When the Leica Forum was young

[abrewer]

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I suspect quite a few of you remember when the Leica Forum was part of the Leica corporate website.

 

Fewer know the story of how and why the current iteration of the site came into existence, and the history of its growth.

 

Perhaps some of the old-timers will share what they remember of this site in its previous incarnations, and the path to the present, in a walk down memory lane for some and an exploration of new territory for others.

 

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[stuny]

Allan -

 

One of my fondest memories of the old forum is your frequent contributions, and I miss them dearly.  It's really good to see you posting again and hope you'll do so far more often.  You're well I trust?

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[abrewer]

Hi Stuart

Doing well

I plan to be more regular going forward

How are you? And Barb is well too?

[stuny]

Allan -

 

We're well, thanks, and looking forward to seeing your posts.

[Michael Hiles]

It is interesting (to me, at least) that there has been considerable turnover in visible members. There are certainly some long-time diehards (I may now be one of them, so a good thing IMO), but we have some newer names that greatly help matters, I think. 

 

I also have a sense of fewer replies to posts, and less belligerance for the most part. A few of the more difficult "oldsters" have either faded away or in a few cases been warned off. No bad thing IMO - one of the nice things about this forum is that members are mainly (but not universally) well mannered.

[wda]

Allan, I remember you well and your beautifully crafted scans from film of pictures taken during your lunchtime city rambles. Just one lens was all you used for much of the time. And your sports arenas and motoring events. Ah, I remember them well.

 

Then you took a long sabbatical until a brief return with an X1 digital compact. Stay longer this time, please.

 

I also remember the plague of trolls which happily have been less troublesome in recent times.

 

Welcome back.

[lct]

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abrewer: Jan 2004

stuny: Nov 2004

wda: Mar 2005

Are there only newbies here?

[LocalHero1953]

That's a long time ago - I hadn't taken a digital photo in 2004, and was using my M2.

[lct]

How many of them are still here?

 

Andy Barton (tess): Sept 2002

Brent (bnfotografie): Oct 2002

Edwin Kwan (edkwan): Sept 2002

George Sekely (george): Sept 2002

Gepetto (gepetto): Nov 2002

Giuliano Gavazzi (giuliano): Oct 2002

John R Mead (john_mead): Sept 2002

LCT (lct): Sept 2002

Renato V. Gorni (rené): Oct 2002

Robert Frederick Parker (robert_parker): Oct 2002

Steve Unsworth (stunsworth): Sept 2002

tim power (timpower): Sept 2002

 

Excerpt of the old forum from Oct 2002:

LeicaD1 Forum_021028.pdf

[abrewer]

I searched high and low for a screen capture of the original Leica Forum, lct, to no avail. Thank you for posting that image. I always admired the tight, tidy layout of that Forum. It was so compact and efficient--it just had a nice feel to post and read.

[abrewer]

Oh my heavens, lct . . .

I just saw the name of Renato V Gorni (rene) on your screenshot. Wasn't he the gentleman who died suddenly and his son or maybe it was his wife came on and told us he had passed away?

My recollection is that Andy B organized a collection of his photos from the Forum, and it was presented to her as a gesture of love and respect for his contributions.

Is my memory correct on that?

[lct]

I seem to remember his son or his wife saying that he spoke about his Leica friends shortly before his death but Andy knew him better than i did i believe.   

[mikemgb]

You can probably find the original forum saved here if you know what the URL was: https://web.archive.org/web/20070801000000*/www.l-camera-forum.com

[gyoung]

My joining seems to have been 2006, although I was already retired then and certainly remember looking at it for information etc before that, so must have been a 'lurker'.

Still as good a place for discussion etc as ever. Polite and informative, often witty, and not too many what bag...,strap..., lens shall I take to Timbuktu threads :-)

Could wish it wasn't QUITE so hard Leica, experience of other Leica mount lenses on non Leica cameras would be of interest now and again I think.

 

Thanks to you all for information and amusement over a long period.

 

Gerry

[wda]

My joining seems to have been 2006, although I was already retired then and certainly remember looking at it for information etc before that, so must have been a 'lurker'.

Still as good a place for discussion etc as ever. Polite and informative, often witty, and not too many what bag...,strap..., lens shall I take to Timbuktu threads :-)

Could wish it wasn't QUITE so hard Leica, experience of other Leica mount lenses on non Leica cameras would be of interest now and again I think.

 

Thanks to you all for information and amusement over a long period.

 

Gerry

Not all data was rolled over to the new forum, Gerry.

[masjah]

My profile says that I joined in October 2002, and I'm sure many of my contemporaries are still here. Sadly Renato Bodhi is no longer with us.

[earleygallery]

I had to re-join when the new forum was set up as my username was 'lost' in the switchover.

 

I do miss some of the 'old' members who we've lost along the way, some because they've moved away from Leica but also some left due to disagreements which is a shame. Then there are others who are still about but just don't post often.

 

I remember a big change in attitudes when the M8 was released. You were either in or out and it did seem to create a divide at the time. Thankfully it didn't last in the main.

 

We have a great forum with a lot of knowledgeable contributors, not just regarding photography, some of the best stuff can be found in the bar!

[jcraf]

I'm still here - joined 2 Oct 2002 - although I didn't really start posting much until a few years back. I've got to know more people since then, and made some great friends.

 

Long may the forum continue!

[gyoung]

Not all data was rolled over to the new forum, Gerry.

I've been scratching my head over that, I am pretty sure I was 'joining in' discussions before I retired in 2003, probably from when my interest in using my Leicas was revived by the avent of Voigtlander 'reasonably priced' exotica, such as the 15 and 25mm a few years before that.

Never mind, its still a good place to be!

 

Gerry

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[masjah]

My profile says that I joined in October 2002, and I'm sure many of my contemporaries are still here. Sadly Renato Bodhi is no longer with us.

Very sorry - uncorrected typo with a tablet keyboard. Of course our much missed forum member was Renato Gorni.