An M6 worth more than a thousand words

[semilog]

...and certainly, worth a heck of a lot more than a thousand bucks. At this writing, bidding is $672.

This one has a story, and it is a story, one about a camera and a photographer and his stories, and also about the profession of photojournalism in 2011.

Now, let me remind you that you can find a cleaner, more collectible version of the M6 all day long, but you won’t find a better friend than this one.

Yes, that is a scuffing and gouging on the battery cover and leatherette. It’s what happens when you are forced to use a leatherman tool to get the cover off.

And yes, I took a Sharpie to the logo and colored it black because I felt it made me invisible. Sometimes, it did.

It's one of Vincent J. Musi's Leicas, and it took the lead picture in his Geographic photo-essay on Wales. He's including a signed print of that image with the camera. Musi's done a lot of fantastic work over the years. Here's a good interview with him, with some example images from his 2008 cover story in the magazine.

IMO this is a vastly more appealing camera than any display-case MP, a la carte or otherwise, that I've ever seen.


* Note: I have no connection whatsoever, financial or otherwise, to Musi or the Geographic.

 

[porktaco]

hope he gets a great price for his friend.

 

[panerai]

Auction is still early with more than 5 days to go. Not sure how often you bid on Ebay, but I have close to 400 feedback and with a lot of auctions. Bidding can jump within the last few minutes to seconds.

Example. A watch movement I needed was $46.00 with 10 minutes left, but sold for $211 by the time it was over.

Checking his images from the link you provided. He would have been smart to include a similar link in his auction showing what he has done to possibly increase the bidding.

DON

 

[tjh]

Wonderful photos - shows what a person with vision can do!

 

[semilog]

With all due respect, in his hands it is an extension of his vision.

In another's hands, well, it will no longer be an extension of his vision.

Still, it is a Leica M6 Classic.

I'm not at all sure why "due respect" is called for. Of course a camera can't transmit skill. But I also think that it looks like a pretty good user camera with a nice history, and it's reasonable that some objects should have sentimental or inspirational value. I think that can be meaningful.

And it comes with a signed print, made using the same camera, and taken and print by a very accomplished photographer. That's pretty neat, too. And again, inspiring.

 

[semilog]

OK, skip the respect, due or not.

😀

To me, the only relevance of the camera was that it indicated the images originated with film.

Fair enough. For others, objects with stories have a bit more meaning. The ark of the covenant was just a box, right? And regardless of the value of the camera, the sale itself tells a story about a photographer and the changes in a profession.

I'm not really sure what raises your ire, if I'm correct that your ire is indeed raised (and if not, apologies for over-reading your post).

You weren't just cranky that I said something a bit acid about the MP, I hope.

 

[Frank Petronio]

I bought an M6 off a Natl Geo photographer years ago. It was very well used and, for example, the rewind crank arm was worn so thin it would cut my fingers when I used it.

So for actually using... I am not so sure I'd want something with that much milage.

I do like the way the common black M6s age, you can keep your Brass.

 

[schofferhofer]

No international buyers...how ****.

 

[panerai]

He took my advice in a email I sent him and added a link to his images

Hopefully that will add to the bidding.

I'm interested to see what the ending price will be

DON

 

[Michiel Fokkema]

If it has emotional value why is he selling it? If it doesn't have the emotional value to him why should it have for us?
For me it is just another M6, maybe a bit more worn than mine, but still a camera, a tool.

Cheers,

Michiel Fokkema

 

[erik]

He's hoping that at least some people like the idea of having a camera with a good story behind it, maybe a little good juju from from someone they respect. It's not rational, it is just a camera, but people aren't rational about a lot of things. I think that a good number of people here would rather create their own stories with their cameras, but I bet there are enough folks out there who want to shake that hand that shook the hand, so to speak. Getting an original print is pretty cool. Maybe I'll do that the next time I sell a camera. 😉

 

[furcafe]

I think this is true of anything that's used, hence the importance of provenance in antiques (aside from proving authenticity). All other things (like condition) being equal, I think most buyers would prefer something w/a good story behind it. I know I do. E.g., last year I bought a beat-up black Nikon F that once belonged to a photojournalist (still has his name & paper on the Dymo label). Did I pay a premium for that fact? Probably, but it wasn't much & the history certainly makes the camera more of a conversation piece.

