The term ‘classic’ evokes certain passions for objects that once were, and still are today, admired with enthusiasm for their style, craftsmanship and durability, not to mention a nostalgia for things of the past. There are classic cars, classic trains, classic watches and classic cameras. The latter work with film, not a digital memory card. They are easy to operate and obviously more fun. No ‘menus’, no fancy features, just mechanical dials, manual focus, frame your subject and shoot. I recall seeing an ad in a magazine, though it was not a photography magazine, for a Leica camera, a Leica M 6. The text extolled the fine craftsmanship with which every Leica is put together, and I remember reading that ‘it was made with love and care and there seems to be a soul in every Leica. Try to find this in one of those digital cameras.’
This book is an extension to my previous work, The Analog Camera. They do not pretend to be books on outstanding photography, but rather a mirror of everyday situations, of everyday people in their everyday environment. Naturally, I could not resist the temptation to include landscapes and historical landmarks.
