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I was brought up on a diet of images by the likes of André Kertész, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Sebastião Salgado. Inspired by these greats and my father's passion I took GCSE Photography at school and when I started university in 1997 my father gave me one piece of advice; always carry a camera with you. This was back in the days before digital and my weapon of choice was an old Nikon F with a short range zoom. It served me well and I think thanks to his advice shortly after starting university I was asked to take photos for a magazine of an old racing motor cycle that was being auctioned. Whether I was naive, kind hearted or just appreciated the experience, I don't remember, but I did the job in return for the images being accredited to me in the article. They were, but I only saw a copy of the magazine and it didn't occur to me to take a photocopy. I always wanted a Leica, I'd taken a lot of the photos for my GCSE on my father's old Leica III (built in the 1930s!!) and I loved the way it felt solid and reliable. At the time though I couldn't dream of saving enough money to buy one and not so many years after, digital cameras became affordable. Staying true to the advice I'd received I bought a digital compact. It was a lot more convenient to carry and what a joy to see the results straight away. Eventually I did get the Leica I'd always wanted, in the form of an M4-P (hence the name of this site). I picked it up relatively cheaply on eBay as it had a nasty dent in the top plate. My father suggested I send it off to Malcolm Taylor as he would no doubt be able to push out most of the dent and could give it a general once over at the same time. Malcolm has repaired Leicas for decades and his work is so good the Leica factory have often called upon him to restore examples for their museum. Having Malcolm work on it, well if I were religious, is like the pope handling my bible. Just 18,057 black M4-Ps were made, compare that to your common or garden EOS, millions of which have been produced. Using it makes me want to take better pictures, its a marvel of engineering (the III I mentioned earlier, built in the 1930s, is still working, so my M4-P should still be working after I'm dead and buried!), focusing is a doddle and because its not an SLR it has no mirror which shakes the camera about as it swings up out of the way for the image to be recorded which means slower shutter speeds can be used and there's less noise too. Recently I've got my hands on an M8, it's pure magic and using it is a real joy. I've still got a compact digital, but I don't remember the last time I used it, and the Pro DSLR get pulled out if Joe Public asks where my 'real' camera is. I like that to the average man on the street the M looks nothing special. Over the years I have photographed portraits and weddings for friends and family, more recently getting involved with the family business; Clement Photography. Back in Feb 2007 I submitted a panel to the Royal Photographic Society that earnt me a Licentiateship and am aiming for an Associateship in 2010. Recently Sky News and Leica Fotografie International (Jan | Feb 2010) have used my images. I'm always interested in new projects so if you like my images and you'd like me to shoot something for you; get in touch. All images ©copyright 2010 John Clement II LRPS.