As an avid photographer from Vancouver and a massive fan of all things Leica, you can imagine how fortunate I feel to work at Canada’s only Leica boutique. I’m always excited when a rare and exclusive camera arrives at our store, such as the Lenny Kravitz’s ‘Corespondent’ special edition, the Safari M-P and the M ‘Edition 100‘.
I was also lucky enough to be invited along with Leica store and boutique sales people across North America to Leitz-Park in Wetzlar, Germany, Leica’s base of operation. Leica hosted us for 3 days for not only product training but to see first hand the quality and craftsmanship that make Leica the king of the photography mountain.
Leitz-Park is not only home to Leica’s devlopment and manufacturing but it’s also a stunning piece of modern architecture and design, a shrine to all things Leica.
In addition to the aforementioned factory and design wings, there’s also the Leica Akademie as well as exhibits featuring many of the brand’s most iconic cameras and the equally iconic images made with them.
Photos from legends such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Robert Capa and Nick Ut hung on the walls. Photos and photographers so historically important and significant to photography, journalism and art that they pop in your head with just a vague description. “The Decisive Moment” “Times Square Kiss.” “Falling Soldier.” “Napalm Girl.”
Everywhere from the lobby to the cafeteria to the factory floor is a stark, minimalist white, like something out of Minority Report or I, Robot.
We toured the Leica Gallery that’s currently exhibiting the work of internationally renowned contemporary fashion and beauty photographer Enrique Badulescu.
Our tour guide, Mr. Ellert, who leads Leica’s manufacturing process. It was reassuring to know that our instructors and lecturers for our time at Leica were the the real deal, the people actually charge at the front lines of Leica photography. Mr. Ellert recently injured his back but came in anyways because he felt he was the only one that could properly explain the level of precision and meticulousness that goes into every product they make.
This is Leica’s head of optical development, Dr. Peter Karbe, whose work has inspired generations of photographers all over the world. It was easy to see his passion for making the best products for photography. He spoke of the design process for lenses from the legacy of current designs to the challenges they have been able to overcome.
During Dr. Karbe’s explanation of the relationship between aperture, sensor size and depth-of-field, he shouted “My lenses are made to be used at open aperture!”. He’s quite proud of Leica lens’s tendency to be tack sharp, even wide open and it’s easy to spot the enthusiasm and passion everyone at Leica has for making the best products they can possibly make.
We got an up-close look at the way Leica makes their legendary optics on the factory tour. It was amazing to see how much of the equipment was entirely bespoke for a single process like milling or polishing. We were, of course, not allowed to take pictures of anything that may give away industry secrets.
We’ll take a look at some of the photographic treasures in the museum area of Leitz-Park in our next post!
David Fok is a Leica specialist at Broadway Camera Richmond’s Leica Boutique.