Bertram Solcher - The Leica M Photographer: Photographing with Leicas Legendary Rangefinder Cameras

Photographing with Leicas Legendary Rangefinder Cameras

Bertram Solcher

What you are holding is a book about Leica M-series cameras, yet it doesnt go into detail on the various camera types, models, and functions. This is pretty unusual!

The aim of this book is to communicate to you, the reader, the endless fun I have had during more than 30 years of shooting with Leica M cameras, and to help you find the same joy and satisfaction using your Leicas.

I have used many models over the years: I began with an M2 then switched to an M3. I initially skipped over the M4 and worked with the M6 for while before backtracking and acquiring an M4 as a backup body. I tried the M7, loved the MP, tested the Digital M8, and now shoot using an M9 and the M (Typ 240). If you are technically minded, you are probably thinking these cameras are not really comparable: some are analog, some digital; some have a built-in exposure meter while others dont; and they even include a mix of APS-H and full-frame sensors. A debate about the relative merits of all these features could fill many an evening.

But this book is about the technical features these cameras share, and most of all about the effect these features have on the photos they produce. Nearly all the lenses Leica has ever produced fit all the bodies listed above. All these bodies have a complex base plate that provides access to the cameras recording medium; and they are all mirrorless, about the same size, and can be used with Leicas Bright-line viewfinders. This last item is what makes a Leica so special. One could argue whether using such an optical/mechanical masterpiece makes sense in the digital age. After all, every Micro Four Thirds camera has an electronic viewfinder that displays 100 percent of the image area so you dont have to guess how the framing will look in the image you capture. The Leica M system now offers a separate electronic viewfinder, although this makes virtually no difference to this books central message.

As a professional photojournalist and documentary photographer, I work with whichever tools are necessary to fulfill my clients wishes. I use DSLRs and multi-megapixel cameras whenever the job or the client demands it. I use super-wide-angle lenses, ultra-long telephotos, macro lenses, and flash.

It is the aspects of photography that are close to my heart that I want to talk about. No, I dont mean flower or landscape photographyI am talking about the aspects of photography that deal with people, which allows me to enter different worlds.

But let me begin by telling you about myself. I was given my first camera on my twelfth birthday. I was terribly disappointed because I really wanted a sports watch like the ones all my classmates had at the time. In addition to the camera, I was also given a book on photojournalism that, after an initial period of disdain, actually provided me with inspiration for many years to come. As my interest in photography grew, I acquired new cameras, practiced in my darkroom, started a photo club at school, and, in my free time, began to take photos for a local daily newspaper. My interest in photography varied up to the time I finished school and began studying medicine. To finance the soft-top VW Beetle that I so desperately needed to continue my studies, I began a side project I called paid photojournalism. I devoured many books, newspaper articles, and magazines on the subject, and I shot endless numbers of photos. Never having formally studied photography, I learned everything I know from studying the media, reading countless books, and visiting many, many exhibitions. I now also use the opportunities presented by the Internet to study images and documentary coverage of all kinds of events. I have never been particularly attracted by big names. Rather, my guiding light has always simply been the images that I like. I only found out later which of these were created by masters of the genre.