Leica and Lenny: A Match Made in __________?

Lenny Kravitz, Correspondent, Stalking Urban Prey with His Drifter Leica and Poofy Cap

Leica is now offering a “Lenny Kravitz designed” Leica M Monochrom camera, a Leica Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH, and a Leica APO-Summicron-M 75mm f/2 ASPH. Buy now and Leica will throw in, at no extra cost to you, matching accessories, including a vegan python carrying strap, matching brown vegan leather carry cases for each lens, versatile pouches, and a brown “Drifter Traveler” weekender bag. No word on how Leica was able to identify and cull “vegan” pythons from regular ones.

Mr. Kravitz’s input seems to have been the idea to paint the camera brown and cover it in snakeskin, which everyone over in Wetzlar considers a brilliant idea, as it apparently conjures up people who are free spirits.   “The striking special edition set celebrates Kravitz’s dedication to visual storytelling and pays homage to his inspired, nomadic lifestyle,” Leica says. “A self-proclaimed drifter himself, the attractive set was designed with Kravitz’s vision of being a free spirit, always on the road and open to adventure – ingredients that ignite visual storytelling.”

The Laconic “Guy Wearing Heels Doing Funky Gymnastics Inside Unidentified Commercial Establishment” by Lenny Kravitz, currently on exhibition at Leica, Wetzlar

The Leica Gallery in Wetzlar, Germany is hanging an exhibition of Kravitz’s photography in conjunction with the Drifter release.“ The photo series, inspired by Kravitz’s nomadic lifestyle, will feature intimate portraits, laconic snapshots, carefully observed scenes from the street and well-composed moments in hotel rooms, all captured during his time on the road,” Leica says.

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20 thoughts on “Leica and Lenny: A Match Made in __________?”

  1. Ron Himebaugh

    Cartier, Frank, Winogrand, Kravitz. One of these free spirits is not like the others.

  3. Wayne Pinney

    I suppose, whenever I head out the door with my camera, there is a part of me hoping to encounter something I judge to be absurd. I can see why Leica might tap into that in their effort to sell cameras and camera equipment.

    1. Rob Campbell

      It’s really an old, stretched tea cosy somebody fly-tipped into an underpass; the very essence of the street grab, then. (You can probably find one similar somewhere in a drawer in the kitchen.) And don’t forget, Pen used to have his assistants collect fag stubs from the street for him to photograph in the studio, thus creating a new genre of studio street. Somebody should tell Lenny and Leica. No, wait…

      That said, perhaps a tea cosy makes better sense in winter than a baseball cap.

      😉

  5. StephenJ

    I wonder whether Mr. Kravitz regards this attention from Leica as an honour?

    Or did he approach Leica with his marvellous design?

    Can we submit a design for a Leicaphilia special edition?

    Perhaps a black paint Leica MA with a repro Summitar?

    2. Rob Campbell

      Now that’s a confusing concept, though I expect there’s history to substantiate the possibility. Maybe they share the hat? Maybe one lives in the hat? Maybe Mother read them both a lot of Lewis Carroll?

  8. Keith Laban

    Apparently my new system* was “born from an unending quest for perfection. A system that opens a new dimension of possibilities. A system inspired by the past but designed for tomorrow. The system represents the culmination of a relentless pursuit of ultimate optical performance, and a bridge to a new chapter. It is about redefining possibilities to provide image-makers with tools to realize greater creativity.”

    This is of course pure marketing bullshit as is most marketing. Did the spiel influence my decision to buy into the system, well, what’d y’all think?

    *Nikon Z marketing…

  10. Harry LIme

    I don’t get it. He doesn’t exactly have a likable personality. If anything he comes off as arrogant, pompous and someone who has the size of their paycheck confused with the size of their talent. Why on earth would you put this guy front and center of your advertising campaign? If Leica is looking for celebrity endorsement they are far more personable stars out there, like Jason Momoa, who use their cameras. On the other hand Kravitz hasn’t had a big hit since the 90’s and they probably got him for a bargain price.

    1. Leicaphila Post author

      Rob: I have literally never heard a Lenny Kravitz song until I watched what you posted. You, Sir, are an old curmudgeon. That’s a great song. That doesn’t make him a photographer….

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