Exhibition view, Portraits by Paolo Roversi 1969

Going to see the exhibition on the last day wasn’t the wisest decision. The Kunstfoyer was overran by hundreds of people who took their last chance to see the highlights of 100 years of Leica photography. The first fully functioning model of a Leica camera was built by Oskar Barnack at Ernst Leitz Optische Werke, Wetzlar in 1914. It was the first camera that used standard 35mm cinema film. Due to the war the camera wasn’t launched until 1925, but then its story of success began. The camera marked a paradigm change in photography. The film role allowed the photographer to take 36 pictures in quick succession whilst the small format enabled to take the the camera everywhere and to capture the seen spontaneously. The Leica corresponded to the spirit of a new, fast-paced era. For most Leica photographers the camera wasn’t just a device, they had a close and affectionate relationship to their camera. The exhibition showed a range of different Leica models beginning with a reconstruction of the very first Leica. The photographs didn’t only represent the story of the Leica camera, rather they showed a history of photography. Between them you find iconic pictures of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa and Alfred Eisenstaedts famous kiss, V.J. Day, Time Square 1945. My personal highlights were the portraits by Bruce Gilden and Paolo Roversi. 

Exhibition view, Bruce Gilden “Portraits” 2013

Good to know if you wan’t to impress people with your photography knowledge:

The name Leica is a combination of the first three letters of the founders surname (Ernst Leitz) and the first two letters of the word camera.