Brand servants

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    Today, when my Leica M8 broke down, something dawned on me. I immediately thought, "Oh God, now I'm not enjoying photography anymore. If the image metadata doesn't say Leica, I'm miserable."

    Well, of course, it's nice to have the Leica name. But the joy of photography shouldn't be tied to the brand. The joy of creating should come from the process itself—how you define photography for yourself. For me, that means doing as much as possible myself. I quickly moved away from autofocus and started exploring zone focusing. I enjoy it. I like the challenge. And this works with other brands too, not just Leica.

    Now I'll be working with my F-X-Pro 2 again. But not with features like Live View, as I did before. No. I'm forcing myself to continue photographing in the way I consider worthwhile, the way I worked with the M8. Not taking lots of photos, but trying to capture one image. Yes, to check it immediately afterwards to see if it turned out well. I'm still reserving that right for myself. A maximum of four more attempts. Because no, I'm not yet a pro like the Leica M-D crowd. And I know that. So why not use the help to improve? That's my active decision. Today.

#post0004