Leica as a fashion accessory in Bangkok

[Leica All Day]

Today I went to one of the major Leica stores in Bangkok and I met 3 lovely / cute Thai girls that were in the process of buying Leica "special edition" digital cameras with some very nice lenses. I talked to them a little bit and one of the girls was talking about my M6ttl millennium that was hanging around my neck so I handed her my camera for her to check it out. In Thailand there is a common term that is called "hi-so" and it refers to the high society "upper class" Thai people that have a lot of money. These girls were "hi-so" and were in the process of buying some very nice Leica cameras and some really nice lenses. I am a "regular" at the camera store that they were at so I didn't try to get too involved with the whole process, but I did take a couple of photos of them and briefly talked to them.

Long story short, Leica cameras have become some sort of a "fashion accessory " here in Bangkok and it is strange to see "newbies" walking into a camera store and buying the "best " Leica cameras and lenses. I am not going to lie, I am trying to find a way to help these cute Thai girls in understanding and using these cameras that they have just purchased. I know the guys at the camera store and they basically explain the basics to them , but I would love to find a way to go out street shooting with these new Leica owners. That said, I hope this post doesn't come across as "sexist" in any terms, I am always available to take people around Bangkok and show them how their camera can work on the street and explain the basics.

I was really surprised by what I saw today.

cheers, michael

[/url]Cute girls with Leicas in Bangkok by [/IMG

 

[furcafe]

Here in the U.S., they're mainly fashion accessories for middle-aged dudes.

 

[Out to Lunch]

Interesting. So far in Saigon it's handbags, couture and the odd Bentley. When I lived and worked in the Great Lakes Region of Africa the "hi-so" where known as the "wabenzi", or the Mercedes Benz clan. In Saigon, the people stopping me in the street when I have a Leica rangefinder around my neck are older people and they tell tell me: "I used to own this camera"! "Number one"!

 

[kshapero]

When I go to the malls (which I never do), butt cracks seem to be the fashion statement.

 

[Emile de Leon]

What a truly weird reality..

 

[robert blu]

Nice cameras, beautiful girls! If this helps Leica to make a profit...and maybe at least one of the girls will try to use it and becomes a photographer!
robert
PS: where I live a dealer told me once that first digital Leica he sold to a gentleman who wanted "that camera" on his desktop but to take photos used a different camera (I prefer not to mention) set on auto because it was to difficult to use the rangefinder...

 

[Leica All Day]

Sweet Young Girls... What Fun !!


As for me
I am slightly cringing thinking about how I am 'perceived'
walking aBout shooting my M5... A fashion victim or a ?

Dear Helen, we have never met in person, but to me, you are a complete rock star and an amazing photographer. You are one of the people on this forum that I have not met yet, but I am so excited for the day that we meet. I really hope the day we meet you bring your male friend (I am sorry but I forget his name at this moment) but I can't wait for that day that we meet in a bar (or coffee shop) in New York and we can have a good chat.

cheers, michael

 

[_goodtimez]

That seems like the purchase of the last model smart phone which will be relegated to an old piece of junk in a couple months or so.
The colors of the cameras say a long story short...

 

[raid]

I recall that during Saddam Hussein's reign, the Womens' Union used Hasseblad exclusively.

 

[kshapero]

Dear Helen, we have never met in person, but to me, you are a complete rock star and an amazing photographer. You are one of the people on this forum that I have not met yet, but I am so excited for the day that we meet. I really hope the day we meet you bring your male friend (I am sorry but I forget his name at this moment) but I can't wait for that day that we meet in a bar (or coffee shop) in New York and we can have a good chat.

cheers, michael

Hey Michael, you still owe me a meet up. And Helen you are a Photog Rockette.

 

[Huss]

Sweet Young Girls... What Fun !!


As for me
I am slightly cringing thinking about how I am 'perceived'
walking aBout shooting my M5... A fashion victim or a ?

A user of an M5 is never a fashion victim, but a trend setter!
😀

 

[Out to Lunch]

camp...big time.

 

[Huss]

I was really surprised by what I saw today.

cheers, michael

[/url]Cute girls with Leicas in Bangkok by [/IMG

If they really wanted them as neck baubles, they would have bought film Ms... Maybe the Lenny Kravitz version.

Are those cameras white, or is it just the way my monitor makes them look?

 

[YYV_146]

If they really wanted them as neck baubles, they would have bought film Ms... Maybe the Lenny Kravitz version.

Are those cameras white, or is it just the way my monitor makes them look?

They are Thailand special editions. i toyed with the idea of getting one...the white finish looks great in person. The red covering is an extra option

 

[nikonosguy]

those are fugly leicas ---- with the white body and the colored leatherette....

 

[rhl-oregon]

Michael, I hope they run into you again with questions and images and and greater interest.

While there are plenty of examples of conspicuous consumption to make skeptics of any of us who worked and scrimped for what we valued, one can hope for the best with young women taking interest in gear that may change their lives and how they see the world. Who knows, maybe one or two will join rff and add their counterweight to the, um, prevailing gender imbalance.

 

[nobbylon]

looks like the shop in mbk michael?

 

[Huss]

those are fugly leicas ---- with the white body and the colored leatherette....

Well it's a good thing that those girls who are buying them disagree!

FYI I use and love my two Nikonos V cameras - one green, one orange.
To call a white Leica fugly while having those hand barnacles at home is a bit of a stretch...

 

[giganova]

Leica a fashion statement? 😱 Haven't they been for decades?

You clearly have to give them private tutorials how to properly use them. 😀

 

[nikonosguy]

Well it's a good thing that those girls who are buying them disagree!

FYI I use and love my two Nikonos V cameras - one green, one orange.
To call a white Leica fugly while having those hand barnacles at home is a bit of a stretch...

my nikonos5 is a thing of beauty along with the waterproof brownish canvas bag