Text
and photos : José Manuel Serrano Esparza
©
jmse
Since
his teenage years in Brooklyn ( New York ), Daniel Zirinsky was
smitten with small photographic devices able to get great pictures,
and after graduating as a Bachelor of Science at Syracuse University
in 1949, that fascination grew by leaps and bounds, turning him into
an avid user and researcher of 24 x 36 mm format cameras and lenses,
particularly those ones manufactured by Leitz, Zeiss Ikon and Nikon,
in addition to having proved a flair for photography since 1950.
Right
off the bat, everything related to top-notch 35 mm cameras and lenses
became a tremendous passion for him, along with his unswerving love
for black and white photography, making in 1955 two great aerial
images : one capturing the Upper East River as a shimmering body of
water flowing around the Fiorello Laguardia Airport (which would soon
be expanded) and Rikers Island, and a further one depicting the
network of highways and railroads of Newton Creek, which was then the
most concentrated industrial area of the United States and the
epicenter of New York´s commercial activity.
Daniel Zirinsky, an authority on Leica topics. He was a
photographer with Leica screwmount and M cameras for sixty-five years
since 1950. Born in 1927, he was one of the first users of mirrorless
full frame Leica M System of Cameras and Lenses in mid fifties, just
after the launching of the Leica M3 in Photokina Köln 1954, and he
had got one of the best Leica Literature libraries in the world,
including original instruction books and information on the rarest
cameras given to him by Ernst Leitz III. Here he appears with a Leica
1 Model C Standard Mount from 1931 (the first full frame compact
mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses in the world, thanks to
a lens mounting flange to film plane distance fixed at 28.8 mm) with
Leitz Elmar 5 cm f/3.5 and solid leather case. At first, each
interchangeable lens had to be individually matched to the body, but
in early 1931 a standardized lens mount was devised and every lens
could be made to be coupled to any Leica 1C camera from serial number
65,001 onwards. Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza
Throughout
his sixty-five years of infatuation with photography, Daniel Zirinsky
was Member of the Leica Historical Society of America, Nikon
Historical Society, Zeiss Historica, Photographic Historical Society
of New England, Photographic Historical Society of New York and
Photographic Society of Hong-Kong, as well as having been Vice
President of the Great Neck Color Camera Club in New York (within
which he won the Print of the Year Award, the Color Print of the Year
Award 1989-90, 28 awards and 42 honorary mentions).
By
dint of perseverence, increasing knowledge and gleaned experience, he
was able to gather a vast assortment of photographic cameras, lenses
and accessories that wquality ould turn after a few years into one of the
best collections in the world, featuring museum and being
steadily enhanced by his travels all over the globe searching for
top-class equipment in mint condition.
His
curiosity and yearn for learning were boundless and he likewise
managed to get a wonderful and very extensive trove of photographic
literature, with highly valuable books and magazines ranging between
mid XIX Century and late XX one.
Moreover,
he was a great enthusiast of photographic exhibitions and top-drawer
black and white prints on baryta paper, to such an extent that he
often travelled with his beloved wife Gilda Schiff and visited
picture galleries and museums all over the world.
©
jmse
AN
OUTSTANDING ADVOCATOR OF LTM39 LEICA CAMERAS, LENSES AND OSKAR
BARNACK´S FUNDAMENTAL TENETS
Daniel
Zirinsky, a highly experienced user of both screwmount and Leica M
cameras and lenses,
Daniel
Zirinsky during the 2008 LHSA Annual Meeting in Louisville (Kentucky)
indicating something with a ball-pen to Mark Theken from Canton
(Ohio).
© jmse
knew
perfectly that Leica M rangefinder cameras and objectives are the
ones able to deliver peerless image quality,
Mark
Theken showing a small picture of a Leica M prototype lens in a
catalogue to Daniel Zirinsky during the 2008 LHSA Annual Meeting in
Louisville (Kentucky).
© jmse
Pages
thirty and thirty-one of the landmark article titled M for
Illustrious written by the British world-class expert on photographic
optics Geoffrey Crawley inside the special number of Amateur
Photographer magazine
of November 27, 2004, delving into the need of faster speed lenses
for Leitz from early fifties, which resulted in the inception of the
new Leica M bayonet and the reference-class Leica M System of 24 x 36
mm format cameras and lenses. Daniel Zirinsky was a passionate reader
of photography magazines throughout his lifetime.
