD or  
> via a download. All images will be random and anonymous (as I can  
> make them) and will be judged by you, the members of the project. I  
> collate the votes, I don?t vote, and I then sort and present the  
> final selection.
>
> Does this mean that someone might miss out on getting an image into  
> the final selection? In theory yes, but I don?t think there were  
> many if any photographers who submitted more than 10 images a year  
> in the 5 years, who did not end up with a fine image that was  
> selected by the judges. We even had mentoring for those who felt  
> they were missing out, and this helped them to raise the quality of  
> their submission. BUT, I will for this project make a promise.  
> Anyone who submits 10 or more images for each of the 5 years of the  
> project will have their best image included in the final selection.
>
> Now for the vexing question of equipment. Ideally, I would love to  
> only include Leica cameras lenses and enlargers ;-) BUT experience  
> tells me that we would have a very limited range of images to  
> choose from. This is not an official Leica project, but a project  
> by the LUG some of whom don?t use Leicas at all, and certainly  
> often don?t for their best work. Leica cameras (and lenses) created  
> a style of photography which is what many of us appreciate and  
> love. Other camera operators copied Leica, and Leica also copied  
> others when their ideas were superior. I know some don?t feel any  
> SLR image is really ?Leica Photography?, but I?m sure Leica will  
> never disown Ted?s olympic images or Rosling?s polar bears. I also  
> have sympathy for those who were ?forced? away from Leica when they  
> did not have any real form of Digital camera to offer. I also have  
> some sympathy for those who find the digital cameras from Leica  
> overly expensive and would love a digital back for !
>  their Leica glass.
>
> I admit, that by celebrating the Leica turning 100 it would seem  
> obvious that we should showcase Leica equipment and I intend to do  
> so. Its also the 175th anniversary of photography, but I don?t want  
> to turn this exercise into an unmanageable size. I therefore  
> propose the following.
>
> As with FOM2, all images taken with Leica cameras and or Lenses  
> will be acceptable. This will include ?badged? cameras. If its good  
> enough for the company, its good enough for me, and it allows some  
> people to be involved who cannot afford an M8, S2, DMR, or R10 etc.  
> I did have quite a lot of criticism in FOM2 for the Leica only  
> policy, especially since the project was celebrating a landmark  
> exhibition in photography not Leica itself. We will there fore  
> showcase Leica, put it up against the hybrids and because this is a  
> project of the LUG celebrating the 100 years of ?Leica? type  
> photography I will allow some images taken with non-Leica equipment  
> but severely limit the numbers. At the moment I envisage around  
> 10%. Iff Leica becomes involved, they may take some or all of the  
> images and may want to remove non-leica images, but it remains our  
> project till then.
>
> At the moment I would still like to aim for about 100 images per  
> year. That might prove to be too many. If we are looking at that  
> number, there will need to be more than one image per photographer  
> (unless the numbers increase greatly), so I won?t limit it at this  
> stage. I will also not limit the number of submissions from each  
> individual BUT if it gets unwieldy and I will decide that it may be  
> necessary to do so, and I may limit the total number an individual  
> can have selected each year. Those sorts of decisions need to be  
> fluid at this stage and will become more obvious as we progress.
>
> Digital manipulation is fine, but should be included in the data  
> when it goes beyond simple adjustments: I think you will all know  
> what I mean without me having to stipulate exactly. As with FOM2  
> the images will be vetted so that offensive work is not included.  
> Any controversy will be decided by the ?team? if it becomes  
> necessary. All submitted work will remain copyright to the  
> photographer and must be original work. All photographers will  
> agree on joining that their selected images can be used on the  
> Leica Century presentations, images can be withdrawn by the  
> photographer before each year?s judging. This is a non-profit  
> project. Iff there were any profits (and I see only expenses at  
> this stage) they would be returned to the photographers involved or  
> donated to an agreed charity.
>
> Remember, the aim of the project is to get us out there taking  
> images, seeing and interpreting the world and improving the way we  
> present our visions. As I previously mentioned, all subject matter  
> will be included. I will be requiring everyone to give me some data  
> on their work, and I will want (as I did for FOM2) a simple  
> agreement from anyone wishing to be involved. I will also collect a  
> short CV from you hoping to use it in the final presentation: I  
> know I didn?t for FOM2, but there was not much room left and the  
> data was so disjointed that it did not make sense.
>
> I have also learnt that I must get ?printable? files on record from  
> the time of submission. Last time I ended up with quite a lot of  
> images that were only 600 pixels in dimension. This was due to  
> losing people. Some died and some disappeared. Finally, I want the  
> project to be prospective not retrospective, in keeping with the  
> aim of pushing the LUG to better photography. All images must be  
> made from 2008 onwards till the end of the project: I would hope to  
> publish early in 2014.
>
> Its the journey that is important and although we want the final  
> product to excel, I want everyone who joins to have fun and learn.  
> I have now outlined the general basis on which I will run this  
> project if we get enough interest. I will need some help with web  
> pages and submission boards I think. I don?t envisage any costs at  
> this stage. I am still open to suggestions even if it doesn?t sound  
> like it. I am aware that decisions by committee usually don?t get  
> made, so I will keep overall charge.
>
> Cheers Alastair
>
>
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