Why Leica?

Above is one of my favorite photos of myself, not the least reason is why I have my Leica M8 in the photo. When I shoot with it I usually get one of three reactions:

* why are you shooting with a toy camera/Point and Shoot (This one cracks me up, I heard the former the first time from a band member at the first wedding I took it took)

* why are you still shooting old school/film etc. (It really does look a lot like its film cousins)

* an M8? Really wow. Awesome camera!

(That photo is a little more serious than I usually like ones of me to be, yet I think it captures my intensity in it.)

I understand all of these reactions. It can appear to be a less serious camera then the large SLRs. When I first started shooting weddings digitally I shot with Canon. Prior to this, I did a lot of shooting with my first Leica, the film M7. Ironically, while I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone, I decided without even testing out if I shot well with them, how they felt gripped in my hands etc., to buy both the M7, and years later the M8.

Here are two shots from former Leica, the M7 of singer Otep:

Although there is some film grain (which in my opinion works better for gritty concert shots then the corresponding digital noise would), I really like how they turned out.

Whenever I’m asked why I like Leica, I usually start out with how amazing the glass is for sharp photos. Additionally, I like that there are mostly prime lenses (though there are now a few with adjustable focal lengths, my camera bag has only primes in it). Also a smaller camera lets me blend in more to the background, to get the kind of candid shots I enjoy capturing. Additionally, it’s always fun shooting something so unique that I always get reactions from spectators.