I understand now why Helmut Newton said "I love my Leica" It has freed me up from the restraints of carrying around huge SLRs and huge lenses, which can be very intimidating to your clients and subjects, especially with street photography.
Leica is not just about street photography, however, it has a strong history of war correspondence and has shot many iconic film stars in history. Marilyn Monroe being one of the prime examples.
Leica has a depth and a soul with a filmic quality that i have never come across before. I believe Leica have a unique way of drawing you into the picture thus giving you an empathy to the situation photographed or the story being told.
Also an astounding camera for fashion. While many would automatically grab for a medium format, which let's face it, most would have to re-mortgage their home for, the Leica still delivers adding that unique look that is so synonymous with the brand.
In comparison to Canon and Nikon, who make thousands of their products in one week on a production line, this adds up to the same amount of cameras hand built in an entire year by Leica! Enough said :)
Please take a look at O-Ten's Gallery on Leica's website.
Chris
O-Ten