Wednesday, July 31, 2019

AN AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHER


Marlies Amling


A while ago I received a phone call from Claire Yaffa.  She needed my mailing address because she decided to send me three of her books.  That made think how lucky I am to know her.  As Leica owners, we are indeed lucky.  Our cameras are used and have been used by almost every photographer of note. Today’s photography is unthinkable without the contributions of the Leica and its users.

But only a relatively small number of photographers have received international acclaim.  It is safe to say that a larger number of excellent photographers work and have worked in relative obscurity.

One such photographer is my sister Marlies Amling.  She grew up in the photography business of our father in Barntrup, Germany.  After completing trade schools and the Hamburger Fotoschule (Hamburg School of Photography) and after working for several photographers as an apprentice, she earned the title of Meister Fotograf (Master Photographer).

Marlies with me in front of our dad's studio

She took over the business of our father.  Her skills enabled her and her husband to grow the business and to become known much beyond the city limits.  But in a rural area growth was necessarily limited.  The result was that they sold Foto Studio Amling, the former Foto Richter in Barntrup and took over an existing studio in Weilburg, just 30 miles outside of Frankfurt.  Weilburg is also just about 12 miles from Wetzlar.


Over the years there has always been a friendly rivalry between the two of us.  I don’t hesitate to say that usually I have come out at the back end of this “competition.”   I gladly admit that she is the better photographer.



I have certainly done alright for myself, but Marlies has a much better eye for photography.  She sees things that I simply overlook.  The result is that she has a substantially larger archive of excellent photographs of quite a different number of venues and subject matters.


Her main business was portraits and related photography.  She also published a book titled “Gesichter Einer Stadt” (Faces of a City), which shows a large cross section of the people in Weilburg.


Another relatively large body of work is her travel photographs.  Marlies and her husband have been fortunate to be able to travel extensively.  Definitely no common travel snapshots here.


Due to an illness Marlies decided to retire a few years ago and to move to a new place just outside of Munich.  But that doesn’t mean she does no longer take photographs.  She is as good as ever and I hope that we will see a lot more of her work in the coming years.












For other articles on this blog please click on Blog Archive in the column to the right


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Buy vintage Leica cameras from 
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Sunday, July 28, 2019

FOUR EXTREMELY RARE LEICA CAMERAS


Recent auctions have resulted in astonishingly high prices for rare Leica cameras, a trend for which there seems no limit in sight.  Here is a group of four extremely rare Leica cameras.  One can only wonder what the current market price might be.




On top is a Leica 250 in excellent condition.  These cameras were usually subjected to a great amount of wear and tear which makes the condition of this camera all the more surprising.  This particular example was derived from a Leica IIIa, making it a Leica 250 GG Reporter model.  It was produced from the second half of 1935 up to 1943.

At the last Leica Camera auction two Leica 250 FF Reporter models sold for 6,500 Euros each.  However, those cameras could also be equipped with an electric motor.  At the same auction, a Leica 250 GG Rporter with the electric motor sold for 380,000 Euros.

Below, in the middle of the right side and to the left of it are two Leica Compours, equipped with an Elmar 50mm f/3.5 lens with central leaf shutter, giving a range of shutter speeds between 1 sec and 1/300 sec. These were the first Leica cameras to offer shutter speeds down to 1 sec.  The version with the black dial set shutter was produced in just 628 examples between 1928 and 1929, while the other, dial set version was produced in 1024 units between 1928 and 1931.

At the bottom is an extremely rare Leica Anastigmat, a Leica 1 or model A, dating back to 1925.  It is part of the first production batch of these cameras.  Equipped with a 5 element, 50mm f/3.5 Anastigmat lens, it was manufactured in less than 150 units.

An example of this camera was sold at the last Leica Camera auction for 5,500 euros.



For other articles on this blog please click on Blog Archive in the column to the right


_____________________________________________________________________


http://www.reddotcameras.co.uk/


                                   



      www.eddycam.com   


      


Buy vintage Leica cameras from 
America's premier Leica specialist 

                          
           http://www.tamarkinauctions.com/               http://www.tamarkin.com/leicagallery/upcoming-show





Click on image to enlarge



Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography

Click on image to enlarge
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography

Click on image to enlarge
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography