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Do Leicas have a soul?


NZDavid

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Leicas are dead objects. Photos may have "soul" ............... sometimes.

Quite right it is the photographs that display their soul the camera is just an inanimate mass of metal and glass that makes that happen

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Do Leicas get offended if they are not used? They really do seem to appreciate a good workout. That's what gives them that special Leica glow! :D

 

Ah, Paris! As Leica 888 writes, truly a romantic city and a city with soul if there ever was one. And a city inextricably linked with Leica. Just think of those B+W pictures of romantic couples with backdrops of river banks, cafes and churches. '50s, '60s, 2009? Timeless moments that last a lifetime.

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Do Leicas get offended if they are not used? They really do seem to appreciate a good workout. That's what gives them that special Leica glow! :D...

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I appreciate you share this concept... but I must honestly admit that I recognizes this sentiment not ONLY on Leicas... :)... in the last, say, 4 or 5 years I took care to take at least ONE 120 rollfilm a year... just not to offend my Rolleiflex TLR... poor old lady... TWO eyes to sweep :o

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In that case, I have quite a few old family cameras, as well as a IIIa, that would enjoy an airing. Got to keep them happy... Even my old hi-fi set up has found a new home in my home office. But I think some old stuff is worth holding onto more than others.

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These are souls in all things like car,fridge cameras etc.So Leica has a soul not from judea -christian concept. The reason you ask the question and got mundane answers even metaphorical and all was the intrinsic connections between you and the camera. The western world thinks so logical that there is a distinct difference between you and the object,the camera. What you are saying is that there is none thats all. The buddhist way is that everything is one. So the camera is really your soul and therefore what you are asking is do I realy have a soul? For the first that soul is amplified by your camera and therefore for the camera too has a soul,, with you. On the more universal side....yes it does, The quality of its soul would depend on who held it before. The more mint it is the more meaningful its soul because the former owner tenderly took care of it well for decades; there is such abstract notion of transference as the 'act has a soul' you must learn about. (but thats another long discussion).

Each camera has a past, where the former owners took it in their lives. Even if it was just left in the cobwebs of an old cabinet...it has a past.

 

I like your post - I'm an guessing that you have Chinese ancestery just based on the 888.

 

And in the American indian and some other indigenous cultures everything has a "soul" or an energy, even a rock, so like the buhdists the Indians have a connection with other sentient being as a shared experience. As everything has a soul (people, animal and inanimate objects) in some of the Indian cultures, then they have a connection with everything, even the inanimate in addition to sentient beings.

 

I think that I agree if I am reading right in that the camera-user combination gives it soul to each other - or at least compliments each others souls.

 

Perhaps if people have souls then animals can have souls.

If people and animals can have souls, then perhaps plants can as well.

If plants, then maybe even rocks.

 

One thing that makes people different is that they can talk, but also some animals communicate (thinking of whales and dolphins in particular).

 

But I have seen some cameras that produce pictures that just about talk - whether that is the camera or the photographer I am not sure.

But the camera is certainly playing a part in communication.

 

One thing that I do know is that when I cease to exist as anything more than the particles from which I made, my camera will be going to the next of kin.

They will likely fight over it, and curse me for not have multiple soulful cameras.

But if/when I am reborn, I will have the karma to try and get it back.

But I am may not remember, other than having a desire or attachment for the camera which I cannot rationally explain.

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Guest darkstar2004
In the literal sense of the word. Of course an inanimate lump of metal cannot have a soul. It is what we impute into that piece of metal that elevates it.

 

One reads of people "loving thier Leica" but really one cannot attach emotions and feelings to inanimate objects but they do.

 

I think, realistically, we are a bunch of quirky individuals who are a little lost in time that have come together with a common purpose because the world out there cannot understand out adoration which is fine by me

 

What Kenneth said.

 

I love my MP and my Noctilux, even though they cannot love me back. They bring me much fun, enjoyment, happiness and joy. When I do my part, they even bring me some outstanding images every now and then.

 

That's close enough to having a "soul" for all my intents & purposes. :D

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