© jmse
thanks
to their bayonet M created by Hugo Wehrenfennig in 1950 (featuring a
flange distance of 27.8 mm and external diameter of 44 mm, making
possible the design of more luminous lenses) and a reference-class
coupled range-viewfinder ( enabling the photographer to
simultaneously focus and compose) which is a masterpiece of
opto-mechanical precision and features more than 150 parts,
Leica
M3 with Summicron-M 50 mm f/2 Type 1 (1953-1960). It meant a quantum
leap in terms of optomechanical quality based on the perfect
integration of the rangefinder into the viewfinder, so unlike the
single-lens reflex cameras in which the focal length and the speed of
the lens determine the precision of distance measurements, the
measurement base of the RF in a Leica M always remains identical,
irrespective of the focal length of the lens being used, so both the
distance measure and focusing accuracy of a Leica M with short and
medium focal length lenses between roughly 28 mm and 90 mm is far
better than with reflex cameras, even under very dim light
conditions, particularly at the widest apertures.
© jmse
with
the Leica M3 as jewel of the crown with its superb, crisp and very
brilliant 0.91x viewfinder boasting the most accurate focus of any
Leica camera made hitherto, both in the analogue and digital domains.
On
their turn, the Leica screwmount cameras don´t feature a combined
viewfinder and rangefinder assembly, but separate eyepieces for the
VF and the RF, so the photographer has to focus first with the
rangefinder and then compose with the viewfinder (Zeiss Ikon had gone
far ahead of Leica for eighteen years in this regard, with its Contax
II rangefinder camera from 1936, the first one sporting a rangefinder
and viewfinder combined in a single window, with the added advantage
of a huge rangefinder baselength of 90 mm, with a magnification of
0.75x, giving a stunning effective baselength of 67.5, even longer
than the 62.33 mm effective baselength in the Leica M3, though the
latter´s clarity of the RF patch is better).
Daniel Zirinsky talking to the legendary Rolf Fricke (former
regional Director of Marketing Communications at the Eastman Kodak
Company in Rochester, cofounder of the Leica Historical Society of
America in 1968, founder of the Leica Historical Society of England
in 1969, and founder of the Leica Historica Deutschland in 1975 along
with Theo Kisselbach) during the 2008 LHSA Annual Meeting in
Louisville (Kentucky). In the background, out of focus, can be seen
part of Rolf Fricke´s extraordinary collection of screwmount Leica
cameras from twenties and early thirties which he displayed and was
daily relished by every attendee. The emotional intensity and passion
of both while speaking about Leica topics can be seen on their facial
expressions.
© jmse
In
addition, Leica screwmount cameras like the Leica III (1933-1939) are
optimized to be used with 50 mm lenses in symbiosis with a 1.5 x
rangefinder magnification, needing specific external VFs to leverage
objectives of other focal lengths, while the Leica M cameras (with
choice of rangefinder magnifications of 0.58x, 0.68x, 0.72x, 0.85x
and 0.91 x) can use a slew of lenses between roughly 28 mm and 135 mm
without specific external viewfinders, thanks to their selective
framelines and parallax correction, as well as being better to get
very precise focus with tele lenses or on using very large apertures.
Another instant of the conversation between Rolf Fricke and Daniel
Zirinsky during the 2008 Leica Historical Society of America Annual
Meeting in Louisville (Kentucky). Near them you can see Thomas
Campbell from Charleston (South Carolina) with Igor Reznik ( owner of
Igor´s Camera photo gear shop in Cleveland, Ohio ).
© jmse
But
Daniel Zirinsky also realized that screwmount Leica cameras are the
ones more linked to Oscar Barnack´s essential keynotes of very small
cameras and lenses delivering great images and also outstanding
photographic tools to capture expressive attitudes or prevailing
moods and obtain meaningful pictures oozing spontaneity and
expressing what he saw and felt in the subjects he photographed or
the places he captured with his Leicas during his trips, sides more
important for him than getting a huge technical perfection in the
images. Not in vain, he made many of his first pictures in early
fifties with high speed for the time and grainy Kodak Super-XX ISO
200 black and white film (the photojournalistic all-round emulsion
par excellence for shooting handheld before the launching into market
of Kodak Tri-X in 1954) yielding low contrast, a long scale of tones
and excellent latitude, so it endured very well both overexposure and
underexposure.
