Bièvres is always a high spot on the photographic calendar; a photographica fair so close to Paris - and now in its 60th year is bound to appeal.
Josh, Will and Sean manning the TLI stand...
This year, Will, Josh and I were joined by our very good friend and loyal customer, Sean Pemble. Not only is Sean an excellent photographer but he also a wildly funny and, I think, as equally obsessed by photography as we are. We were bound to have a fine old time together.
Two more friends would join us at the fair - Maarten Moerman, owner of camera shop, Camera Obscura Elburg and ace rock and roll photographer, Maaike Ronhaar.
Maarten, Josh, Will, Matthew & Maaike
Two Leicas at the ready... Maaike heads for the show.
The atmosphere at this show is always wonderful - even if the rain forced many pauses in play…
...Time that we filled by piling into the local Brasserie and covering the table with finds from the fair and the large number of Leicas we were all carrying. One of the stallholders christened our group ‘The Leica Gang’ and the name stuck for the rest of the two day fair.
Will was, as usual on a mission. His talent for finding the wonderful and obscure never ceases to amaze us. This year was all about hunting for rare and exotic viewfinders and Leica accessories . Will found some wonderful stuff… Just take a look at what we have listed in the TLI store. And Josh found a lovely little Leica...
Maaike spent her time stalking for good pictures - and trying to keep a straight face with the constant stream of daft one-liners being generated by Sean as he took some excellent pictures of his own -
Maarten always brings something to fascinate and this year he had a bumper selection - some fascinating lenses like a Mamiya 48mm f1.5 taken from a Mamiya and adapted for Leica M mount…
Maarten checks out Sean's latest Voigtlander lens as...
....Sean tries the Mamiya lens on his Leica M11 -
Maarten also proudly presented his exquisite reproduction of the Leica SOOM accessory rewind lever. We are going to be carrying a stock of these very soon - so watch this space! Available in black paint, satin chrome and hammertone - very cool!
...And I was very touched to see that everybody in the 'Leica Gang' had my 'Strapateer' strap on their cameras...
...What could have been better than spending two days hunting for those elusive items we all love - and in the good company of our fellow photographers? The great resurgence in film photography is a wonder to behold.
...Another joke from Sean rocks the table...
It’s marvellous to be right at the heart of it - just ask Maaike. The laughter almost matched the thrill of the hunt!
You can still get 10% off the strapateer by buying through the TLI discount code... Just use the letters TLI at https://thestrapateer.co.uk/
Sounds like you had a fantastic trip with great friends