↑ Leica M3, Voigtländer 50mm APO Lanthar f/2, Kodak Tri-X 400, and Plustek 8200i.
Leica M3
The Boys.
2022, Beyond 200 feet of My House™, Favourite, Film, Inspiration, Kodak Tri-X 400, Leica M3, Me and Mark, Portrait, Scanner - Plustek 8200i, Voigtländer 50mm f/2 APO LantharWindow.
2022, Beyond 200 feet of My House™, Favourite, Film, Inspiration, Kodak Tri-X 400, Leica M3, Me and Mark, Portrait, Scanner - Plustek 8200i, Voigtländer 50mm f/2 APO LantharBirth of the Cool.
2022, Beyond 200 feet of My House™, Favourite, Film, Inspiration, Kodak Tri-X 400, Leica M3, Portrait, Scanner - Plustek 8200i, Street, Voigtländer 50mm f/2 APO LantharA day at the beach.
2022, Beyond 200 feet of My House™, Favourite, Film, Inspiration, Kodak Portra 400, Leica M3, Pinery Park, Portrait, Print, Scanner - Plustek 8200i, Voigtländer 50mm f/2 APO LantharHappy 17.
2022, Favourite, Film, Inspiration, Kodak Portra 400, Leica M3, Portrait, Scanner - Plustek 8200i, Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical, Within 200 feet of My House™Midland and surrounding area.
2022, Beyond 200 feet of My House™, Favourite, Film, Kodak Portra 400, Leica 50mm Summicron Dual Range f/2, Leica M3, Portrait, Print, Scanner - Plustek 8200iTaken yesterday, when I made the trip to see the old Leica factory.
—Peter.
↑ Leica M3, Leica 50mm Summicron Dual Range, Kodak Portra 400, and Plustek 8200i.
The pilgrimage to Midland.
2022, Beyond 200 feet of My House™, Favourite, Film, Inspiration, Leica 50mm Summicron Dual Range f/2, Leica M3, Portrait, Q&A, Scanner - Plustek 8200i, Teaching pointIn 1952, Leica opened a factory in Midland, Ontario, Canada.
(There are interesting discussions of how this came to be, here and here).
The “Ernst Leitz Canada (ELCAN)” location was initially intended to be a place for the assembly of cameras and lenses using parts from Wetzlar, Germany. However, under the leadership of Walter Mandler, it became a high-tech research and development centre.
Although Mr. Mandler had planned to stay in Midland for only a brief time, he ended up living there for the remainder of his life. Some of the most groundbreaking — and beloved — Leica lenses were created in Canada during his tenure.
In 1990, Leica sold the plant to Hugues Aircraft. In 1997, the plant was sold again, this time to Raytheon.
Today, I fulfilled a long-standing wish and made the pilgrimage to Midland. The distance — a 2 hr drive from Toronto — is short enough to be easily traversed, but long enough to be inconvenient (hence why I hadn’t previously attempted it).
–
I knew one thing before I even started: the destination would be a disappointment. The physical appearance of the building is… uhm… not pretty, and it’s under security (Raytheon is a USA defense contractor) so there was no chance of stepping inside and accidentally uncovering a treasure trove of lost Leica lenses/cameras.
Still… I had to go, and I’m glad I did.
I took my trusty Leica M3 (loaded with Kodak Portra 400) and 50mm Summicron Dual Range, and shot 3 frames. There was really no point shooting more, LOL.
(However, I used up the rest of the roll in the surrounding region outside of Midland, but those images await another day.)
—Peter.
–
↑ Leica M3, Leica 50mm Summicron Dual Range, Kodak Portra 400, and Plustek 8200i.