After looking at HCB's Aperture monograph, I wondered who were the top 10 Leica Screw Mount photographers. I came up with (not in order):

1. Henri Cartier-Bresson 2. David Duncan Douglas 3. André Kertész, 4. Brassaď (Gyula Halász)

Any ideas who the next six should be? Perhaps the list should be the Top 20, or Top 50, or Top 100...

Thanks!

-- Tony Oresteen (Aoresteen@mindspring.com), October 17, 2001

Answers

Mr. Barnack himself? At least one of his pictures graces the Leica catalog.

-- ray tai (razerx@netvigator.com), October 17, 2001.

Candidates for the top ten; Stefan Kruckenhauser: Paul Wolff: Walter Benser. In their prime they were pretty famous in the Leica world.

-- Hans Berkhout (berkhout@cadvision.com), October 18, 2001.

2 candidates:

George Rodger, co-founder of Magnum (seen here at right with Robert Capa):

There's another famous picture BY Capa of Rodger shooting from the back of a Jeep during the Liberation of Paris.

W. Eugene Smith, who used LTM cameras for most of his great LIFE stories (Nurse Midwife, Spanish Village, Schweitzer's African Mission) and his Pittsburgh documentary. I can't find the picture I want of him - loaded down with about 7 Canon LTM bodies during the Pittsburgh shoot. (He preferred having a dedicated body for each lens - with screw-mount I can understand why.)

-- Andy Piper (apidens@denver.infi.net), October 18, 2001.

I'm not sure that Kertesz and Brassi were primarily Leica photographers. Add Alfred Eisenstadt, Peter Stackpole, and Gene Smith.

-- Bill Mitchell (bmitch@home.com), October 18, 2001.

D-ooooo-h! Eisie, of course! Thanks, Bill.

-- Andy Piper (apidens@denver.infi.net), October 18, 2001.

William Eggleston

-- R. (le_ras@hotmail.com), October 18, 2001.

Note the Everready case, y'all.

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@pacific.net.sg), October 18, 2001.

Don't forget Werner Bischof I'm sure he also used Rolleis, too. I recall reading somewhere that the early Lieca lenses were not as well regarded as the bodies, so that, for example, HCB used an adapted Zeiss Sonnar on his Leica, and Eugene Smith was fond of Canon lenses. Also, don't forget, "It's a vision thing." (Now who said that?)

-- Phil Stiles (Stiles@metrocast.net), October 18, 2001.

Me :-) Lighten up - it's a joke!

-- Bob Todrick (bobtodrick@yahoo.com), October 18, 2001.

i was wanting to ask if you're allowed to vote for yourself, but you beat me to it.....

:)=

-- Rick Oleson (rick_oleson@yahoo.com), October 18, 2001.

Ben Shahn based on the show a year or so at the Phillips cllection in DC. His Leica A was there with the images. Catalogcalled Ben Shahn's New York.

-- JL Wright (lin.wright@asu.edu), October 18, 2001.

what about women; Isis, Eve Arnold, Maria Eisner, among others.

-- r watson (al1231234@hotmail.com), October 18, 2001.

Walker Evans and Helen Levitt

-- Robert Schneider (rolopix@yahoo.com), October 18, 2001.

Nobel prize winner George Bernard Shaw

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), October 19, 2001.

Alexsandr Rodchenko

-- Victor Randin (ved@enran.com.ua), October 19, 2001.

Don't forget Raymond Depardon and Sebastiao Salgado...

-- Jean-Michel (meandmym6@yahoo.com), October 22, 2001.

One of my favorite photographers used a Leica IIIc, M3's and R's: Robert Doisneau

-- Ed Hoey (ehoey@charter.net), January 08, 2002.