Some cameras don’t just document your life; they become part of it.

I bought a Leica M6 in 2012. Photography had always been a part of my life; my dad had run a studio, and I grew up with the smell of a darkroom as a strong memory of my childhood.

Leica’s had always been a camera I’d wanted to try, and at the time, I was working with a lot of incredible musicians. I’d been fortunate to meet Rufus at one of their first-ever live shows, Flume at a Sydney university party, hanging out with WhatSoNot, Dom Dolla and getting AAA’s for the major festivals Splendour In The Grass, Big Day Out, Future, and the like. I was in the incredible position of being Channel V’s music photographer and running a popular creative culture website at the time.

My SLRs were noisy and in your face. They were large, loud, and obtrusive. If you’ve used the 5D Mark II you know exactly what I mean.

I’d been told off before by Dallas Greene of City and Colour fame to turn the camera off, because it was loud and irritating. It’s not what you want to hear from an artist you admire.

Whenever I was told to stop, I was able to pull out my Leica M6 and discreetly keep shooting. The limit of 36 frames, learning to change rolls in the dark without looking, made the work feel tactile, real, and the colour and grain were something that I adored. So much so, that most of my modern work is purely film.

It did take some time to get used to, and unlike the half-press of automatic AF, I learned to focus by feeling. I fell in love with the feeling again. Photography had become my job, but after picking up a Leica M9, with its CCD sensor, I stopped trying to correct imperfections and focused more on storytelling.

BTS photos of Neil Finn performing with Eddie Vedder, Kings Of Leon, and one of my favourites, a jam session with Mark Ronson, and you’ll see in the background Andrew Wyatt, Kirin J Callahan, and his session drummer:

And that’s the thing about Leica, you might step away from shooting, but the feelings you created stay.

Over the years, I’ve still felt that pull. And whenever I feel burnt out, sticking a roll in the M6 to see what might happen has always been the reset I need.

I hear that from a lot of my dear photographic friends, whether it’s with their Leica Q3s, or M11s or stripped back like me with the Leica MPs, there’s a sense of ownership over the work. A creative freedom, bound by limitations, you can’t cheat these cameras. Stripped back, your work is laid bare, soul first - something I find myself chasing personally and professionally.

For the past 10 years, Georges hasn’t stocked Leica. During that time, Leica made a deliberate decision to reduce its retail footprint, focusing on a smaller number of partners while developing its own direct-to-market presence — including the iconic QVB store in Sydney and a flagship in Melbourne.

At the same time, Georges was changing too.

What was once a business centred purely on sales gradually has slowly become something more — a creative hub, a place for learning, conversation, workshops, and community. Looking back now, it feels inevitable that these paths would cross again.

After a decade apart, the conversation restarted and this time, everything aligned. Values. Vision. Dedication to service. Commitment to photographers, not just products.

In record time, an agreement was reached. And just like that, Leica returned to Georges.

For our family business, this is a milestone. For our community, it’s the beginning of something special.

Leica’s influence on photography can’t be overstated.

They helped define 35mm photography, taking motion picture film and turning it into a still photography format that changed how the world was documented. They pioneered TTL (Through-The-Lens) metering, allowing photographers to measure light accurately in real time.

And considering how the iconic M-Series has stayed manual, I still feel there is a bit of irony that their autofocus systems was so advanced they licensed and sold it to other manufacturers, including Konica Minolta.

What I love about Leica is how the brand has continued to shape how photographers work — favouring speed, intuition, and presence over complexity. Cameras designed to disappear in your hands so you can focus on what’s in front of you.

That philosophy hasn’t changed.

In the decade we’ve been apart, Leica hasn’t stood still.

They’ve refined digital rangefinders while preserving their soul. They’ve expanded into full-frame mirrorless systems with the SL, introduced one of the most celebrated fixed-lens cameras ever made with the Q series, and continued to evolve their lenses with unmatched optical character.

Despite advances in autofocus, resolution, video, and processing, Leica cameras still honour the same core values:

• Size – compact, purposeful design
• Speed – ready when the moment happens
• Beauty – not just aesthetically, but emotionally

They don’t chase trends. They perfect ideas.

Leica M System

• The heart of Leica. Manual focus rangefinders built for photographers who want total connection with their craft.

Leica Q Series

• Full-frame, fixed-lens cameras with astonishing image quality and simplicity. Street, travel, documentary photography, a  photographic purist's dream.

Leica SL System

• Professional mirrorless performance with Leica’s colour science and build quality. Studio, fashion, landscape, hybrid shooters.

Leica Compact Cameras

• Small, beautifully designed tools that carry Leica DNA into everyday photography.

Every model serves a purpose. None exist without intent.

For me, having Leica back at Georges Cameras feels personal. Not just because of my own journey with these cameras, but because of what it represents.

A return to craft.

A respect for heritage.

A belief that photography is about more than specs.

Leica belongs in a place where conversations matter, where people can pick up a camera and talk about why the work matters to them, not just what they photographed.

And we’re incredibly proud to say: it’s home again.