Finding Inglorious

by David Ulloa

December 31st, 2024

It was perfect timing. I had just come back from a cruise my wife and I had taken to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. I'd had a summer filled with amazing photo-making opportunities and had just been given a Leica Mastershot by LFI. Of course, being oh so proud of my accomplishment, I went to the only two places I knew of where one could connect with others about photography, Instagram and Reddit. It was there that I met Matias.

Matias had seen my post on the Leica subreddit and invited me to join his new WhatsApp group, Inglorious Leica Lovers. I was trepidatious, as I recalled all the lessons I had learned in my youth about being wary of strangers with enticing frivolities. But I accepted the invitation and was immediately greeted by some of the friendliest photographers I had ever met online.

After introductions and pleasantries, I was assuming that the interactions with this group would soon fizzle out and I'd go back to posting on Reddit as I usually do. The problem is, Reddit is entirely too toxic. Despite it being the greatest collection of people on the planet, very few are interested in making genuine human connection, instead preferring to troll and dehumanize their fellow Redditors. So, it was a very pleasant surprise indeed when I noticed that after a week of participating in the Inglorious Leica Lovers group, things only seemed to be picking up.

I was sharing photographs I had made throughout the summer, and getting actual and real feedback! It also helped me focus my process and figure out what works best for me and how I make my best photographs. What had started as a summer prioritizing film, became a fall exclusively shooting film. I was becoming a better photographer simply by being involved with the Inglorious.

I was even rethinking the cameras that I use. When I joined, I was using Leica's R mount cameras to make film photos. I had used my R4s throughout the summer and had just acquired a Leicaflex SL so I could have two bodies to shoot with, wanting to carry different speed films with me to attempt nighttime film photography.

But I finally was interacting with photographers that weren't disparaging me for not using a rangefinder - as an aside, I'd had a bad experience with a Fuji rangefinder early on and wrote them off - and instead actually described why I should, as a glasses wearer, go all in on the rangefinder. And they did so without putting down the Leica SLR system.

So, a few months ago I got myself a Leica M3 and a 50mm lens, and wouldn't you know it, but I love it! It has, indeed, helped me focus on the things that I was discovering made me a better photographer. Things like slowing down, composing with intent, and releasing the shutter judiciously.

So, as Stacey and I finalize this webpage on New Years Eve, prepping it for a launch on New Years Day 2025, I find myself reflecting on the importance of what I lovingly refer to as my "Super Secret Leica Group." I had started calling it that when speaking to my wife, Stephanie, about the cool friends I had made online. But in truth, it's a bad name for the group. Inglorious is not super secret, or even regular secret. No, Inglorious Leica Lovers is anything but that! In fact, Leica is really the thing that sparked the interest. It is about so much more.

Sure, this whole thing was started by Matias and Lenny as a way of providing Leica photographers another outlet to discuss their passion for photography, but the key to it is in the predicate of that preceding clause. Inglorious is about the passion for photography. Leica is not necessary to participate. It's not even the entry ticket! Because the passion for photography is the key. And I've tried to take this with me everywhere I go.

Because I now shoot film pretty much exclusively - unless I'm being paid for a shoot, in which clients will expect digital photographs - that means I can carry a small camera (like my M3) with an equally small lens (like my Summitar 5cm f2) pretty much anywhere I go. So, I do! And what I've discovered is that so many people are interested in photography and want to strike up conversations about photography. Some are specifically interested in the fact that it's a Leica, others that it is film, and others still are interested in just striking up a conversation about cameras due to a general interest in photography. The point here is that when you are open about what you are passionate about, keep the gatekeeping far away, and approach all situations with the love and kindness that this group has shown me...well, beautiful things happen.

I am more excited than ever to make photographs in 2025. And a big part of that is thanks to the Inglorious crew. Yes, I have an inherent drive for creative and artistic expression. From making comic books as a kid, to playing punk rock in my twenties, to photographing the world around me in my thirties, creating has always been something I am passionate about. But the Inglorious are playing a big role in how my knowledge and appreciation grows.

So, Happy New Year, and make some photographs!