Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2014/02/13

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: [Leica] IMG: Sochi (really!)
From: pklein at threshinc.com (Peter Klein)
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2014 23:57:39 -0800

Hi, Nathan. We don't know if Katya's father brought it back himself, got 
in in barter from a German, or bought it from a fellow soldier. We don't 
think he "liberated" it, because he always told us that he didn't feel 
right about all the looting (and much worse) that went on.

I never saw the camera myself. He sold it in Vienna, where they stayed 
for a few days right after they left the USSR. It was a way to get quick 
cash--shades of the Leitz Freedom Train. When I first met him, he saw my 
old IIIf and remarked that he used to have a Leica that looked very much 
like it.

--Peter

 > Great to see the flashback. Reminds me of seaside resorts in Poland 
in the
 > 1960s, minus the palm trees of course. The only reason Putin chose 
Sochi and
 > bribed the IOC to agree is that it is close to the Caucasus and he 
wanted to
 > make a political statement. For that reason, I am not watching a single
 > minute of this charade. Pox on Russia.
 >
 > BTW--do you know the story of how Katya's father "acquired" the Leica? I
 > don't suppose he walked into Dom Foto in Cologne and bought it ;-)
 >
 > Cheers,
 > Nathan
 >
 > Nathan Wajsman
 > Alicante, Spain
 > http://www.frozenlight.eu
 > http://www.greatpix.eu
 > PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
 > Blog: http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/
 >
 > YNWA
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 > On Feb 14, 2014, at 7:21 AM, Peter Klein wrote:
 >
 > > Here's a topical Throwback Thursday. The site of the current winter
 > > Olympics is actually a sub-tropical resort. Katya visited there 
with her
 > > father when she was about 15. These pictures were taken with a
 > > screw-mount Leica. Katya's father acquired one during his Russian army
 > > service during WWII.
 > >
 > >
 > >
 > >
 > > Katya did not see any pictures of Brezhnev bare-chested, riding 
bareback,
 > > or on the back of a bear.
 > >
 > > --Peter