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LHSA Members: Introduce Yourselves


AlanJW

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  • 2 months later...

My name is George Furst and I live in Daejeon, South Korea. I have lived here since 2003 with my wife Park Young Suk. My profession is education and I was until recently a professor of design at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon, the science center of South Korea. 

 

Prior or to moving to Korea, I was and environmental engineer specializing in ground water contamination issues and president of the LSPA in the state of Massachusetts. I took my first photographs back in 1956 using a Kodak brownie camera. Then in 1958 our family spent the summer fault boating through Germany and Austria. I bought an Agfa Sellettel rangefinder camera and documented the trip. My elder sister used the photos for many presentations over the years. I became interested in Leica cameras through the company microscope division. In graduate school I spent many hours looking down a Leitz research microscope and admires both its construction and optics. Later as an industrial engineer at Norton Company I solved many manufacturing problems using a Leitz scope. I had always admired the company for its pursuit of excellence and especially precision. My first Leica camera was a Leica 1c and with the 50 mm viewfinder and Elmar 3.5 lens began to expand my knowledge of Leitz products to their camera division. It was only in the late 90s that I was able to purchase a M4 and my first set of Leica lens. It was then that I joined the LHSA, so I have been a member for many years now.

 

My other hobby (as an American we always have a passion in our hobbies) was restoring British sports cars. When I retired from the Big Dig project in 2002, we decided to move to Korea permanently. i was able to bring my small Leica collection and one car, my 1972 MGB. It was then that I began a new profession of teaching in NamSeoul and then KAIST. Now I really got into collecting Leica products and joined the Leica Club here in Korea. It is a very loose organization that has weekly meetings in Seoul and different gatherings at scenic locations throughout Korea and sometimes overseas. There are over 17000 members in this group and  it is very active and since I retired in early 2014 I have been able to go to more events and exhibit photographs in the annual exhibit at Bondo camera, the Leica dealer in Seoul.  This society is composed of all ages and a mix of younger and older people all of who have a passion for using the products of Leica Camera. We use both film and the digital cameras and always gather in ChumErRo, Seoul, the movie and camera capital of Korea. 

 

Korea is a great location for photography and we take advantage of the many varied settings here. The country has a large coast line and is full of mountains. The people are always hiking and gathering in markets and inner cities full of young people at all hours of day and night. It is truly a dynamic country and I have found it friendly to foreign visitors too.

 

I continue to enjoy my hobby of collecting cameras and lens. My recent interest has been the R series of lens that have great optical properties and have turned to the a7r and a platform but using both R and M lens along with Voightlander lens too. I enjoy reading the LHSA Viewfinder articles and doing research on early Leica lens. Most of my friends are in the Leica club here and they are as I said above avid film and digital photographers.  I have been blessed with good health and also lead a hiking group out of Daejeon. My main problem with the Leica camera series is their weight and this is the main reason that I use an a7r platform now.

 

When end not working on my car I am often in the mountains photographing the beautiful scenery through the winter and summer. It has been my joy to end up in such a wonderful country and have others who share my passion for photography.  

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  • 1 year later...

Hello everyone,

 

My name is Neill Archer Roan. I'm a newbie member of the forum, and somewhat new to Leica. I switched to all Leica about nine months ago. I'm still learning a lot.

 

I live in the Washington, DC area, but travel quite a bit nationally and internationally.

 

I'm 64 years old and have been doing consulting work in business, creative industries, and strategy for the last 20+ years.

 

I'm very excited about what I expect to learn as a member here.

Edited by ArcherRoan
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  • 2 months later...

Greetings Team,

 

My name is Frank Farmer and I'm a former long-time LHSA member who recently rejoined after coming back to Leica with my new M10. Glad to be back. 

 

I first joined the LHSA back in 2001 or so, when I purchased my second Leica: an M6TTL with a Tri-Elmar lens (the second iteration of the 28-35-50 version). I was just out of law school at the time, and I had to sell pretty much every bit of my Nikon kit to fund the transaction. I also purchased the 21mm ASPH. 

 

Anyway, I loved that set-up, but ultimately tired of the f/4 max aperture of the Tri-Elmar. So, on the block it went. It was replaced with the 35mm Summicron ASPH because what I learned from the 3E was that I really prefer a 35mm as my standard lens. That was my setup for years -- the M6TTL with the 35 'cron. More kit followed, of course: an M3 (SS), a 90 Summicron-M APO, a 50 Summicron (11817), and a Voigtlander 15mm. It all fit quite nicely in my Domke F-6 bag that I'm now using again. 

 

I held on to those cameras for years and loved every second of it. In fact, I held onto film long into the reign of digital (funny thing, my very first Leica was actually a digital point-and-shoot camera: the Digilux Zoom). I held out and held out and held out until I was finally convinced that I should switch. I didn't really want to, but it was time. The M8 had just been released, and I was a tad bit concerned about the issues it was having, not to mention its cost. In my mind, that left me with no digital Leica option even though I suppose the Digital Module R was an option. But that seemed like it was always going to be short-lived, and it was. I wasn't too fond of the Epson RD-1, either. So, sadly, on the block my beloved Leica kit went to fund the move to a Canon 40D. I sold it all except the M3 and the 50 'cron, both of which I still own. 

 

I hated the Canon. So, I switched back to Nikon, my first camera love, and I stayed with Nikon, shooting semi-professionally, for years. The photo gigs were always a side thing just to have some fun, make a little money to fund my equipment addiction, and get to shoot. A lot. That went on for years. Shooting concerts, weddings, school sports, portraits, but mostly local journalism and features for a couple local magazines. 

 

As happens, my real gig as a lawyer made it increasingly difficult for me to maintain that second job, so I began winding my photo business down. Once I did that, it seemed that my well-loved Nikon D4 with a giant fast zoom mounted just might not be the best option for me anymore in my personal photography. I started longing for the thoughtful process and compact ways of the M system I left to move into the digital world. I bet you can guess what happened next.

 

I sold most of my Nikon kit to purchase the M10, a new 35 'cron ASPH, a new 90 'cron APO, and an SF-40. Holy cow all this stuff was cheaper in 2000! The M10 just arrived this month, and I'm having a great time getting back into my rangefinder ways. It is certainly an adjustment from big DSLRs, but I'm really loving it. 

 

I'm also happy to see the Viewfinder Magazine show up in my mailbox, again! 

 

Thanks for reading, and remember to smile!

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  • 5 years later...

Hello all,

My name is James Drake and I live in Australia.   My journey to Leica is a long and tortuous one, but it started by using my father's rangefinder, NOT a Leica but a Canon 7 with the 50mm f0.95 lens.  I tried to love that combination but SLR's tickled my fancy with their bells and whistles. Then came along autofocus and a little while later digital.  It was only into my 8th or 9th digital body that I re-discovered film, and then decided to try a Leica, starting with an M3 single stroke.  I paired it with a 90mm Elmarit-M II (I like portraits).. but never really gelled with the rangefinder focusing.  Though the M3 was a massive improvement over the Canon 7 there was just something about SLRs.. and so after a friend lent me a few of his Leica R bodies (R8 and R6 no less.. needless to say a very trusting friend!) I was smitten.  Yes they have a tremendous shutter lag.  Yes they are GHASP based on a Minolta.. but the Leica glass is Leica glass. And now I'm the proud owner of a few Summiluxes and the fabled 21-35, and am enjoying film photography again.

 

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