Dear Leica Readers and Friends,

Thank you for a great year! This will be the last blog post for 2011 and regular publishing will resume on Monday, January 2, 2012. The Leica Internet Team will be on holiday next week, but the wait will be worth it because we have a lot of great content in store for you, including an interview with Leica’s very own Krystian Maj, a Polish photographer and Leica distributor.

The Leica Camera online community continues to grow, surpassing 188,000 Leica photographers and enthusiasts this year across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr and Foursquare. Together we explored the four corners of the earth with our Leica Explorers and their V-Lux 2 cameras. This year we announced our collaborations with Magnum Photos and Facing Change: Documenting America that will continue to feature more inspiring video essays in 2012. After the devastation that hit Japan in March, we were all deeply moved. Leica Camera customers raised 14,000 Euros matched by the company, so Leica Camera donated a total of 28,000 Euros as part of our “Help Japan!” campaign to benefit the Japanese Red Cross.

In May we rode through Cape Town with Danny MacAskill and fans voted on his bike stunts in our interactive video series before we revealed the Leica V-Lux 30 camera. Together we also discovered the #place2be spots in New York City with a glimpses of the Big Apple captured with the D-Lux 5 camera. In June the M9-P and the Leica Super-Elmar-M 1: 3.4/21 mm ASPH lens were revealed in Paris. October saw the launch of the limited edition D-Lux 5 Titanium and December saw the debut of the V-Lux 3 camera and the “Leica. My Life” series.

Leica Camera’s fantastic customers will continue to be a focal point for the company as we continuously strive to deliver the best products. This year customers were instrumental in product development for the M8 and M9 firmware update in June and helping overcome the SDHC card compatibility issue with the M9. We are constantly inspired and humbled by our customers’ support and want to thank you, especially the dedicated readers of this blog.

This blog would not be possible without the many talented photographers who offered their time, stories and photographs. Many thanks to all those who contributed to the blog this year: Adam Marelli, Adrian Storey, Alessio Pizzicannella, Alex Coghe, Alex Dani, Alex Majoli, Alvis Upitis, Alvise Zambon, Aminah Yusuf, Andrew Parsons, Andy Siddens, Annie Atkins, Antonella Monzoni, Arthur Meyerson, Baudouin Mouanda, Bellamy Hunt, Boulbar, Bruce Gilden, Carl Merkin, Caroline True, Charlie Kirk, Chris Anderson, Christopher Butler, Claire Atkinson, Claire Yaffa, Daisuke Takahashi, Damaso Reyes, Damien Basile, Dan Boulton, Danny MacAskill, Darren Soh, David de Rothschild, David English, David G. Spielman, David Kim, Debbie Fleming Caffery, Dina Gold, Dominic Nahr, Edmond Terakopian, Elias Plagianos, Eric Kim, Gael Turine, Gary Copeland, Gigi Stoll, GrEGORy Simpson, Guido Steenkamp, Hisashi Murayama, Hubert Hayaud, Iddo Genuth, ioulex (Julia Koteliansky and Alexander Kerr), Iouri Podladtchikov, Jan Grarup, Jeffry Plomley, Jens Frank, Jing Huang, John Amedick, John Bamber, John Lou Miles, John Ricard, John Sypal, John Wright, Jonathan Mannion, Josh White, Julia Kaganskiy, Junku Nishimura, Justin Guariglia, Kai Wiesinger, Kaushal Parikh, Kevin Boyles, Kevin WY Lee, Knut Skjærven, Kokyat Choong, Kristen McGinnis, Kyle Cassidy, Lara Platman, Lara Rossignol, Larry Busacca, Larry Godfrey, Lena Nußbaum, Makka Kesuma (id.L Member), Marian Nur Goni, Markus Hartel, Marcus Werner, Matt Borkowski, Matthew Grey, Max Malatesta, MayLee Weernink, Mayra Roffe Gutman, Misha Erwitt, Nasser Kalaji, Nic Rad, Nicolas Hermann, Otto Schulze, Paal Audestad, Paul S. Bartholomew, Paul Szynol, Peer Kugler, Peter Hoffman, Peter Earl McCollough, Phil Hill, Philip Bruederle, Pierrot Men, Piotr Wyszynski, Quinton Gordon, Radhika Gupta, Ralph Gibson, Rania Matar, Ray Scott, Raymond Phang, René Staud, Robert Callway, Roger Coulam, Romain Alary, Roy Samaha, Saulius Damulevicius, Sebastian Beck, Sebastian Wolf, Severin Koller, Stefan Daniel, Steffen Diemer, Steffen Pausch, Steve McCurry, Steve Unsworth, Tan Tien Yun, Taylor Davidson, Ted Grant, Thomas Hoepker, Thomas Schweigert, Thomas Struth, Tina Wiesner, Todd Courtney, Todd Korol, Varun Sharma, Victor Lazaro, William Palank, William Yan and Wolfgang Wesener (Wowe).

Happy holidays and see in you 2012!

-Leica Internet Team (JJ, Barbara, René, Helen, Biana and Jason)