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

[photobynelsch at gmail.com (Bill Nelsch)]

Alastair,

Count me in.

Bill in Denver

On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 3:33 AM, Alastair Firkin <afirkin@afirkin.com> 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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