He's hoping that at least some people like the idea of having a camera with a good story behind it, maybe a little good juju from from someone they respect. It's not rational, it is just a camera, but people aren't rational about a lot of things. I think that a good number of people here would rather create their own stories with their cameras, but I bet there are enough folks out there who want to shake that hand that shook the hand, so to speak. Getting an original print is pretty cool. Maybe I'll do that the next time I sell a camera. 😉

 

[tapesonthefloor]

I don't know how anyone's arguing that the "spirituality" imbued in a device wouldn't directly affect the photography of some shooters. If I had this camera, its history would be on my mind the entire time I held it, and it would unavoidably inform my shots with it.

Now, I'm a romantic, yes, and I would never overpay for such "spirituality" given that my cameras are shooters first and collectables second, but that doesn't make the above any less true for me.

(Or, what erik said.)

 

[semilog]

I don't know how anyone's arguing that the "spirituality" imbued in a device wouldn't directly affect the photography of some shooters. If I had this camera, its history would be on my mind the entire time I held it, and it would unavoidably inform my shots with it.

Now, I'm a romantic, yes, and I would never overpay for such "spirituality" given that my cameras are shooters first and collectables second, but that doesn't make the above any less true for me.

(Or, what erik said.)

I agree.

I also find it curious that dicussion here is focussed almost entirely on the perceived value (price) of the thing itself, and not on the other aspect of the story: the changes in the profession that make it necessary for an extremely accomplished photographer to make a sale such as this one.

That's why in my OP there were THREE links, only one of them to the auction, and the other two to information about the photographer and his work. I had hoped that the auction might be a jumping-off point for a somewhat different conversation.

Musi: There are less than 10 staff photographers in the magazine industry, the rest are freelancers like me. It will be just a short time before the freelance model of magazines hits newspapers. Day rates haven’t significantly gone up since I’ve been working as a photographer. Cameras are now $8,000 each and you need to buy a new one about every 18- 24 months to be competitive. At some point in the near future the editorial world may be flush with wealthy folks who will work for little payment except the thrill of getting published. That’s kind of where editorial photography started out and is probably headed for a period of time.Energy wise I can’t think of a better time to be a photographer. The internet is a free distribution and publishing vehicle. You can reach more people on YouTube than you do in the New York Times in a day. It’s empowering, exciting and we haven’t even scratched the surface of the possibilities.

It was unfortunate that I made the crack about the camera (and signed print) being worth more than a thousand bucks. That really wasn't my main point at all.

 

[shadowfox]

Wow, some non-sentimental (or anti- ??) people here who strangely took the time to comment.

I'd bid for that camera were I in the market for an M6. The color prints add to the value definitely, I predict it will sell quite a bit more than other used M6.

Nice post, semilog.

 

[Archiver]

Heck, if he allowed international sales, I would have bid on it. Having a Leica well used by a NatGeo photog is as close as I'm likely to get to shooting for such a big outfit. And it 'only' went for $1105. M6's regularly go for about $1300 or more in Australia, but then again, those M6's are in mint or near mint condition and we have an expensive market.

I do wonder what changes in his profession have made him sell at least one M6. Is he going digital? Is he still working at the same volume? What he says here is interesting:

"There are less than 10 staff photographers in the magazine industry, the rest are freelancers like me. It will be just a short time before the freelance model of magazines hits newspapers. Day rates haven’t significantly gone up since I’ve been working as a photographer. Cameras are now $8,000 each and you need to buy a new one about every 18- 24 months to be competitive."