And
LTM39 mount cameras like the Leica III (1933-1939) with its 1.5x VF
magnification coupled to standard 50 mm lenses were an excellent
photographic tool offering a very good effective rangefinder
baselength of 0.58x, superior to the 49 mm effective baselength of
0.72x VF Leica M cameras and very near the 59 mm effective
rangefinder baselength of 0.85 x VF ones and the 62 mm effective
rangefinder baselength of the Leica M3.
Rolf
Fricke´s impressive collection of screwmount Leica cameras
manufactured between 1920 and 1931 displayed during the 2008 LHSA
Annual Meeting in Louisville (Kentucky). This landmark trove of
jewels harking back to the beginning of the international projection
of the German photographic firm included an exceedingly valuable item
: Oscar Barnack´s second 35 mm camera from 1920, which led to the
O-Series and had been recently revealed. Daniel Zirinsky revelled in
observing these historical cameras from a very near distance during
the two days event. In front of the cameras is the gorgeous book
Barnacks Erste Leica :
Das Zweite Leben Einer
Vergessenen Historischen Kamera (Barnack´s First Leica
: The Second Life of a Forgotten
Historical Camera)
published by Lindemanns Verlag and written by Hans-Günther
Kisselbach (son of the legendary Theo Kisselbach, Director of the
Leica School, revived by him in Wetzlar from late forties), in which
he elaborates on his discovery in 2003 of Oskar Barnack´s second 24
x 36 mm format prototype camera from 1920 within his father´s
collection and the four-year study of the camera (that worked like a
charm eighty-three years after its construction and still yields good
images nowadays) he carried out between 2003 and 2007, in addition to
showing the pictures he made with it, some of which also appeared in
two excellent reviews : the first one made by Alfred Wehner´s in the
number 96 of the German magazine Vidom
of December 2007, and the second one made by Edward Schwartzreich in
the Volume 42 Number 3 2009 of Viewfinder
magazine.
© jmse
In
addition, broadly speaking, LTM39 Leitz cameras are superior to M
ones in some important aspects :
a)
Tiny size and weight. As a matter of fact, however incredible it may
seem, the screw mount Leica cameras and lenses are not only smaller
and lighter than Leica M ones, but also in comparison to the smallest
24 x 36 mm format current digital cameras like the Sony Alpha 7 and 9
lineup.
Top
plate of a Leica III from 1936. From left to right you can see the
rewinding knob, the acessory shoe, the fast shutter speed dial with
values between 1/30 s and 1/1000 s, the shutter release button with
the reversing lever over it, and the turn winding knob with the
exposure counter around it. And just above the LTM39 mount can be
seen the left RF window, the VF window, the right RF window and the
slow shutter speed dial with times between 1/20 s and 1 second. The
beauty and elegance of contours, knobs and dials in the Leica
screwmount saga of 35 mm cameras along with the posh appearance of
the metallic surfaces are truly splendid.
© jmse
For
example, a Leica III (1933-1939) features a size of 136 x 39 x 65 mm
and a weight of 410 g, being smaller and lighter than the Leica M3 (
138 x 77 x 33.5 mm and 580 g), the Leica M2 (138 x 77 x 33.5 mm) and
560 g), the Leica M6 (138 x 77 x 33.5 mm and 585 g), and also clearly
beats in this regard the very small digital full frame cameras Sony
Alpha 7 (127 x 94 x 48 mm and 474 g), the Sony Alpha 7RIV (129 x 96 x
78 mm and 665 g), the Sony Alpha 9 (126.9 x 95.6 x 63 mm and 673 g)
and Sony Alpha 9 II (128.9 x 96.4 x 77.5 mm and 678 g).
