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LHSA Members: Introduce Yourselves


AlanJW

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This is an invite to all LHSA members to introduce themselves to the others here on the forum. If we all tell a little about ourselves and where we live we just might be able to arrange some regional meetings or otherwise stay in touch.

 

I'll start.

 

I'm Alan Weinschel. I was elected a Director of LHSA at Saturday's Annual Meeting in Dearborn.

I'm a retired antitrust atttorney and live in Roslyn Heights NY (Nassau County on Long Island)

I have been in photography since 1959, when I got my first camera, a rangefinder of course. I've been a Leica user since around 2003 and a LHSA member since shortly after that. I use an M240 and a T. I am not one of those who collects, but I do appreciate the art and beauty of the old Leicas.

 

Hope to see you!

 

 

Alan

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I'm Bill Clark from Minneapolis, Minnesota U.S.A. At 66 years, I have found this is really the exciting and fun stage of my life. Truth be known, I retired in 2002, started a people photography business and now I primarily photograph family. I haven't attended any LHSA events but I plan on doing so next year.

 

I started making photographs in the 1950s and, in 2014, I have my first analog darkroom! No more enlarger on a card table and a tray, usually fixer, on the floor of a closet or bathroom.

 

Thanks for putting this section together for LHSA.

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I am Doug Richardson, and live in Roydon, a small village north of London. What follows is my version of what my friend Cyril Blood once described as “a short confessional of one’s pilgrimage along the path of the Leica”.

 

I come from a family where Leica owning was not a hobby, but an hereditary disease passed on from father to son. Between the late 1940s and the early 1960s, my late father gradually assembled a Leica outfit based on a IIIb and a IIIc, the 35mm f2.8 Summaron, 5cm f2 Summitar, 9cm f4 Elmar and 135mm f4 Elmar. By the time this was essentially complete, I’d come to the unavoidable conclusion that my Zeiss Ikon Signal Nettar 6x6cm folding camera would have to be replaced by a Leica.

 

My first Leitz camera was a black Leica II, with a 5cm f1.5 Xenon. This was purchased in 1963, when I was 20 years old. It was followed in 1967 by a IIIg with the f2.8 Elmar, then an M2 with the dual-focussing Summicron in 1973.

 

A change of career from engineering to journalism in the late 1970s moved me to the foot of the ladder in a new profession, sharply reducing my income, so my interest in the Leica waned during the 1980s. It was re-awakened in 1993 when I ‘rescued’ a non-functioning Leicaflex found amongst the abandoned repair jobs in a camera shop that had gone out of business. Since then my interest in the Leica and its history has grown.

 

In 1999 I was recruited to the LHSA by the late Sal DiMarco, and have recently become a contributor to the Viewfinder magazine. Between 2001 and 2005 I was a member of the committee of what was then the UK's Leica Historical Society.

 

While I remained at heart a ‘rangefinder man’, my eyeglasses made viewing the wide-angle frames of the M viewfinder very difficult. So for almost a decade my main system camera was a Leicaflex SL2, with an M5 or M6 being used either as a low-light supplementary system, or on occasions when I wanted to carry a lighter-weight camera bag.

 

I declined to move to the M9 until the latter became available in the traditional silver-chrome finish. The new M9-P was just what I was waiting for, and my order was placed within days of the camera being announced. My M9-P arrived at the beginning of October 2011, and I have been very pleased with it. As a result of cataract surgery in 2012, I now have acceptable vision without glasses, so now have no problem in seeing the 28 mm and 35 mm viewfinder frames.

 

Best regards,

Doug

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I'm Stephen Clowery, newly elected LHSA president for the next two years. I've been an active amateur photographer since the '60's. I sold Leicas as a summer job when I was in high school and college, but only bought my first M6 about 14 years ago. I now shoot with an M9 and two of the Leica pro-sumer cameras. I had a first career as an Army officer with many different postings and a second that also involved lots of travel, so travel photography is my personal interest. Since I retired, I've gotten involved in shooting chamber music concerts and other events for our church--often challenging in low, available light venues.

 

I'm not strictly speaking a collector. I do very much enjoy Leica history and historical personages. My particular interest is studying the work of great Leica photographers, past and present, like Cartier-Bresson, Allard and Harvey. After their excellent presentations at the meeting in Dearborn last week, I can add Craig Semetko and Larry Towell.

 

I live in Amber, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia. If anyone happens to be in the area, please do get in touch.

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I'm Mark Bohrer, former IC design engineer, published wildlife photographer, and seasonal NPS interpretive ranger at Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque.

 

I found a Leica M3 with 50mm, 35mm and 135mm lenses in my parents' basement in 1968. My dad said they'd been bought by my grandfather in Heidelberg in 1954, and yes, I could use them.

