Friday, March 25, 2016

TIE HER UP - YOUR CAMERA




The other day a package arrived from Nicosia, Cyprus.  I had been waiting for it because it contained several samples of camera straps that had intrigued me based on what I had seen on the internet.  Evris Papanikolas had graciously agreed to send some samples for my evaluation.

His company is less than a year old and he is very much interested in making his products known.  This entire venture came about quite by accident.  Evris has done more than 1000 commercials in Greece, Egypt, Dubai, Lebanon, Portugal, Turkey, Morocco, Ukraine and Colombia, carrying and using Leicas and SLR cameras, for more than 35 years.  As he explained to me, he was out shooting one day when, after a while, he wished that he had put a camera strap on his Leica.  So he went to a pet store and bought a dog leash.  The supple, waxed leather of the leash intrigued him, and he had a shoe maker modify it so he could use it on his camera.

Choosing leather for his first camera strap, he remembered the words of his grandmother’s brother who was a shoe maker in Alexandria, Egypt: “Leather is alive… Treat it with love”. So he did and, even though this first strap was a bit "primitive", it did the job, had character and was very strong.  Friends saw it on his camera and asked for one... One strap led to another and some months ago he decided to make the straps more professionally.  In Geek, Spanish, French and Italian camera is a feminine noun. That’s how Tie Her Up was born!  The Tie Her Up products are handmade  with A-quality Italian and Greek leather and high quality climbing rope, stitched by hand by two professional belt and bag makers.


The four samples I received all came in a linen folio, a very nice touch.  The one that caught my eye the most was a red Snake Camera Strap.  They are made from strong climbing rope and have leather endings.  They are completely handmade with quality Italian leather and come in 3 different colors, red, grey and black.  The split ring that holds the camera is 15mm in diameter and very strong.


Made from the same materials and available in the same three colors is the Komboloi Wrist Strap.  They were inspired by the traditional Greek worry beads.  These turned out to be one of the most comfortable wrists straps I have ever had the pleasure of using.


Next was a Rock N Roll camera strap.  These are a beautiful, completely handmade straps, which are already the choice of many Leica photographers.  They were inspired by the guitar straps many Rock n Rollers use for their guitars.  Each Rock n Roll camera strap consists of 55 to 75 pieces (depending to size) and needs more than an hour of assembly.  They are beautifully hand stitched at the endings.  Rock n Rolls feel very flexible  and are very durable straps.


Made very much the same way are the Rock N Roll wrist straps, one of which is specifically made for the Leica SL.  The brand new Leica SL is a superb camera, heavy though and with the zoom lens even heavier. The strap lugs are in different position and it can’t be used with split rings like the Leica M cameras .



These straps are specifically designed for it. They are made to be very sturdy and durable,  with no metal or plastic connectors because there is danger of injuring the body of the SL.

The first strap for the Leica SL was  a continuation of the Rock n Roll Strap collection, but made with different leather and it consists  solely of leather parts.  It takes about 7 working days to prepare orders for the Rock n Roll SL Wrist straps.


Lately there has been a flood of camera straps in a huge variety of styles and materials.  The Tie Her Up straps are definitely worth your consideration and they have to be considered a welcome accessory to any Leica camera.

For complete information on the Tie Her Up straps, please go to www.tieherup.eu


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For more information on KOMARU and for orders go to: www.taos-photographic.com

For more information and pre orders go to: www.lenstab.com



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Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography

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Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography




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