A
riveting sight : detail of the Leica III from 1936 turn winding knob
(featuring an incredibly accurate knurling) with the exposure counter
around it . The painstaking manufacturing perfection and laudable
miniaturized engineering of screwmount Leica cameras always
enthralled David Zirinsky. Also visible on the right is the very
sturdy strap lug for transport. © jmse
b)
The beauty and cosmetic appearance of cameras and lenses. Though
entering a subjective sphere, it seems apparent that screwmount Leitz
photographic tools are the most beautiful ever made by the German
firm.
c)
The amazingly tiny size and weight of lenses. Most times, LTM39 mount
Leitz lenses get the upper hand in this aspect in comparison to M
ones,
Old
uncoated Leitz Elmar 50 mm f/3.5, best photographic lens in the world
along with Ludwig Bertele´s Carl Zeiss Jena 5 cm f/1.5 until 1953
(when the 7 elements in 6 groups Summicron-M 50 mm f/2 Type 1 was
created). Though featuring a relatively low luminosity to modern
standards, it keeps on delivering very good resolving power and
contrast, together with outstanding reistance to flare. Daniel
Zirinsky, a great collector of 50 mm Leica lenses both in LTM39 and M
mount, knew all the many changes in mechanical components, radius of
surfaces and distance from position of aperture to first element
undergone by the Leitz Elmar 50 mm f/3.5 during its thirty-seven
years of production between 1924 and 1961.
© jmse
with
objectives like the 4 elements in 3 groups Leitz Elmar 50 mm f/3.5,
sporting a length of 32 mm (10 mm when collapsed), a front outer
mount diameter of 36 mm and a weight of 111 g.
Needless
to say that the 28.8 mm flange distance of the LTM39 mount was
instrumental to make possible the design and manufacture of such
incredibly small and light lenses.
That´s
why the Leitz Elmar 50 mm f/3.5 in M mount has an almost double
weight with 210 g.
Whatever
it may be, Leica M lenses are more modern and far better than LTM39
mount ones, particularly in terms of resolving power, contrast,
impressive performance at widest aperture (in such a way that on
stopping down you only gain depth of field), uniformity of results at
every diaphragm, thanks to new breakthrough manufacturing techniques,
improved coatings, new glass types discovered, use of cutting-edge
CNC machines, state-of-the-art optical softwares, etc.
d)
The overall craftsmanship. Evidently, a Leica M3, M2, M6, M7 or
digital models like the Leica M10, M10-P, Leica Monochrom and others
are masterpieces of precision.
But
though being much older,
Right
diagonal image of the Leica III from 1936 coupled to a 6 elements in
4 groups Leitz Summar 5 cm f/2, an amazingly small and light lens for
its large aperture at the time, with a length extended of 47 mm and a
weight of 177 g.
© jmse
the
screwmount Leitz cameras and lenses are the cream of the crop of
craftsmanship ever made by Leica,
Upwards
view of the Leica III from 1936 in which can be discerned that form
follows function. The special dial for slow speeds (1/20 s, 1/8 s,
1/4 s, 1/2 s and 1 second) located on the upper front right area of
the camera and working through a train gear built for it inside the
shutter mechanism, was the fruit of many years of intensive toil by
Oskar Barnack, until he managed to create it in 1933, so from then
on, the capabilities of Leica screwmount cameras shooting handheld to
get sharp pictures under dim light conditions improved hugely, as
proved by Daniel Zirinsky, who went on using them during XXI
Century, shooting top quality black and white and colour ASA 400 and
800 high speed films with very scarce grain thanks to new emulsion
technologies.
© jmse
real
benchmarks of mechanical accuracy and miniaturized engineering, which
were manufactured in an utterly 100% manual way, with lavishness of
very high quality noble metals like aluminum and brass and boasting
amazing completely mechanical and whispering horizontal travelling
cloth focal plane shutters created by Oskar Barnack and Ludwig Leitz.
Pages
26 and 27 of the sensational article by Ivor Matanle (the most
important expert in the world on classic cameras along with Jim
McKeown) in the Amateur
Photography magazine
from February 9, 2002, explaining the superb mechanical construction
of prewar screwmount Leica cameras and lenses. Daniel Zirinsky fell
in love with these tiny and pretty light masterpieces of
craftsmanship in 1948 and kept that idyll during his whole life.
©
jmse
And
these screwmount Leica cameras and lenses were definitely built to
last, without any kind of programmed obsolescence, and nowadays, many
decades after their production, they go on working flawlessly and
hold an elegance and aura inherent to the halcyon days of the brand.
©
jmse
A
PRACTICAL APPROACH TO PHOTOGRAPHY
Daniel
Zirinsky always grasped that resolving power and contrast are not the
only important things.
He
was never a man subdued by MTF charts, scientific measures of lens
performances, tests and so forth.
