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My pandemic project

 Posted on juin 18, 2020      by Bust it Away Photography
 0

A bit of love for a Canadian Leica M2

DFH_6664

We all got impacted one way or another by the Covid pandemic and even if I was lucky enough to keep my job and go to work with my colleagues every day, my evenings and weekends became much more quiet. This means I spend a bit more time on the internet, looking at everything and nothing at the same time. By surfing on multiple camera websites, I found (without looking for it) a 1960 Leica M2 for sale that needed a bit of love. The old beast had issue with the shutter not closing properly and the vulcanite cover was in a very bad shape and broken in multiple places. Due to that the price was quite low.

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I already had a black Leica M6 for a year that I really enjoy (see one year anniversary review here), but before finding the M6 for a very good price I always wanted a silver Leica. I was interested an older fully mechanical and manual one and because I am more a 35mm than 50mm guy, that M2 seemed to be the right candidate. On top of that, by looking at the serial number I realized that the camera was from 1960 and was from a small batch of Leica M2s produced in Canada (around 1600 units out of 90 000 Leica M2s produced). This Canadian M2 was turning 60 years old this past May and I was myself living in Canada after 9 years after moving from France, I felt like I had to take care of it.

The camera store was in my city and when I contacted to know if I could reserve it until they re-open to see it (the store was closed to the public due to the pandemic) they told me that two people were already waiting to examine it and I was the third person in line. I thought that the only way to get it for sure was to buy it online without close examination. It was reported to have a clean and clear viewfinder and no other issue than the shutter. Having a friend who fixes fully mechanical cameras, the decision was easy and a week later the M2 arrived at my door. A fews days later the shutter was fixed and I started to work on the vulcanite removal:

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It was quite a big work, but with patience and some good music in the background work gets done:

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I always liked wood textures and feel and I wanted to do something different from the traditional covers. I found that brown wood imitation as a cover (Hugo Studio Camera Covers) and also a wood shutter button and shoe cover (The More Gooder). Two weeks later they were here and yesterday I could finally finish my pandemic project:

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At the end of the day I am really happy with that M2, it feels great, the shutter also sounds very nice. It will start a new life and will be loved as it should. I had the time to go out and shoot a first roll of film, here is the first result of my little pandemic project: For the Love a Leica M2:

M2 - TMax100 - Ottawa 030

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Thank you for reading.

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  • Welcome

    Hello dear visitor, welcome to my photography world. I am a radio frequency engineer who moved from France to experience a new life in Canada. Living far from my friends and family, traveling for fun and for work I created this blog and website to share a bit of my life with them and everyone else interested in photography. I grew up in front of the Atlantic Ocean in the south of the beautiful region of Brittany. As a passionate photographer, I try to catch the best of each moment from the life in the streets to the changing colors of nature. Photography has almost always been part of my life and helps me to understand and remember the beauty of our world. I hope you’ll enjoy your time spent here.

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