 

That M3 led to a job at Stern's Camera in Winnetka, Illinois. LHSA Viewfinder editor Bill Rosauer and I worked there part-time through high school. Bill had also persuaded me to bring the Leica on an 8th grade field trip to Springfield, IL instead of a Zeiss Contax that had been my dad's.

 

Leica lenses give pictures a signature 'look' that I've always liked, though Leica gear isn't suited for everything I shoot. Where they shine is in my people and event shooting. I'm finding 21mm-135mm lenses work very well on a Fuji X-E2, alongside an M8.

 

Leica folks have always been great, and I look forward to meeting more of you when I can finally attend an LHSA annual meeting or spring shoot.

Edited by lecycliste
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Hi, I'm Gary Hough, past LHSA Director and now VP as of fall 2014.

 

I purchased my first Leica, an M7 in 2007, and joined LHSA in 2009, and I have attended every semiannual event since. My camera and lens collection keep expanding and includes both old and new.

 

The Leica Brand embodies the quintessential essence of design and coupled with a Society like LHSA gives me the opportunity to explore my humble craft with like minded enthusiasts.

 

LHSA is embarking on some exciting new features in an effort to both retain those members who relish in the heritage of the Leica Brand, and also to attract younger users who look for digital solutions to express their photographic interests.

 

Please follow and participate in our quest for keeping our Society viable and sustainable in our ever changing environment.

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Hello from sunny Chicago!

 

My name is Dan Tamarkin, and I am a Leica dealer based in Chicago, Illinois.

 

Also a member of the International Leica Society (LHSA), I was recently elected to serve as a Director (about which I am thrilled).

 

I can be reached at 800-289-5342 or dan@tamarkin.com. I am rarely here on the Forums, but glad to see the ILS-LHSA presence here nonetheless!

 

About me (from my artist bio) :

 

"Bit by the Leica bug back in 1988 when he worked in his father’s first showroom in New Haven, Dan is the eldest son of Tamarkin Camera founder, Stan Tamarkin and actress Janie Tamarkin. Trained as a writer and linguistic ethnographer at the University of Illinois here in Chicago, Dan has worked extensively as a theatrical lighting designer, teacher, performer and writer. A collector of tenor guitars as well as Leica cameras, Dan is also an avid outdoorsman."

 

I shoot both film and digital (Leica M7 and Leica M Monochrom) with a 50mm as my main focal length. I'm a fan of vintage lenses, as well as the latest and greatest Leica M lenses. I'm also a collector and am crazy about the Leica M2 and Leica Standard.

 

Welcome to the ILS-LHSA forum!

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Hello from Denmark!

 

My name is Thorsten Overgaard and I have been a member of LHSA for a couple of years. My contact goes a little further back as keynote speaker in Wetzlar/Solms in 2011 and with a few articles in Viewfinder.

 

I am in orbit around the world most of the time, doing independent workshops for the Leica users around the world, and as magazine photographer, event photographers and portrait photographer.

 

I write and publish books on photography and workflow, and also exhibit some of my work.

 

Hopefully I will be at the New Orleans gathering in 2015.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Hi all.

 

I'm Martin Carone dos Santos, 37 years, from São Paulo City, Brazil.

 

I'm a lawyer here in SP.

 

Started with photography at age of 9, with the old Praktica Super TL I got from my dad. Soon started with darkroom. After some time with a Rollei, Contaflex and Contax II, started around 2002 with a Leica IIc.

 

Now the collection is bigger (my wife, in fact, doesn't know all cameras! :D ) and I'm always with a camera - usually a IIIf or IIIa. Only with film. Still a bathtub finisher, but proud of results.

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  • 1 month later...

Hi! My name is Richard Chalfan, and I live in Bellevue, Washington; a city with a brand new Leica store!

 

I am a retired engineer and a long time collector and user of photographic equipment. I acquired my first Leica in 1972; a model IIIc. My primary collecting interests include Leicas, panoramic Cirkut cameras and stereoscopic cameras.

 

I have a modest type collection of the early screw mount Leicas, and I find shooting with them to be a real joy (and sometimes a trial with the earliest models). But when I need to think about every aspect of making an image I believe it makes me a better photographer.

 

My primary shooting camera today is an M9, though on occasion I also shoot with a half-dozen different screw mount camera models as well as with four different models of film M's. My favorite lens is the 50mm f/1.5 Xenon which has a wonderful bokeh and interesting flare characteristics when shot wide open. It is on my M9 (with an ND filter) as often as a 35mm Summilux (my next favorite lens). I also enjoy shooting with the first rigid 50mm Summicron, which is even today a fine picture taker.

