100 Years of 35mm Photography

[William Monfredo]

In 1925, Leica presented the Leica 1 at the Leipzig Spring Fair in Germany 100 years ago and revolutionized photography and photojournalism forever.
Essentially, Oscar Barnack had asthma and didn't care to lug around the large, heavy equipment & plates common then, and he did something about it.

He took a motion-picture frame, doubled it in area, then he and Ernst Leitz made sure to have superb optics attachable to the camera body.
The 35mm camera and Henri Cartier-Bresson's photography-stylings of capturing quickly-changing yet decisive moments caught on very well.

Street photographers, war correspondents, artists, social commentators, & soon storm chasers realized the merits of the new "smaller" format.
I've enjoyed 35mm photography, but got forever spoiled when I had a chance to use Leica equipment...screw mount, M-series, and R-mount.

I purchased my quality Leica equipment used, sold it, but now really wish I still had it back.
This scan of my shot w/ a Leica shows a morning snowstorm clearing, Grand Canyon, AZ.

 

[Warren Faidley]

Thanks for posting this. I enjoyed the film days, because photography required a certain amount of skill and technical knowledge. People appreciated the work it took to achieve a great shot.

 

[gdlewen]

The expense of film photography always held me back, especially since my primary interest since undergraduate school was lightning photography. Lots of frames waiting for that great shot which sometimes was just outside the field of view. I still have my first 35mm camera, a Pentax K-1000 with kit lens, and will have it forever, but spending $$ on film when I have a D60 (and now a Z6) at hand is an energy barrier that's hard to overcome.