Musee D'Art Classique De Mougins

If you end up in Mougins, perhaps after feeling the trip to the Photographic Museum wasn't really worth the effort or worse still you followed the instructions of some guidebook or website which never got updated and were searching for the legendary (but sadly now permanently closed) car museum, fear not. Head for the Musee D'Art Classique in Mougins. It's a short walk from the Museum of Photography. Unlike the aforementioned museum it doesn't close for lunch and stays open late too. Surprisingly unfrench in many ways. The museum is like the treasure trove of a time travelling tomb raider. It's a reasonable sized museum, but by no means huge. However every object in it is a gem and worthy of closer inspection. The collection of Greek and Roman and other helmets is extraordinary. The inclusion of more recent objects of art is genius. Don't miss this one, all ages will enjoy it.

Photography Museum in Nice

I have been coming to the South of France for years and have visited the town of Nice at least once on each trip. How I managed  not discover this museum before is a mystery to me.

Anyway it's called Le Théâtre de la Photographie et de l'Image and its website can be found at http://www.tpi-nice.org

It housed in a beautiful old building in a leafy and shady section of the town, not far from the main shopping street near the Nice Etoile shopping centre.

The entrance hall contains a few glass cabinets with a broad collection of cameras from past to the (Pre-digital) present.

Beyond this there are a few airy rooms displaying the current exhibition, along with a small cinema whose walls are decorated with posters from previous exhibitions. There is also a well stocked library/archive room.

At the entrance desk there are a few framed pictures of Nice at the turn of the 20th century.

Entry is free and the museum is open from 10am to 6pm everyday except Sundays and Bank Holidays.

The museum is well worth a visit if you are in the area, but not worth a pilgrimage in its own right, unless the current exhibition warrants it (from the posters I saw they had an Elliott Erwitt and a some other exhibits I would love to have seen). I will certainly be paying attention to the website next time. I am in the area.

The Annual Dilemma

The measure of where I stand camera wise is the annual family holiday every year. I have to travel light, so which cameras I bring is always a big deal to me.

This year I have an Xpan which has reserved itself a slot (one of three). I will definitely be bringing one of my Leica Rangefinders with me (M8 and MP). I am pretty sure it will be the MP, along with black and white film.

The MP has an unfair advantage as its the new kid on the block. It's a camera I never intended buying (yeah I know, my previous post! Stay with me, this one is different!). I had a Leica M6 I was perfectly happy with, my ideal camera. However it had a shutter problem which was steadily getting worse and seemingly randomly ruining pictures. I sent it to Leica Germany for repair. The upshot was that I had a choice of a very expensive repair which wasn't guaranteed (or even expected) to be a complete success or a generous discount on a new MP. The third option of course was to have the M6 shipped back without repairing it.

Last year I have solved the dilemma by bringing both the M6 and the M8. The Xpan has put pay to that  (unless I bring all 3 cameras, each with one lens attached). If I still had the M6, the M8 might have had a chance, as the M6 had been my yearly travel companion, so I might have shaked things up a little.
Alas a pretty face wins every time - the MP has reserved the second slot.

I think the third slot will go for extra lenses. The Xpan will have its 45mm attached, and the MP its 50mm. 30mm Xpan lens and 35mm and 90mm M mount lenses will fit in the last slot. Wildcard option would be M8 and 28mm.