Eyes wide open! 100 years of Leica edited by Hans-Michael Koetzle - book review: He changed photography forever

Eyes wide open! 100 years of Leica edited by Hans-Michael Koetzle (Julia Baier)

In March 1914, Oskar Barnack put the finishing touches to the first working model of a compact camera for 35mm standard film.

He had not merely invented a new camera, the Leica, but changed photography for ever. The Leica made it easier for amateurs to take pictures, and also introduced a whole new way of seeing things – a faster, more dynamic view of the world, from new angles.

This book, which includes about 1,000 images, offers a wide artistic and cultural history of the Leica, from the 1920s to the present day. Pictured above: a Leica image from Geschwebe (“Floating”), by Julia Baier.

Kehrer Verlag £78