[Leica] Just wondering

[Peter Klein]

I've been on the LUG since 1999 or 2000.  I post quite a few photos 
here. I don't get a lot of responses, perhaps because my photos suck, 
perhaps because I use another non-Leica camera some of the time, or 
perhaps because I don't comment much.  Still, I use a Leica for a 
significant portion of my photography. I have for my entire adult life. 
And I always post my better images here.

Given current realities, many of us have "moved on" to other camera 
systems. Or we supplement our Leica photography with them. Some folks on 
the list have gotten bent out of shape over that.  We've lost some good 
members because of it. The casual passer-by may not realize that they 
are allowed to post pictures that were taken with non-Leica cameras. 
Most of the "old guard" just post pictures, some Leica, some not. If 
we've been here long enough, most of the list is OK with that. But that 
also means that we don't get many new people.

I agree that Leica pricing is an important reason for list attrition. 
Another is visual saturation:  Between all the lists and social media 
sites we supposedly have to follow to keep up and get our work seen, we 
are bombarded huge numbers of images.  That can't help but reduce the 
attention we pay to any individual image. And finally, the Leica way is 
a practiced and cultivated manual skill. Such skills are less important 
now in the popular consciousness. We live in an era where what's cool is 
what new features you can pack into a chip this week. A lot of people 
don't remember what it was like when you had to focus a camera, just as 
they don't remember what it was like when you didn't have the sum of 
human knowledge on your pocketable phone. What we can do is taken for 
granted.

An email list is like a club.  A social media group is more like a 
special interest broadcast. Bigger audience, but fewer and more 
superficial relationships.

In a way, we're all throwbacks. So what? I still like what I shoot. I 
like what many of you shoot. And I like many of you. So I'm here.

Ric Carter wrote:
 > probably?slinging down a list with a finger and poking at a like is 
easier
 > than doing an email
 >
 > I use the list because I like the company here

I'm with Ric.

--Peter


Brian Reid asked:
 > Someone asked me why, even though there are 700 subscribers to the LUG
 > and Leica sells 100,000 cameras per year, that only a dozen or so people
 > ever post pictures. I didn't know what to say.
 >
 > Is the era of email winding to an end? 20 years ago there were 2000
 > subscribers and 10 years ago there were 1300.