I used to work in a camera
shop in the early 70s here in Minneapolis.
At that time we were the largest Leica dealer in town. In addition to local customers we also sold a
fair amount of Leica gear to visitors of the Twin Cities, mainly because the
store was right in the middle of the downtown shopping district.
I remember the following
quite well. It was early morning; hardly
any customers were in the store, when a young guy walked in asking if we sold
Leica equipment. He wanted to see a
Leicaflex SL2. He explained he was
interesting in updating his equipment.
Since it wasn’t busy at all I decided to spend extra time with him. He looked familiar for one reason, but I
couldn’t quite figure out who he was when one of my colleagues came up to me if
I knew who he was. I told him that I
couldn’t quite place him.
“That’s Keith Jarrett.”
Then I knew. I had just recently obtained a recording of
his famous “Köln Concert.” He was in
town for a couple of concerts over the weekend.
It quickly became obvious that Keith was quite knowledgeable about
photography and Leica in particular, and he definitely knew what he was looking
for.
I don’t quite remember
what particular lenses he was interested in, but I am quite sure we discussed
wide angle, normal and telephoto lenses.
When he had made a decision, and when I began to put his order together,
my boss asked me if I could talk to him for a minute.
Keith Jarret c. 1980
Keith was definitely not
your standard Leica customer. At the
time his hair was quite long and he also was wearing a beard. His dress consisted of Jeans, a T-shirt and a
military style jacket. Needless to say,
this hadn’t escaped my boss.
“Is he buying all that
stuff?”
“Yes, he is.”
“Make sure he is paying
cash!”
Of course there was no
need to worry. Keith paid with a credit
card, but I would have gladly opened a charge account for him.
Unfortunately I have never
had the opportunity to meet him again.
It would have been interesting to know how the new Leicaflex outfit
worked for him. Especially some of the
results would have been interesting to see.
I have followed his career
over the years and I often think back to this particular time of a Saturday
morning at Jay’s Cameras. I still use
this little story at times to show that you can’t judge a book by its cover or
that not all Leica customers look the same.
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HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS FOR THE LEICA ENTHUSIAST
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Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS FOR THE LEICA ENTHUSIAST
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
Maybe this will help getting rid of the myth that all Leica owners are doctors and dentists
ReplyDeleteA few of us are lawyers.
DeleteSorry, I didn't mean to discriminate.
Delete