Who still shoots Leica M professionally?

There was a time not long ago when I could name a handfull well known

photographers that still use a Leica M, both in the PJ/travel camp to

more artistic photographers. Now all I can come up with is Ralph

Gibson!? And our friend Marc Williams that still shots weddings every

now and then with a M in the mix :-)

 

I know, I know... you shoot Leicas because [insert your favorite

reason here] but I am just curiuos it still can be viewed as a

professional tool? Or has it been relegated to an excentric device

used by romantic baby-boomers that also wear mechanical watches, still

prefers fountain pens and even know how to tie a bow-tie if an event

called for it?!?

 

Who still makes a living using Leica M?

Moi. M's and R lenses on EOS film/digi bodies. Split $$ between photography and industrial archaeology.<div></div>

What are the requirements to qualify as a professional? Someone who earns a full time living out of photography?

i use it for paid jobs whenever i can....i just finished shooting an annual report for a

nonprofit that creates affordable housing for low-middle income families...i shot it with

my M's and a nikon f100....

 

almost all the fine art images i sell through different stores are shot with my M's

 

right now i'm working on a photo essay for the local paper on krumping and have been

shooting it with an M, f100 and xpan....

 

photography isn't my main line of work yet, but i plan to transition full time in a year or

year and a half...

I just made up a table in my mind with the people I know and who make at least a significant part of their income with photgraphy.

I came to one Sinar, one Linhof, two Rolleiflex 600x, one Kodak DCS 14n and lots of Canon and Nikon dSLRs.

The last time I met a PJ shooting Leica M was at a bicycle race in January 2003 and he shot the celebreties in the VIP lounge.

 

This year I met one amateur with a R9 at a zoo and one with a M7 at a local parade whereas it's no problem to run into a Nikon or Canon dSLR at every given moment.

 

Hm, come to think of it, I just met one guy with a Contax G2 in all that years :-)

You don't know how to tie a bow tie?! ;-)

Another slant is personal work, done professionally. In the last couple of years I've sold 8 or 9 M6/M7/MP to working pros (3 commerical, 2 wedding and 3 PJ's) who all have 'gone digital' yet purchased the Leicas for their personal work. Much of this work has been published ( < http://www.epicphotography.ca/main.aspx < < http://www.rothandramberg.com/ > are a couple), yet most think of them as 'digital shooters'.

Pat-- How about Ted Grant and Frank Granovski? And Dr Barbour?

Karen Nakamura, I believe, uses Leica M and related RF equipment.

www.groupm35.com

I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, but I was referring to internationally well known photographers, not people shooting a couple of weddings per year for the pure love of the art/tool, e.g. Magnum photographers, or people like James Nachtwey that use to be an avid M user (but now shoots DSLR), people at the top of their game at this moment.

 

And yes Chris, I know how to tie a bow-tie. Well, I think I remember how to do it... :-)

While the majority of my work is done with either medium or large format gear, my Leica

does rear its head (or lens?) on occasion.

 

Sorry, no clickable link.

 

http://fwp.state.mt.us/mtoutdoors/HTML/Articles/2005/BrushLakeSP.htm

Why bother? The batteries fail, the shutter straps rip off, the speeds don't work, the finders go black, and the lenses separate - all in some far-off swamp with stellar internet service.

TRY HERE

<a href="http://www.leica-camera.com/kultur/links/fotografen/index_e.html">

sorr but i cannot figure out the link thing

http://www.leica-camera.com/kultur/links/fotografen/index_e.html

wow it actually works

These are the best Leica could come up with?! That's a worry. Seems like they are selected more on the basis of how slick their websites were than how good a lensman/woman they are. Not that I'm any use myself mind you. For one thing I still can't tie a bowtie ;-)

<a href="http://www.leica-camera.com/kultur/links/fotografen/index_e.html">HERE"S A CLICKABLE LINK</a>

<p>

Patrick, try shooting with a 90 APO-Summicron, 28mm Summicron ASPH, 24mm ASPH, etc., and see if Leica M is an eccentric device.

Doesn't David Alan Harvey still shoot w/ an M? And how about Eugene Richards? He has an occassional B&W image in the New Yorker magazine, and I wonder if he still uses Leica. Somehow I expect so, but can't confirm it.

 

I agree that the number of pros using Leica, never mind film, seem to be dwindling. But the 2 guys above should be able to call their own shots for whatever work they take on, I expect. I'm happy to be enlightened further/otherwise, if someone has more info.

regards,

-Mark

Davis Oliver uses an MP, an M6, and a Rollei twin-lens reflex on occasion. His specialty is on the Noctilux.

 

http://www.davidoliver.com.au/default.htm

Patrick, I take exception to your tone. A little heads up on the links I provided. The shooters from Epic do work for the likes of Rueters, NY Times and other international publications. Roth and Ramberg are probably considered to be in the top 10 of Canadian commericial studios. Your subject heading was "Who still shoots Leica M professionally?"...not what 'internationally known photographer...', the one out of 1000 pros who happen to be in the right place at the right time to become 'famous'.

Though I admire Marc Williams work I kind of doubt he fits your criteria, yet you've used him as an example. I know I'm picking nits, but just because you've not heard of someone doesn't mean they are "people shooting a couple of weddings per year".

Bruce Gilden?

"These are the best Leica could come up with?! "

 

Well, I can agree that many shots in the link provided suffer from a lack of composition, or even from unworthy subject matter. But then, take a look at Vanni Calanca and Carsten Bockermann.

i do. mix of leica M, nikon film + digital, olympus OM + p/s digital, widelux,

rolleiflex.

 

a lot of photojournalists i know still use Leica M for B+W work, personal projects,

travel assignments that don't require fast deadline. also very popular is the panoramic

(and thus far not digitally possible) Hasselblad Xpan.

 

also some other rollei users, hasselblads, mamiya c330s, mamiya 6 + 7s. lots of

holgas.

 

what's really fallen out of use, more than leicas (which were used only by a minority

of photojournalists anyway) are the last generation 35mm film cameras like canon

Eos 1 and nikon f100, f5.

Hmmm Patrick , while not internationally know, or even known on the block I live on, I use

the M both for weddings and to shoot production stills at every TV shoot I supervise. And

while SLRs and DSLRs have come and gone, the M is usually at every wedding I shoot ... used

to different degrees based on conditions. An M has saved my bacon more than once when

the tech Gremlin shut down some piece of "advanced" gear. That alone makes it worth it's

weight in Gold (which isn't to far from what it cost ; -)<div></div>