Video: The Softer Side of Leica
Amid the hustle and bustle of Photokina 2012's busy show floor, Leica carved out a quiet escape that reminded us of why we all enjoy photography in the first place.
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At a show so singularly focused on selling you the best, most cutting-edge, most expensive camera equipment available—and in the same space that showcased hand-built cameras that only shoot in black and white and cost more than most DSLRs—we found a quiet corner completely devoted to the appreciation of actual photographs that this (occasionally overpriced) equipment produces.
While most, if not all, of the photos on display were likely taken with Leica cameras, it was refreshing to not be forcibly sold anything for a while. To simply stroll through the gallery and quietly appreciate some great art was to be reminded of what all of this is actually about. For most, it isn't really about having the hottest new camera or simply pimping their gear (looking at you, Hasselblad Lunar); it's about finding cameras and lenses that allow the individual photographer to capture their vision... to find the equipment that will allow them to successfully communicate with their audience—whether it's a global newspaper audience or their immediate family—in ways they didn't expect or hadn't previously considered.
The point of Photokina is the sale and marketing of photographic equipment. The point of that equipment is communication.