The Leica M Photographer: Photographing with Leica's Legendary Rangefinder Cameras

The book's ultimate goal is to ignite your passion for the kind of spontaneous, minimalist, and creative photography we admire in the works of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Joel Meyerowitz, and other great Leica photographers.

This not a camera manual for the Leica M, nor is it a book that will teach you photography. Nevertheless, in Bertram Solcher's book you will learn a whole lot about your camera and how to use it, and about the art and craft of photography. This book contains a collection of illustrated essays that are meant to reveal the secrets of working with a rangefinder camera. To be more precise, with the best camera ever made.

All Leica M model cameras, both analog and digital, use rangefinder technology. Because of its design, working with a Leica M requires a more methodical style of photography where the photographer must slow down and exercise attention and purpose. Using these cameras is both challenging and rewarding. With a Leica M, you can mingle discretely within your environment to capture candid, exciting, insightful images.

Bertram Solcher, a professional Leica M photographer for over 35 years, demonstrates how to use this unique camera in a practical and effective way. Solcher's enthusiasm, substantial experience, and technical expertise will help you learn the skills necessary for creating masterful photographs with any Leica M camera.

While studying medicine, Bertram Solcher worked as freelance photojournalist for regional and national newspapers, as well as national and international magazines. For the last 10 years he has worked in public relations and corporate photography, with a focus on medicine and science. While Solcher uses DSLR cameras for his commercial work, he uses the Leica M for projects that involve photographing people because the camera enables him to merge into the environment, allowing him to capture a very honest sense of reality in his images.

Solcher has been an enthusiastic Leica M photographer for the last 35 years, and has worked with almost all Leica M models, both analog and digital. He is an appointed member of the German Society for Photography, and has been an actively involved board member for the Freelens photographer's association. His current photography project, called German Angst, is sponsored by a grant from the VG Bild-Kunst association.