LenMarriott Posted July 26, 2004 Author Share Posted July 26, 2004 You two can join Trevor and Neil on my Sh*t List. Couldn't return the favour as I couldn't connect to William's personal page & neither of you have any photos posted for me to highjack. :>) Best to both, Thanks for participating. LM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob soltis Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 Thanks Len, I'd look forward to seeing that. As I was walking around Wetzlar the weekend before the course, a pair of elderly German ladies looked at my M6 and said "Leica. Zehr gut!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd frederick Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 On the back of my M6, on the back base, it is engraved: "Leica Schule Wetzlar '85." That's about as close as I got. I guess they were selling cameras at the school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LenMarriott Posted July 26, 2004 Author Share Posted July 26, 2004 Todd, The course was a good intro into Leitz products but sales pressure was zero. If they only knew the Leica lust in my heart, a little push & I'd have mortgaged my soul, which was worth something back then. Not sure there'd be much value in it now :) Best, LM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthuryeo Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 What do they actually teach in those days for that particular course? Are the teachers themselves Leica employee or professional photogs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owen w. Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 For Neil and Jay (and any other reading types), <p> Neil, your school in England was not representative of most British schooling of your time, and you had a direct experience of entrance into a Prussian-inspired educational experiment known as the American mass school movement. For the best possible overview of that experiment and its intended results, I recommend John Taylor Gatto?s Underground History of American Education. <p> Check the site at www.johntaylorgatto.com His Harper?s article is a good start, but the entire book is on the web page, too. Just FYI. <p> Thanks for the story and photo, too. When I was a kid, I read of the Leica School and dreamed of going. Guess I dreamed of travel a lot, as I left the US when I was 19 and have rarely lived there since. <p> Owen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LenMarriott Posted July 27, 2004 Author Share Posted July 27, 2004 Arthur, The 'course' was actually a 3 day tour of the company facilities and an intro to the Leitz products existing at the time. The instructor was a Leitz employee, though I suspect he was probably a very accomplished photographer as well. The emphasis was on Leitz equipment rather than photography per se, though sound basic techniques for good photos were covered. (ie: shutter speeds for hand held shots, DOF, framing in the viewfinder etc.) It was like participating in an infommercial. I remember our instructor showing us a life size enlargement of a newspaper and informing us that this was close to optimum for the existing equipment and lenses. In other words, using a Leica M2 and (probably) a 50mm Summicrion with film like Adox KB14, to enlarge more than life size would cause the image to start falling apart. I think they could have gone larger but I'm sure their standards were stricter than mine. Hope this fills in some info gaps for you. Best, LM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LenMarriott Posted July 27, 2004 Author Share Posted July 27, 2004 Owen, Join William, Alec, Trevor, and Neil :) Thanks for your input. Best, LM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthuryeo Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 Sounds like fun, Len; wish I can go to one of these Leica infomercial. Have to agree that the Leica lust is often more than one wants to admit. Occasionally, it overrun my brainwaves, too, and when it's over, I wake up smiling. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry_zet Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 lentheo kisselbach was one of the head honchos at leitz at this time and i think he also was one of the teachers there. he wrote the leica book from 1950 on up to the leicaflex book. he got famous in the 2nd world war, when he used a leica and a 800mm astro-lens to cover the dog-fights over the channel. theo scherer also wrote a few leica books, both influenced german leicaphiles through the 50s and 60s. heavily, and both wore a black cap, like the gentleman on your picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LenMarriott Posted July 28, 2004 Author Share Posted July 28, 2004 Harry, Thanks for the update & the broadening of my horizons. I guess, for a few days in Nov., '63 these two and I were practically neighbors. I wonder if the older gentleman on our course knew he was such a fashion statement. Perhaps that was his way of 'identifying' with the Leitz ambiance, 'getting with the program', as it were. :) Best, LM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LenMarriott Posted July 28, 2004 Author Share Posted July 28, 2004 Geeze, Maybe it was either Theo Scherer or Kisselbach ! Also, I left out one important element of this story, the course was FREE! Best, LM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry_zet Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 check here: kisselbach is on the lower picture in the middle, holding a leica http://www.leica-historica.de/wir.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LenMarriott Posted July 29, 2004 Author Share Posted July 29, 2004 Harry, Nope! The guy on our course was a bit older. Thanks for the link. All I need now is my trusty German-English dictionary:) Best, LM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry_zet Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 just wondering: where are you on the picture? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LenMarriott Posted July 30, 2004 Author Share Posted July 30, 2004 Harry, Far right, beside invisible man. Best, LM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kai_lynn Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Recent I got one Leica Schule Wetzlar 86' edition. It's gorgeous. More photos please visit here: Enjoy your life~. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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