Daniel
Zirinsky was a human being having a tremendous visual culture
stemming from the observation of millions of images throughout his
long activity as a photographer since early fifties and the myriad of
photography books, magazines, catalogues, photographic exhibitions,
baryta prints, etc, which he thoroughly watched once and again with
unbridled enthusiasm, in symbiosis with a deep knowledge of darkroom
secrets that he acquired after a lot of practice.
And
he was fully cognizant that it is not all about sharpness (which is
often confused with resolving power) either.
Because
sharpness is a very complicated concept not defining a measurable
parameter, but how the human brain perceives an image.
And
in spite of having a remarkable technological background, Daniel
Zirinsky was never a scientific person regarding photography.
He
was a man with great sensitivity and having a penchant for getting
pictures with special feeling, above all in terms of acutance,
vintage image aesthetics, special atmospheres captured, saturation,
distinctive depiction of textures, unique bokehs and so on.
And
Leica screwmount lenses are second to none in these aspects.
He
never valued photographic lenses focusing only on their resolving
power, contrast and sharpness, but also paying attention to a raft of
other important sides and subtleties.
Moreover,
Daniel Zirinsky (who strongly believed that the design of top class
lenses is an art more than a product of computers, optical softwares
or manufacturing automatic systems, so the human role is decisive)
was an indefatigable researcher of the different colour renderings
yielded by each specific lens, either warmer or colder, in addition
to thouroughly study the diaphragms positions inside the lens barrels
( he was particularly enthralled by the exquisite and ten curved
blades aperture of the Elmar 50 mm f/3.5, constantly round at every
diaphragm ), the variations of sharpness between center, borders and
corners of a wide range of lenses, the transitions between planes of
focus with bokehs at largest apertures, their higher or lower
uniformity of resolving power across the frame, the falloff at the
edges as an aesthetic and creative means, etc.
And
though praising and admiring incredibly perfect lenses like the 8
elements in 5 groups Summilux-M 50 mm f/1.4 ASPH designed by Peter
Karbe, he was particularly happy on using some screw mount lenses
designed by Max Berek, suffering from some chromatic aberrations but
delivering very special signature, character and a unique image
aesthetics of their own, like the uncoated Leitz Elmar 50 mm f/3.5
(1926-1944),
6
elements in 4 groups Summaron 35 mm f/3.5. Though far from being a
stellar performer in terms of resolving power and contrast, it is a
superb and tiny lens (200g) for artistic black and white photography,
spawning very unique looking images thanks to its very special blend
of vignetting, softness and contrast. It was one of David Zirinsky´s
favourite lenses.
© jmse
the
Summaron 35 mm f/3.5 (1946-1960), the Summitar 50 mm f/2 (1939-1955),
the Hektor 73 mm f/1.9 (1931-1946), the Thambar 90 mm f/2.2
(1935-1949), the thin Elmar 90 mm f/4 (1933-1948),
4
elements in 3 groups Elmar 90 mm f/4 (1949-1963) in LTM39 mount, a
very small and light tele lens for its focal length (being 86 mm
long, with a weight of 280 g) oozing beauty, elegance and class to
spare, boosted by the chrome all over its surface and the narrow
vulcanite band near its base. It boasts character, in addition to
yielding very nice vintage colours, different from much modern
lenses, and a very beautiful bokeh. In spite of being evidently very
far from stellar performers like the Apo-Summicron-M 90 mm f/2 ASPH
both in widest luminosity and resolving power /contrast attained, the
Elmar 90 mm f/4 is still an excellent choice for portraiture, thanks
to its incredible ergonomics, its unutterable convenience of use
shooting handheld and the unique kind of vintage results it delivers,
both in black and white and colour, making it also ideal for creative
photography.
© jmse
Elmar
90 mm f/4 (1949-1963) and others.
Moreover,
though being a world-class collector of Leica photographic gear,
Daniel Zirinsky always thought that Leica cameras and lenses are
fundamentally photographic tools to be used and get pictures with
them.
