Friday, May 10, 2013

LEICA HATERS




Some Leica oriented blogs and websites seem to be an irresistible magnet for the Leica haters.  The moment a new post appears, they come out in droves, only to spew forth their venom.  I have decided to report on this here from time to time.  This is not an attempt to whitewash any valid criticism, however, it is meant to highlight how ridiculous some of these comments are.

A few days ago one of the Leica blogs reported on the Leica Gallery in Salzburg showing works by Leica photographer and Jazz trumpeter Till Bronner.  Because of the severe negativity of the comments accompanying this article, I will refrain from posting a link. 

The article reported about the exhibition and accompanied it with one of Bonner’s photographs.

 Leica Gallery Salzburg shows works by Till Bronner Leica Gallery Salzburg shows works by the photographer and jazz trumpeter Till Bronner

Here are some of the comments:

Oh come on leica, what a joke! another wannabe photographer. give your camera to a true pro photographer and not to musicians who wear your cameras like rolex.

That title photo is really disturbing.

Agreed. Looks like an assh*le. Literally.

Oh yes brother, that's exactly what came to my mind as soon as I saw it.

Yeah except that 'disturbing' would be an understatement...it's gross...ugh.
The comments below about assh*le is spot on.
What were they thinking?

I'm usually much too much a gentleman to comment on one like this...but it does remind me of the view of the south end of a north bound Pug.

It takes one to know one, I guess.

One might argue that these comments are in regard to the photo, that they have nothing to do with Leica as such.  However, I have been following the comments of this and many other posts on a regular basis.  They usually accompany articles about Leicas.  While these comments were mostly in regard to the photograph, they are generally just as severe when it comes to the Leica company and cameras.  For instance, a while ago several Nikon owners criticized Leica for making some of their equipment in their plant in Portugal instead of in Germany.  One even went as far as saying that all Leica equipment is made in Portugal and that they package and ship it from Germany in order to be able to say that it is made in Germany.  They totally ignored the fact that much of their camera equipment is not made in Japan but elsewhere, like China and Laos.  When it comes to Nikon and Canon equipment, the comments usually are much more professional and on topic.

I can’t figure out why people need to be so hateful about the Leica.  After all, many of their cameras of choice are made by a company that that got its initial impetus because of the Leica in the first place.  To me it shows a good dose of an inferiority complex that seems to create the need for these negative comments.  What do you think?



6 comments:

  1. I am generally in agreement with you. But I think they might have chosen a somewhat more attractive photo, I don't particularly like it.

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    Replies
    1. I fully understand that the photo is not to the liking of everybody. But any critique should be made at a level that is above the gutter. Obviously, the niveau of the above comments leaves a lot to be desired. I happen to like the photograph. I think it was taken in the tradition of Cartier Bresson's decisive moment. It shows a direct, intimate interaction between the subject and the photographer.

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  2. It is obvious that these haters are unable to look at the picture beyond their infantile imagination.

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  3. Of course the comments on that site had to come around to attacking Leica and Leica owners directly:

    "Check that 400x80 canvas print of Salzburg 360 panorama, asking price "only" Eur 7800.
    Oh my...they probably think Leica crowd is mad when it comes to money."

    "Priced right...for idiots that is...and those unskilled Leica owners that don't believe they could produce this 800x40 print on canvas by themselves for about ~US$250"

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  4. These people must have a gigantic inferiority complex that makes it necessary to react in such an infantile manner.

    ReplyDelete
  5. They might have chosen a somewhat more attractive photo.

    ReplyDelete