Documentary

Content of, about or in a documentary (e.g. historical) nature.

Madrid, Two Leicas and Fifty Years

David Smith-Soto gives us an interesting look back of his time in Spain in "Fifty years later, its déjà vu all over again in Madrid". Interesting indeed, how much has changed - yet stayed the same... Including his two Leica cameras. Read more below to see this same scene 50 years later!

Why I Love My Leica

From Henri Cartier-Bresson to Annie Leibovitz, many of the 20th century's most defining images were shot on a Leica. Our technology columnist, a lifelong fan, tells the story of the camera that almost died and was triumphantly reborn in the digital age in the Guardian article, "Why I love my Leica". Read more below!

John Naughton bought his first Leica when he was a graduate student at Cambridge... 'It was a second-hand M2 with a 35mm Summilux lens and foolishly extravagant for a skint young scholar. In retrospect, though, it was one of the wisest purchases I ever made – not because it was an investment (though it could have been that) but because it taught me everything I know about photography. It forced me to think about what John Berger called "ways of seeing" rather than merely taking shots. It also pulled a comforting rug from under my feet: no longer could I blame my inferior work on the cheap lenses and crappy cameras that were all I could afford. With the same kit as Henri Cartier-Bresson, if I failed in the quest for the perfect picture then I only had myself to blame. Forty years on, that's still the position. Still, tomorrow's another day…'

Jini Dellaccio, Leica Shooter, Dies at 97

Seattle-based photographer Jini Dellaccio died last week at the age of 97. She was best known for her images of the Pacific Northwest music scene in the 1960s, including major acts such as Neil Young, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, and the Who - but came to photography later in life. First she was a musician, a homemaker and a painter. She didn't even pick up a camera until she was in her 40s. Her first camera was a Leica, but she's been known to also shoot Rolleiflex, Hasselblad and Fujifilm cameras. More coverage of her passing can be read on Seattle's KUOW and the Seattle Times sites. Read more below.

A German Rebel in South Africa

The New York Times Lens Blog has a story about Jürgen Schadeberg (a Leica shooter) and some of his documentary work in South Africa in a piece called "A German Rebel in South Africa." Starting with coverage of the anti-apartheid movement in the 1950s, to returning in 1985 to live with his wife, Claudia, and began making documentary films about apartheid, Drum, South African jazz and the history of Robben Island. After Nelson Mandela was freed in 1990, he and his wife were invited to his house for a New Year’s Eve party. Mr. Schadeberg continued to publish photography books on social justice, and he filmed the first free elections in 1994 for a documentary he and his wife made.

Andrew Spencer - The Leica Story

Andrew Spencer shared with us a really neat story about a good friend and his dad - and an amazing collection of cameras... Including a very nice Leica M2 with 35mm, 50mm and 90mm lenses that he was given access to. Read more about this story in his blog post, "1928 - The Leica Story" and be sure to check out the pictures as well. Sorry to hear of your friend's dad passing Andrew, and thanks for sharing this with us!

Helmut Newton's "Rules of Life" (NSFW)

Over on Esquire (Russia) they have a piece called Helmut Newton "Rules of Life" (in Russian). You may recall that Helmut Newton was a German-Australian photographer and was a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-and-white photos were a mainstay of Vogue and other publications." Born in Berlin in 1920, he passed away in 2004 at the age of 84 in California. Read more below for translation.

Pages