Into The Heart Of Leica: Cameras, Watches, and More

November 08, 2021

This week we have a special treat for all of the camera nerds in the audience and it comes straight from one of the defining brands in photography C Leica. Last week, my colleague Myles Kusaba and I traveled to Germany to attend the 2021 Leica Oskar Barnack Awards, as well as several other special events. While visiting Leitz Park C that's Leica's home, near Frankfurt C Myles and I had the opportunity to record two fun and varied chats, both of which form this episode.? Kicking off the show, we have a talk about the creative side of Leica and photography with the NYC-based photographer and director Mark de Paola, who has shot with Leica for his entire (and very impressive) career. We chat about everything from 100-year-old Leica mods to the psychology of photography and what it takes to make it as a photographer today. After this wide-ranging conversation, we get to the main event, in which Myles and I sat down with the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Leica AG, Dr. Andreas Kaufmann. Credited with helping to save Leica and bring the brand to a point of considerable influence within the scope of modern photography, Dr. Kaufmann understands Leica like few others and he shares that passion with us alongside his love of watches, vintage race cars, and more. It's an enlightening chat that looks at the core tenets of protecting a brand with an important legacy, what photographers want from Leica, the influence of social media, how Leica is approaching watches, and what is on the horizon for the brand. ? Past Leica watches that Dr. Andreas Kauffman had in his backpack. (Credit: Myles Kusaba) While certainly not as watch-centric as recent episodes, Leica has played a major part in my work with HODINKEE and the evolution of my love of photography. As such, I think there is plenty of overlap with the appreciation of watches (and general nerdery). Visiting the brand's home was eye-opening, as we toured the impressive facilities and witnessed production that leveraged both the most advanced technologies and most traditional pain-staking handcraft, all in the pursuit of creating the best possible tools for photographers.? The 42mm-adapted Leica microscope lens mentioned in the episode. (Credit: Myles Kusaba) As a final note, I would implore any curious parties to experience the work celebrated by the Leica Oskar Barnack Award; the photos created by Emile Ducke (winner of the Newcomer award) and Ana Mara Arvalo Gosen (who won the full award) are linked below and both are examples of classic documentary photography. The work is powerful, important, and incredibly beautiful.?Thanks so much for listening, I hope you love it.? Show Notes 0:45? Myles Kusaba?1:00 Leica Oskar Barnack Awards1:48 Mark de Paola 2:50 Leitz Park 8:22The Ur-Leica9:00 Oskar Barknak 9:42 Emile Ducke C Kolyma C "Along the Road of Bones"9:55 Ana Mara Arvalo Gosen C "Das Eternos (Eternal Days)"12:29 House Freidwart 17:19 M 10-D?21:17 The Grand Seiko SBGY007 Omiwatari 28:20 Persistence of vision31:05 Louise Glck 36:35 Dr. Andreas Kaufmann 45:38Leitz Phone?147:20 Huawei P20 Pro 50:18Leica Galleries?53:18 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 53:25 The Mille Miglia 54:20 Leica Q254:21 Leica SL2-S54:58 Bridget Bardot with her Leica and Rolls Royce57:00 Chopard Mille Miglia 58:02 The Leica L1 and L2 watches 58:35 Lange B-uhr Aviation Watch58:48 Meistersinger watches 59:05 Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox59:59 Revue Thommen Cricket1:01:22 Example of an Omega with a crown-set pusher1:04:30 Light Camera1:09:28 Ernst Leitz Labs