Alma (Campanha Leica)

"ALL CAMERAS DIE. JUST A FEW REINCARNATE. In my past life, I was a Leica, but not just any Leica. I was a IIIf in the hands of one of the most courageous photographers this world has ever seen. We spent many moments together in the heat of many battles of war. In May 1954, we landed in Indochina, a land known today as Vietnam. Despite the promise made never again to photograph a war, there we were, in the back seat of one of many jeeps of the French convoy. The off-white scarves of the paratroopers seemed plastered. Not even the slightest breeze could be felt to relieve the heat that, added to sultry humidity, seemed to stick to everyone’s body. The sensation bordered the unbearable - almost as unbearable as the fear that the Viet Minh could attack. The buzz of a 45 bullet zooming only centimeters away was something I never got used to. It was almost three in the afternoon when he got out of the jeep, holding me in his hands, and started running to the top of a hill. That row of militarily organized soldiers would make for a great picture, but it never happened. Halfway up, a mechanical click was heard under the ground, and before I could think, ‘landmine,’ an explosion blew us into the air. Disoriented, I could make out that help was on its way. For a couple of seconds, I still felt the photographer’s hand holding me. The last thing I heard him say was the name of an old girlfriend, also a lover of photography, and also killed in a battlefield. Seconds later, I died. My soul roamed aimlessly for years. Now, I have reincarnated. I used to be a Leica IIIf. Today, I’m called M-Monochrom. I already have a new body. Now, all I need is a new partner to photograph." All Leicas have a soul. Leica M-Monochrom. The reincarnation of black and white. Monocrhom.com.br