And
he was likewise a discerning and very knowledgeable buyer of second
hand products in good condition, which he personally checked
thoroughly, paying heed to every detail, as proved by this sequence
of him examining a Leica Digilux 2 camera with Leica DC
Vario-Summicron 17-22.5 ASPH lens sold by Carl Merkin (a New York
based professional photographer with 53 years of experience, veteran
trader of Leica photographic gear having it down to a science and
also a legendary member and director of the LHSA, who worked as sales
representative in Leica Store Soho New York) in his booth during the
2008 LHSA Annual Meeting in Louisville (Kentucky) :
©
jmse
©
jmse
 |
| © jmse |
©
jmse
Daniel
Zirinsky and Carl Merkin grabbing the 5 megapixel Leica Digilux 2 at
the same time. This great digital compact camera, designed by
Professor Achim Heine in 2003, produced an excellent image quality
thanks to its first-rate Leica DC Vario-Summicron 17-22.5 ASPH zoom
lens.
© jmse
A
HAPTIC CONCEPTION OF PHOTOGRAPHY
A
highly respected member of the LHSA wholeheartedly attending to its
Annual Meetings and a fervent reader of
Cover
of the Volume 41, Number 1, 2008 of Viewfinder,
the LHSA gorgeous magazine, passionately perused by Daniel Zirinsky
during his life, and which through strenuous effort and passion of
decades has become the reference-class publication on Leica topics in
the world along with Vidom
and Leica Fotografie
International.
Particularly praiseworthy in this regard has been the great labour
fulfilled by Bill Rosauer (Viewfinder Editor since year 2000,
President Emeritus of the LHSA along with Rolf Fricke and James
Lager, one of the most influential personalities in the history of
the brand, who founded with his father in 1983 the second store in
United States exclusively devoted to Leica products — the first one
had been Photo Visuals Photo Visuals Minneapolis in 1979— with his
shop in the suburban Chicago area, graduated in three Leica
Akademies, remarkable expert on a wide variety of Leica subjects and
great friend of Knut Kühn-Leitz, he has been a Leica user for 40
years, featuring a 30 years experience as a professional
photographer, retailer and collector, having also served as a
consultant to Leica Camera AG for twenty years on varios special
projects, among them the fantastic " Total Wetzlar Experience "
Der Leicaman Tours , including Leitz Park, Old Wetzlar and Haus
Friedwart, which he organizes every year, without forgetting his
great articles in
Viewfinder, MacFilos, etc).
© jmse
Viewfinder,
Leica
Fotografie Number 5 of 1959 including a great 11 page article on the
Leica photographer Izis Bildermanas with amazing pictures made by him
in Paris and Israel, a dazzling indoor reportage of the Munic´s
Oktoberfest made by Ernst Herb mostly with a Leica III coupled to
Leitz Hektor 135 mm f/4.5 and Summarit 50 mm f/1.5, shooting handheld
at f/4.5 and 1/30 s and at f/4 and 1/10 s, and delivering unique
images with vintage image aesthetics wonderfully capturing the very
special ambience of this event (particularly the colour one of page
205 made with Perutz C 18 film highlighting the beer jars), and a
still life made by Herbert List. Daniel Zirinsky was a devoted reader
of this magazine since early fifties, while he was still a fledging
photographer, and learnt very much from its section " An
Introduction to the Leica System ", written by experts like
Josef Makovec, Walther Benser, Dipl.Ing. W. Häfner, Hans Saebens,
Hermann Speer and others, as well as getting the knack of choosing
between Paul Wolff´s " Long exposure, short development "
and Beutler´s " Short exposure, long development "
principles on using black and white films.
© jmse
Leica
Fotografie International,
First
of the six page test made by Popular Photography magazine (one of
Daniel Zirinsky´s favourite publications) to the Leica M6
rangefinder camera, ten years after its launching into market in
1984, hailing it as the best 24 x 36 mm camera at that time. It was
the only 24 x 36 mm camera manufactured by the German photographic
firm until the appearance of the Leica M7 in 2002 with aperture
priority mode and electronically controlled shutter. With their
thriving sales, these two rangefinder models consolidated the
survival of the M camera breed that had been attained in 1976 by
Walter Kluck (Enterprising President of Ernst Leitz Canada in
Midland, Ontario, and a magician of cost estimating), when he
convinced Ernst Leitz Wetzlar to transfer the production of the Leica
M4-2 to Midland. Subsequently, Stefan Daniel (second to none in terms
of passion and knowledge on Leica M cameras in the history of the
brand) became from early nineties the key figurehead in the
development, international expansion and knowledge of the Leica M
concept, creating the first specifications for a digital M camera in
2001 and paving the way for the arrival of the Leica M8 in 2006 and
particularly the Leica M9 in 2009, with which Leica managed to
fulfill a stunning transition from analogue to the digital era,
mainly thanks to the courage, love for the brand, stunning
entrepreneurial skills and visionary mentality of Dr. Andreas
Kaufmann, the man who saved Leica in 2005, becoming the main
shareholder and architect of its prodigious turnaround until turning
it into a reference-class brand in the digital scope, with a highly
successful variety of state-of-the-art digital cameras and lenses in
different formats, after pouring its heart and soul into Leica Camera
AG and begetting a value creation engine within it.