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Love the Barnacks! I've only got 2 of them (IIIa and IIIf-BD), plus a couple of well-worn M4s that were my mainstay throughout 45 years despite trysts with pretty much every other M model prior and since. When GAS hits it hits hard :D

 

Never had a Xenon (couldn't ever find one where the front element wasn't scratched to hell) or a 35 Lux (just the ASPH), but I did have a rigid 50 Cron. One of the rare ones with pristine front coating thanks to the prior owner having always kept a UV filter on it. Sold it along with an equally pristine M3. Wish I still had them, as I can remember it like it was sitting here on my desk but can't recall what I used the money for :( .

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello Leicaphiles !

 

The International Leica Society (LHSA) is gearing up for our annual Spring Shoot in The Big Easy. Join us Wednesday April 15-19 in beautiful, scenic New Orleans !

 

You can get more info here: www.lhsa.org/events/default.aspx

 

Or, call Tamarkin Camera at 1-800-289-5342 and we'll tell you all about it.

 

Happy shooting!

 

Dan

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Hello All!

 

It seems I have been around Leica my entire life. My dad was a Leica user long before my time. I started borrowing his Leica (M3) at 13, and have used the Leica ever since.

 

I have been a Leica collector for over 30 years. I have used the Leica both personally and professionally for over 45 years. I have been a Leica dealer for over 30 years.

 

I have been a member of the LHSA since 1983. I became vice-president in 1996 and served as president from 1998-2000. As president, I hosted our annual meeting here in Chicago and look forward to doing so again. I have been the editor of the LHSA quarterly journal, the Viewfinder, since 2000. I have attended 26 Annual Meetings over the years and have been a board member for 17 years. I love every minute of being the editor of our journal and every issue is like welcoming a new child into the family. I have made many close friends in the Society over the years and look forward to meeting up with them at every meeting. I also enjoy meeting new faces at our meetings as well. Please look me up at the next AM in Washington DC later this year.

 

Through my connections to Leica Camera AG, I conceptualized and participated in the design of the LHSA Special Edition cameras - the Black Paint M6 TTL, Hammertone MP and MP3 models.

 

My user name "derleicaman" comes from the highest compliment my dad would give a photographer. Being a "Leica Man" meant a lot to him, and to him the best photographers were always Leica men. I may not be the best photographer, but I consider myself a true Leica Man!:)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello, everybody.

I just discover this thread, so why not to comply with Bill's request/suggestion?

My name is Pierre Jeandrain, my nationality Belgian, my profession retired lawyer, my location Southern Portugal (for 22 years) and my age...81:(.

I am an uninterrupted member of LHSA since (if I remember good) the mid-seventies, being at least 40 years, and I enjoyed early friendly contacts with wonderful people like Jim Lager or Rolf Fricke, or "traders" like Stan Tamarkin. Not to speak of Paul-Henry van Hasbroeck and so many others all over the world.

My "Fontenelle Collection" peaked in the mid-80s, with 117 bodies, 304 lenses and more than 1,000 accessories/various items. I also published six issues of an illustrated "newsletter" in 1980.

My only valuable contribution to the history of the Leica was the discovery in Belgium of the Leica 250 prototype nº 114052, chrome-plated, in its strictly original condition, like it had been delivered to the Leitz Belgian representative Fisch on November 11, 1933. By the way, the second prototype, the black paint nª 114051 (also delivered to Fisch a month later) was still in Belgium too, and had landed by chance on the counter of my late friend collector/dealer Jean-Paul Bachely, but unfortunately upgraded to FF standards.

I started dispersing my collection when I moved to sunny Portugal in 1993, but still hold most of my library...and interest, indeed! Next to my daily access to this Forum, I published here many threads "Fontenelle Collection Archives", and one can find my contributions signed "Pecole" (being, for possibly interested ones, the contraction of my Christian name Pierre and the one of my wife - for 52 years now :rolleyes: - Colette).

That's it. Sorry for the length : age does not shorten everything...:D

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  • 5 months later...

Hello everyone, I am David Schumaker, a member of the LHSA Board and a Leica user for over 50 years starting as a press photographer at the Watsonville Register Pajaronian newspaper under the fantastic tutor Sam Vestal.  I started there with a IIIf of my own and the use of Sam's M3's.  What a way to start.  Sam's brother Jim is a member of LHSA.  I have owned Leicas ever since.  I worked my way through college with my camera and am an avid amateur photographer from street to nature.  I live in McKinleyville, California on the north coast as a retired public school educator.  I have just reached the ripe old age of 75 and run a horse boarding business with my wife Patricia of 55 years.

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Hello everyone,

 

My name is Ross Funnell  a Leica enthusiast since my teens. 

 

I have enjoyed being a member of the LHSA for the past few years and getting up to speed on the history.

I am 60 and have been in private practice as a Chiropractor in Australia for some 38 years.

Shooting both digital and film and have a fine collection now which I really get great pleasure out of using.

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