In June 1952, my maternal grandparents embarked on a life-changing move Graz, Austria, from their home since WWII, to New York City. My grandmother, six months pregnant with my mother, and grandfather were leaving behind all that they had ever known in order to join my grandmother’s siblings who had all moved to the US in the years around the war. A successful mechanic and former blacksmith, my grandfather decided to purchase a new camera to document this momentous journey. I’m not sure if he did this in Graz or Salzburg (their last stop before flying to NY), but in he bought himself a full outfit of a brand-new Leica IIIF, Summitar 50mm f2 collapsible lens, a leather Leica ever-ready case, flash, Leica light-meter, lens filters, timer, tripod, and lens hood. It must have been quite the financial outlay for him at the time, but clearly it was something that was important to him and he made sure to do it right.
He started taking pictures with his new camera right away, documenting my obviously pregnant grandmother around Salzburg, embarking on their plane, in-flight to the US, and then, shortly after they arrived in New York, the birth of my mother.
He continued taking pictures with the Leica for most of the ’50s. The pictures are generally the types of snapshots people have been taking for decades, but there are some really wonderful shots as well – my mother in traditional Gottscheer (the area they were originally from in what is now Slovenia) garb, a wonderful portrait of my grandmother. And then, I’m not sure why, for some reason in the early 60s, he put the Leica away and didn’t shoot it again.
After he passed away very shortly before his 96th birthday in 2008, my mother found the Leica and its accessories as well as 30+ rolls of processed, uncut film. Living in NYC, I had the film washed, scanned, and cut. While my mother recognized some of the pictures from old photo albums, the majority had never been printed and were a glimpse into her and her parents’ life in those early days. I rented a darkroom and printed a few of those pictures for mother’s day that year. The Leica itself sat in a shoebox where it stayed until 2018.
In spring 2018, I was getting ready to embark on my own life adventure into the unknown; moving to Ireland with my Irish fiancée that summer. Bringing up the status of the Leica, my mother happily gave it to me and after a quick test roll showed serious light leaks, I had it serviced before our move. Since then, it’s been my go-to camera (my old Canon EOS Elan II-E sits in the closet instead) whenever I want to take real pictures. It’s come on vacations around Europe, travels around Ireland, and documents the lives of our children.
I love shooting this camera – not only because it’s a Leica – but its a way to stay close to my grandfather and keep his memory alive.
Thanks for following along on the story of my grandfather’s Leica. I’ll be following up this post with one that shows some of the pictures I’ve taken with it over the past 6 years.
You can find me on Instagram.
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Tim Bradshaw on Discovering some Photos Taken by my Grandfather with his Leica
Comment posted: 20/08/2024
Like you, I have & use my grandfather's camera (not a Leica, a Retina IIs), and I really like using the camera which made the prints I look at from before I was born.
Comment posted: 20/08/2024
Rich on Discovering some Photos Taken by my Grandfather with his Leica
Comment posted: 20/08/2024
Thanks for sharing!
--Rich
(ex-pat NYer living in the boonies of North Carolina )
Comment posted: 20/08/2024
Jeffery Luhn on Discovering some Photos Taken by my Grandfather with his Leica
Comment posted: 20/08/2024
Great classic shots of your family!! Thanks for your story!
Comment posted: 20/08/2024
Theron on Discovering some Photos Taken by my Grandfather with his Leica
Comment posted: 20/08/2024
Comment posted: 20/08/2024
Tony Warren on Discovering some Photos Taken by my Grandfather with his Leica
Comment posted: 20/08/2024
Comment posted: 20/08/2024
Nathan S on Discovering some Photos Taken by my Grandfather with his Leica
Comment posted: 21/08/2024
Comment posted: 21/08/2024
Geoff Chaplin on Discovering some Photos Taken by my Grandfather with his Leica
Comment posted: 21/08/2024
Comment posted: 21/08/2024
Scott Gitlin on Discovering some Photos Taken by my Grandfather with his Leica
Comment posted: 22/08/2024
Gary Smith on Discovering some Photos Taken by my Grandfather with his Leica
Comment posted: 23/08/2024
Paul Quellin on Discovering some Photos Taken by my Grandfather with his Leica
Comment posted: 23/08/2024
Jay Dann Walker on Discovering some Photos Taken by my Grandfather with his Leica
Comment posted: 26/08/2024
My Leica LTM experience is different. A few years ago I went to an estate sale and somehow ended up with a camera bag. In it was a Leica iif, a 50/2.5 Elmar, and lots of Leitz bits and pieces. All of which I acquired for a very reasonable price, given that the executor could have put it on Ebay and got at least 5x what she sold it to me for.
No exposed films with it, alas. Or I would have processed and printed them for the family.
I love my Barnack and I use it more than any of my other film cameras. There is a minimalist simplicity about it that transcends the gear-centric attitude of today's (mostly D) photographers. When I'm out and about I often see young photographers carrying up to $20,000 worth of brand-name equipment, huge tripods, even lights, for candid photography on the streets. Why? The joy of it for me is to make as good images as I can with the least equipment, and in this the Leica LTM reigns supreme.
Nowadays with the must-have-everything gear attitude to photography, it's easy to forget that for many decades we had to make do with the standard (45-50mm) lens on our camera. Often as not it was all we could afford at the time. A second lens was usually a '135 which usually didn't get much use, we mostly didn't know how to set it properly so all our images taken with it were often crap shoots. In the '70s I went to Bali with one camera (not a Leica, so I won't name it) and one lens, and photographed everything I saw with this kit. Sold a fair few images which paid for my trip. Ditto in 1979, across North America, from California to Nova Scotia and then back by car, one camera (again, no name), two lenses and film mostly bought from K-Mart stores as I went. A similar journey in 1982, this time mostly work-focused, the same camera and one lens, the same experience. In 1993, back to Indonesia with a camera (ditto) and one nifty fifty. Sold images from this trip as well
A few years ago after a decade or more of shooting D, my now-beloved Leica iif came my way and made me return more to film. At home I had a few other cameras, mostly 120, which I used until my refrigerated film stocks ran out. Now too expensive to buy in Australia so those cameras are shelf queens. I bulk load all my B&W 35mm film for the Leica. My photo-making walks have given me new inspiration and are an important part of my life as I'm now retired and the exercise I get is important for my health.
All this to say truly wonderful images can be made of everyday things, objects, places, family, friends, pets, with the simplest equipment. Not that a Leica LTM is a simple camera, but the process is as important if not more so as the equipment. And in this area, old Leicas are supreme.
A wonderful story with truly amazing images. I'm so impressed that 50-year old film could be processed and such beautiful images got from the long-ago exposed negatives. Miracles do happen.
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