At a time when digital photography has taken over and has developed widely, Philippe André remains one of the only craftsmen to save the little gems entrusted to him by film enthusiasts.

Among them, we find collectors but also people who inherit a family device and who want to know its state of health and the possibilities of restoration.

“In 80% of cases, I manage to make them work again”, estimates the one who is nicknamed, in the industry, “the magician”. “

When it is really no longer possible, the device can become a “donor”; that is to say, a supplier of spare parts for another”, he continues.

Originally from the South of France, Philippe André was a furniture upholsterer in Saint-Remy-de-Provence.

Since the age of 13-14, he has been practicing photography and he remembers the element that triggered in him the desire to repair cameras. “While I was at an aunt’s, I was attracted to a camera when my father told me not to touch it for fear of breaking it. That’s when I said to myself that I was going to become a photographer”, he remembers.
Photography also led our man to become a local correspondent for the daily newspaper “La Provence”. “As I suppose it is still the case today, this activity was very poorly paid but it was very interesting and very rich in meetings and contacts of all kinds”, he declares.

Traveler

In his life, Philippe André has had the opportunity to travel quite a bit around the world.

“I traveled to Jordan, New York and lived on Reunion Island for three years.
When I returned, I met the woman who would become my wife and I settled in Belgium,” he continues.

That’s when he acquired a broken Nikon F3, took it apart and managed to resuscitate it. “This first successful experience in camera restoration created in me a bulimic and all-consuming passion for this activity.

I started reading a lot, watching videos and, finally, making a name for myself in this very particular field,” he explains. Thierry Ravasod, the biggest collector of Nikon cameras in Europe, regularly sends him cameras to repair. Over time, “the magician” created a website dedicated to the repair of film cameras. He describes how he does it and regularly posts videos of his expertise in the field. “

Since I’m retired, I have all the time to devote to this activity and, as long as I haven’t found the fault, I won’t give up,” he explains.

Painting

In addition to restoring film cameras, Philippe André has specialized in repainting them. “
I use a very resistant American color with which we repaint weapons. I start by stripping them before applying a color,” he explains. In the field of film, Philippe André generally immediately puts his finger on the problems with cameras. “
Unlike digital where it’s memory cards that don’t speak to me at all, in film, it’s parts that cause other elements to function,” he continues. “

In film, I find that photographers paid more attention to the framing and exposure of their subject than with digital where you shoot at will,” he regrets.
Over time, Philippe André has specialized in the restoration of Nikon, Leica M and Foca cameras, a French brand that virtually no one repairs anymore.

Info: https://repargentique.com.