© jmse
Popular
Photography,
Shutterbug
magazine number of February 1989, announcing on its cover, among
other things, a review of the Leica R6, an utterly mechanical slr
workhorse, featuring a superb construction with noble materials
(aluminum, bronze and zinc), a minimalist design and created to be
put to its paces in the hardest professional contexts, so it´s no
wonder that it was used by Sebastiao Salgado to do some of his
picture essays. This camera was a departure from the usal trends of
the time within dslr product segment, since it almost completely
lacks any electronics (with the exception of the built-in light
meter) and will keep on working at all shutter speeds if the
batteries die. Anyway, it boasts a very sophisticated metering system
for the time , with a silicon photodiode in the bottom of the mirror
box receiving light refelected from a special reflector (consisting
of 1,345 micro reflectors in a fresnel pattern) behind the mirror,
and its viewfinder is exceedingly bright and contrasty, in synergy
with the silky smoothness focusing of the superb Leica R lenses.
Daniel Zirinsky was a persistent reader of Shutterbug and sometimes
sent them copies of instructions manuals of specific products to help
other readers.
© jmse
Shutterbug
and many other specialized illustrated photographic magazines, Daniel
Zirinsky was a veteran and highly experienced photographer using both
screwmount and M mount rangefinder Leica cameras and lenses, and had
always a haptic conception of photography, firmly rooted on large
prints as cornerstone of his images production.
That´s
to say, photography was for Daniel Zirinsky an art which had to be
depicted on photographic paper or first-string inkjet papers like
Hahnemühle or Canson to be not only beholded but also touched and
smelled.
"
Leica Manual " for the Amateur and Professional Covering the
Field of Leica Camera Photography, a landmark book written and
published by Willard D.Morgan & Henry M. Lester. It was acquired
by Daniel Zirinsky in mid fifties and was the most important work in
its scope at that time, together with the also milestone Das
Leica Buch,
written by Theo Kisselbach in 1955 and published by Heering-Verlag.
©
jmse
Page
227 lower area from the January 1951 edition of the milestone book "
Leica Manual ", written and published by Willard D. Morgan &
Henry M. Lester, which was bought by Daniel Zirinsky in early
fifties. He was particularly mesmerized by the chapters devoted to
photojournalism, written by Arthur Rothstein, William Vandivert and
Alfred Eisenstaedt, with black and white photographs mostly made by
them. The image illustrating this page, made by 17 year old Stanley
Kubrick in 1946 working for Look
magazine with a Leica IIIc coupled to a Leitz Summar 50 mm f/2
shooting at f/2.8 and 1/8 seconds inside the New York underground,
became a turning point in Daniel´s life, convincing him about the
boundless possibilities of Leica rangefinder cameras shooting
handheld at incredibly low shutter speeds and going unnoticed, even
in the midst of very dim available light conditions inside a wagon at
night, capturing the special mood of every instant.
© jmse
And
to attain that goal, he always strove after getting the best possible
print, working hard for it during a lot of decades of intensive
learning with first-class enlargers, albeit always understanding that
the technical perfection of images is not the most significant thing,
but the conveyance of feelings, atmospheres, sensations, emotions and
a broad array of messages.
Daniel
Zirinsky with his beloved wife Gilda Schiff sitting at their booth
during the 2008 LHSA Annual Meeting in Louisville (Kentucky). She was
always an accomplished artist, who influenced by his husband changed
brush for a camera and lenses, making up a good team with Daniel,
sharing a lot of photographic experiences and getting pictures in
different countries.
© jmse
And
this raison d´être of photographic images was one of Daniel
Zirinsky´s driving forces in his life, along with his great sense of
humor, debonair nature and above all an unflinching love for his
family.
For other articles on this blog please click on Blog Archive in the column to the right
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