I'm went to the Mary Ellen Mark talk at opening of the the new Leica store in Los Angeles 6/21/13, complete with a 1930 Leica A and iphone.
Yes, the rumors are true. Included with every new Leica is your own personal Stairway to Heaven.
the artist outshone by her work
is it ever possible for an artist to really be seen and completely understood ?
notice the mixture of M and screw mount features
obviously this is Leica's next really large format film camera
it was a very interesting evening.
Mary Ellen Mark is an excellent speaker and shared herself and her work very graciously. She made a point of saying the days of in depth magazine assignments which worked effectively like a grant to discover the assigned subject were long past. The magazines of today prefer fluff and celebrities. My own favorites of her shots on display were the Apocalypse Now shots (Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Dennis Hopper, Francis Ford Coppola) and Henry Miller.
To this point in time she has only worked with film - never digital. 35mm, 2 1/4, 4x5 were mentioned. She plans to give digital Leicas a try.
I was surprised she is apparently not a gear head at all -- not being able to recall the type of Rollei SLR she used (presumably the SL66) and describing what sounded like a goggled 35mm lens on her M3 as "something in front of the viewfinder." My apologies in advance to Mary Ellen Mark if I got the wrong impression.
I came away from the "Leica Store" thinking the "Leica Photography Center" would seem a more appropriate name. The gallery and events seem to be the focus, not retail sales. The upstairs is a gallery, lecture hall, and meeting area. Downstairs also has gallery space combined with show cases. Thankfully parking is plentiful and its next door to a nice coffeehouse. Generally the photog exhibits was very well done. But curiously one seemed definitely not up to the otherwise high standards and out of place.
All in all, it was an evening well spent.
Stephen
Yes, the rumors are true. Included with every new Leica is your own personal Stairway to Heaven.
the artist outshone by her work
is it ever possible for an artist to really be seen and completely understood ?
notice the mixture of M and screw mount features
obviously this is Leica's next really large format film camera
it was a very interesting evening.
Mary Ellen Mark is an excellent speaker and shared herself and her work very graciously. She made a point of saying the days of in depth magazine assignments which worked effectively like a grant to discover the assigned subject were long past. The magazines of today prefer fluff and celebrities. My own favorites of her shots on display were the Apocalypse Now shots (Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Dennis Hopper, Francis Ford Coppola) and Henry Miller.
To this point in time she has only worked with film - never digital. 35mm, 2 1/4, 4x5 were mentioned. She plans to give digital Leicas a try.
I was surprised she is apparently not a gear head at all -- not being able to recall the type of Rollei SLR she used (presumably the SL66) and describing what sounded like a goggled 35mm lens on her M3 as "something in front of the viewfinder." My apologies in advance to Mary Ellen Mark if I got the wrong impression.
I came away from the "Leica Store" thinking the "Leica Photography Center" would seem a more appropriate name. The gallery and events seem to be the focus, not retail sales. The upstairs is a gallery, lecture hall, and meeting area. Downstairs also has gallery space combined with show cases. Thankfully parking is plentiful and its next door to a nice coffeehouse. Generally the photog exhibits was very well done. But curiously one seemed definitely not up to the otherwise high standards and out of place.
All in all, it was an evening well spent.
Stephen
