Re: Who use Leica in the US ? Was: I stepped in the Pookie!

[CapsTeeth@aol.com]

In re:
>>Since I was bitten by the Leica-bug more than one year ago, I looked
>>around me for other photographers with a Leica, just out of curiosity. I
>>never saw one! Maybe I didn't look good enough.
>
>During my three weeks travel in California, Utah , Nevada etc.., visiting
>S-F, Yosemite,
>Death Valley, Brice, Zion, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Hollywood,etc.. (some
>of the places the most photographied in the world) I have seen thousand of
>cameras and ...
>only 1 Leica M3 on a Japanese (together with a Contax G) and one R5 on a
>French.
>Is that all folks ?!
>Do you have only collectors in the US ?  :-)

       When I was a freshman in college my roommate had a funny-looking boxy
little car with a strange-looking grille that nobody had ever heard of .  I,
who was a major gear-head, asked him if it was British...he said no, it was
German, and began relating tales of its performance and durability.  I
laughed at him.  Until he let me drive it.  It wasn't until BMW became
symbolic of the '80's yuppie that you saw them everywhere in the US.  
        Years earlier, when I was in junior-high, my art teacher had an M3
(Leica, not BMW) she carried in her purse and used to take candid photos of
her students at work.  I was just getting interested in photography and
dreaming about owning a Nikon FTn like the Vietnam correspondents carried.
 Then, she let me use the Leica.  That's twice in my life someone opened my
eyes to a little Teutonic masterpiece.  I don't know if Leicas will ever
become trendy neckwear for young affluent American photographers (yappies?)
but there is one around mine at least 50% of the time.

Doc