A Leica Love Story

Jean-Pierre Laffont was recently honoured at the FASNY 44 Gala, where he was presented with the Hermione Award, granted every year by the French-American School of New York (FASNY). The Hermione Award, which is named after the ship that brought the Marquis de Lafayette to the United States, pays tribute to individuals who have made a significant contribution on an international level. Laffont received this award in recognition of the courage, humanity and promotion of French culture that he has demonstrated throughout his career. 

Born in Algeria, and living in the United States since 1964, the photographer’s work has undoubtedly had an influence on the general public. For over six decades, he has been documenting key American figures and events. These include the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr., Muhammad Ali, Robert F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War, Watergate, the resignation of President Nixon, and the women’s and gay rights movements. Using his Leica cameras, he has also captured the struggles of the impoverished, the challenges faced by farmers, the reality of racism and the complexity of immigration. With his explicit images, Laffont has not only documented history, but also contributed to social change. 

Laffont, who calls himself a proud Leica user, informed us that his preferred tools were and still are his Leica cameras. We asked him for a list of the cameras he has used, to which he sent a lengthy reply. 

“This is my love story with Leica and the list of my numerous Leica cameras. The first was a Leica IIIf with a 50mm Elmar, purchased in Casablanca, Morocco, in 1953. My second camera was a Leica M3 with 50mm Summicron 50, which I also bought in Casablanca, in 1955. In 1956, I acquired a 135mm Hektor and Visoflex casing with bellows for portraits. I purchased my first MP #13, black with a black Summicron 50mm, in Lausanne in 1958. In 1962, after the Algerian War, I purchased my second MP # 14 in Paris; black and second-hand. And a 90-Summicron chrome. In 1966, I found a Summarex 85mm and a 25mm Canon lens adapted to an M3 in NYC.

My two black MPs and almost all lenses were stolen in NYC in 1967. The police found the two MPs and two lenses (the 135mm and the black Summicron 50mm), which they gave back to me a month later. All other lenses were lost… Around 1968, I bought a Super Angulon 21mm and a Summicron 28mm. In 1972. with the Sygma Agency, I was under contract with Leica and I got three Leicaflex SL MOTs and all the lenses from the 21mm to the 570mm! In 1974, we ended the contract because all the Leica equipment was too heavy for daily work. However, Leica NY wanted my two black Leica MPs (#13 and #14 - a matching pair!) They offered me two Leica M5s, one Leica CL and all the lenses from the 21mm to the 400 telyt, in exchange. I was stupid, and I regret having traded them!

I am so sorry… I lost my two black MPs that way... Where are they today? I’ve continued working with two used M3s, and never opened the boxes of the two Leica M2s that I received as an award. I never worked with the M2. My greatest luck was to buy a Leica M3, and a Zeiss Hologon 15mm f/8, in 1975. I took many iconic photos with that lens, especially the one of the brand new Trade Center Twin Towers in NYC, in 1976, that you are using in your layout. In my opinion, the viewfinder of Leica M3, which allows me to photograph with both eyes open, makes that camera the best for a photojournalist like myself.”

Thank you, dear Jean-Pierre Laffont, for this personal love story and, above all, for the many unforgettable and incomparable moments of photography history!