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Colin O’Brien & His Leica Camera

July 16, 2015
by the gentle author

Colin O’Brien is giving a lecture on his photography at the Leica Store, 27 Bruton Place, Mayfair, W1 on Wednesday 29th July 6pm. Afterwards, he will be signing copies of LONDON LIFE, his recent monograph which is newly published by Spitalfields Life Books, and we will be giving away fifty prints of Colin’s Clerkenwell car crash photograph. There are only a limited number of tickets available and they are free. Click here to book yours

“I am not entirely sure how I came to be the owner of my prized Leica Model 111a with an Elmar f3.5 lens manufactured in 1936. Rumour has it that an Irish chauffeur who lived in Victoria Dwellings found it on the back seat of the Rolls Royce he drove and conveniently forgot to mention it to his employer. He must have seen me with my old box camera and offered the Leica to my parents for a nominal sum. These sorts of deals with expensive merchandise being sold ‘off the back of a lorry’ were not uncommon.” – Colin O’Brien reveals how he obtained the Leica camera with which he took many of his famous photographs.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR COPY OF COLIN O’BRIEN’S LONDON LIFE

You may also like to read about

Colin O’Brien, The Photographer From Clerkenwell

The Man Who Photographed Car Crashes

4 Responses leave one →
  1. July 16, 2015

    Very handsome.

  2. Ros permalink
    July 16, 2015

    I don’t know which is more handsome…the camera or its owner. Won’t be able to be there on July 29th I’m afraid but hope it goes well. You do appear at some posh venues Colin!

  3. Pete permalink
    July 16, 2015

    I had a couple of old screw mount Leicas in the 80s, great cameras / lenses, built to last forever to a spec you just couldn’t get now…Epic !

  4. Godfrey Valentine permalink
    December 1, 2015

    I have been lucky enough to find a copy of London Life in my local library: in Fakenham, Norfolk. I true work of photographic art. When I raise the purchase price I will purchase my own copy.

    Thank you Colin.

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