M Vision, My Vision - Leica Photographic Workshop

Out of the Black Forest
It looks like the boys from Wetzlar are out of the woods…for now. According to numerous press releases and scuttlebutt from my sources, the Company will survive as an independent entity. Don’t look for a Fuji-Leica M camera, or Nokia-Leica camera phones just yet! In a couple of years all bets are off. That’s the good news.

The Bad News is that Leica Camera USA announced a 13% (more or less) price increase as of July first 2005. It’s the burden we have to bear for keeping the company in business. Before you reach for a handful of antacids to relieve that upset stomach, I have a confession to make. In June I placed a large order, so I’m not planning to implement the new prices until September.

Ever-ready with a twist
Leica is having a fantastic promotion on their relatively new and fantastic compact cameras, the CM and CM zoom. Upon the purchase of either camera, they are sweetening the deal with a free ever-ready Leica leather case. (Click here for details.)

The twist is at Camtec Photo—Leicaboutique we’ll give you the case immediately upon purchase. There’s no need for a coupon or a 4-6 week waiting period. Both cameras are in stock.

The far white north as seen through a Leica lens
On display in the store: I have a small collection of black & white photographs taken in the James Bay region by Jean Guillaume Caplain. If you are in the vicinity please drop by to take a look. They are quite special!

FYI: LFI is now Cheaper and easier to get
In the last newsletter I forgot to mention that for several months now I’ve been receiving 10 issues for each period of LFI magazines for sale at the store. The price is C$10.00.

M Vision, My Vision Workshop Update

For photographers using M-series cameras: Announcing the first of what we hope will become a continuing series of Photo Ateliers (French for workshops) entitled M Vision, My Vision. Coaching and inspiration will be provided by working pros. The first gathering features Leica luminaries Peter Martin and Steve Simon.

What is M Vision? I believe that it is 50% of what makes an M camera great. Its uniqueness lies in elegant simplicity: look through the viewfinder and see an undisturbed image of life! Nothing is dramatized nor distorted. Unlike an SLR, there is no compression and no skewed wide-angle view. Your vision and your purpose are paramount.

I’d like to express my gratitude to all who called and wrote with enthusiastic comments for the upcoming M Vision, My Vision workshop. It will be an inspiring and creative gathering. Due to a scheduling conflict with one of our guest professionals, the atelier is being moved from a September 16 starting date to October 21. (I believe that this will also better accommodate some of our clients.)

Those interested please contact me beforeSeptember 21 to reserve a place. As both Steve and Peter presently reside in the United States, I will need about a month to make arrangements concerning travel, hotel, etc…

What follows is a sampling of the accomplishments and contributions of our two eminent guests:

Steve Simon
Steve Simon has been passionate about documenting life through photography since he began wandering around Montreal taking photographs
at age 12.

At age 18 he started writing his photo column in The Gazette and syndicated it across Canada and to The New York Times.

His books include Healing Waters: The Pilgrimage To Lac Ste. Anne, (University of Alberta Press) and Empty Sky, documenting the pilgrimage of people to New York’s Ground Zero, published and excerpted by Time-Life Books in The American Spirit. Two additional books are forthcoming: America At The Edge to be published by the Center for American Places and The Republicans by Charta Art Books, Milan Italy.

Steve has received numerous awards including Canadian Newspaper Photographer Of The Year, CP Picture Of The Year and The Global Health Photography Award for his work documenting AIDS in Africa. He has had solo shows in New York, Buenos Aires, Mannheim, Toronto and Montreal, including three presentations at the prestigious Visa Pour L'Image Festival of Photojournalism in Perpignan, France.

Recent work has appeared in Mother Jones, The New York Times Magazine, Colors, German Geo, Walrus and Harpers. He is a graduate of Concordia
University Communications-Photography as well as Dawson Institute of
Photography. He lives in New York City.

Peter Martin
Peter Martin developed his first pictures at age 13. By 16, he was a pro with a photo splashed across the front page of a Toronto daily. At 17 he became the official photographer for the Miss Teen Canada and Miss Canada beauty pageants. He has been both a freelance and staff photographer for various daily and weekly newspapers throughout Canada including The Oakville Journal Record, Edmonton Sun, and for the last 16 years, The Montreal Gazette.

Over the last 25 years, Peter has traveled extensively on assignment and has won significant critical acclaim. Among his awards are included The National Newspaper Award for his photograph of Terry Fox, and The Recognition of Achievement Award from both Ontario and Alberta News Photographers Associations.

Peter has been published in numerous travel and news magazines including Time, Newsweek, Maclean's, and Sports Illustrated. He has contributed extensively to books including A Day in the Life of Canada, A Day in the Life of the N.H.L., and The Ice Storm, (an historic record of photographs from January 1998).

His work has been displayed in numerous solo and group exhibits in the United States, including shows at The Washington Gallery of Photography and The Maryland Federation of Art

People don't watch enough. They think. It's not the same thing.
—Henri Cartier-Bresson

Steve and Peter will kindle or rekindle your interest in photography. Their passion is infectious, their experience and drive unparalleled. The workshop will explore photography as both a powerful and creative means of self-expression. It will be conducted in English. Future ateliers will be hosted in French by Francophone pros.

The workshop will look at how we see and how we present this vision to others. Through group discussion, photographic exercises and friendly critiques, we will be encouraged to define and refine our vision. The building block concepts of place, happening and purpose will be looked at from a photojournalistic perspective. We will learn how to develop our own photo essay.

Workshop nuts and bolts:

The atelier is scheduled for October and is a not-for-profit endeavor. Fees cover film, photofinishing, equipment rental, meals and our instructors’ remuneration.

Date:

Friday, October 21st through Sunday, October 23rd

Number of attendees:

15 to 20.

Cost:

C$275.00 This fee includes:

10 rolls 135-36 of C-41 film, processing, contact sheet and scanning to CD.
Meals during the meetings as well as the final lunch on Sunday.

Tentative schedule:

Days	Schedule
Friday October, 21st	early lunch (11:00) group introduction meet Steve and Peter presentations by Steve and Peter information about the assignment go out for the remainder of the day to shoot wrap up photography at 18:00 (Steve and peter Edit Work for Next Morning Critique)
Saturday October 22nd	early breakfast meeting to view the photographs from the day before discussion and one-on-one critique get new assignment and the shooting location for the day wrap up photography at 17:00 (Steve and peter Edit Work for Next Morning Critique)
Sunday October 23rd	early breakfast meeting instruction on the assignment and the shooting location go to location and shoot until 14:00 meet at restaurant for a late lunch view the compiled body of work choose the best of the atelier wrap up around 17:00

Always looking forward to your comments. Have a great summer!

Photographically yours,

Jean Bardaji
Leicaboutique.com & Camtec Photo