Luxury Camera Bags by Thorsten von Overgaard

[jaapv]

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In which the euthanasia provision is highly debatable for animals in natural circumstances. I am not sure whether we need to impose human standards  and sensibilities on nature.

[jaapv]

It is not enough indeed. Time to defend deers, calfs and "crocs" now. What about nailing the Von to the wall? I mean the bag of course... 

There is a primary difference between endangered species and other ones, as there is a (slippery slope, admittedly ) distinction to be made between animals of high intelligence and sensitivity like Elephants and less intellectually evolved ones like Crocodiles.

[edwardkaraa]

There is a primary difference between endangered species and other ones, as there is a (slippery slope, admittedly ) distinction to be made between animals of high intelligence and sensitivity like Elephants and less intellectually evolved ones like Crocodiles.

Very slippery indeed!

[Ouroboros]

 

Unless I’m mistaken, elephant skin seems suddenly to be out fashion in Overgaard’s little bag shop, unless you specifically ask for it.

 

Alligator and ‘croc’ is in.

[pico]

We should have anticipated an issue when the video opened with a cat!

[coupdefoudre]

Sorry, but I cannot help myself:

 

 

I think this might be the right place to announce my new line of camera bag-swag made especially for Leica gear.

 

These great pieces of kit will be machine-made via hand-or-finger-operated equipment from genuine Naugahyde with interiors of viscosa! Yes, that’s correct, luxurious Italian rayon. We will begin this spectacular offering with two coverings (crocodile and elephant) in two styles (big and bigger) and three colors (gold lamé, red and my personal favorite, blue.) Note: My fellow Americans may substitute alligator for croc if they find using a foreign animal offensive.

 

These bags will be numbered and limited to the first 1000 purchasers at the unbelievably low price of … well… if you have to ask you certainly cannot afford it.

 

How can we do it, you ask?

 

Well, here’s the best part: after your initial payment, you pay an additional, hardly-worth-mentioning, $1000 each and every year you own the bag (minimum term = 20 years or your lifetime if, regrettably, it proves to be shorter.) Please do not think of this as a Lend-Lease arrangement for it is much more than that: you will share in the ownership of your bag(s) with all those other discerning owners whose luggage will never have to have the covetous eyes, much less the hands, of the great unwashed masses cast upon their private baggage. As you can imagine, most of those who have shown interest possess their own jets and chauffer-driven motor coaches (modesty prevents me from naming names but you would recognize them.)

 

The first 100 purchasers (probably those who engage our tours) will receive FREE of charge, our miracle waterproofing treatment, a patented process we call Over-Garde Protection, as seen in the well-respected Robbed Report magazine.

 

We look forward to hearing from you, our discerning, expected clientele. Remember, our bags won’t be trumped!

 

(Oh… offer void where prohibited by law or custom.)

Edited March 29, 2018 by coupdefoudre

[stunsworth]

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We should have anticipated an issue when the video opened with a cat!

Wasn’t it a rabbit, or did I miss the cat?

[M9reno]

Back to those dubious T von O Zimbabwean certificates.

 

Since T von O is on Twitter with 12,994 followers...

 

He might be shocked to learn that there are fake-Twitter-follower mills?

 

https://followersgain.co.uk

 

... where I could buy 3,000 followers for £14.99!

 

And on Facebook I could buy 500 Likes for £4!

 

https://sociotraffic.com/facebook-likes/

[andybarton]

Another post hidden...

I have asked this before. Please keep this thread on topic. Please do not dilute this message.

There is another thread open in the bar if you want to discuss related matters.

[Alistairm]

I think this sums it up fairly well - http://leicaphilia.com/tag/matteo-perin/

 

The disgraceful exploitation continues by evoking outrage to generate free “click bait” publicity for TO et al. I doubt a bag will ever be sold.

Edited March 29, 2018 by Alistairm

[Samir Jahjah]

Another post hidden...

 

I have asked this before. Please keep this thread on topic. Please do not dilute this message.

 

There is another thread open in the bar if you want to discuss related matters.

And what is the topic ?

[andybarton]

The use of endangered species for fashion handbags.

 

Please feel free to start your own thread in the Bar about the treatment of domesticated animals.

 

Thank you

[M9reno]

I can buy 50 YouTube video likes for $0.89!

 

https://youtubeviews.today/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1_7C-J2S2gIV77ztCh0bbQluEAAYASAAEgLPnvD_BwE

 

And who would like an ironclad veterinarian science PhD from the University of Zimbabwe (to stop so many elephants dying of "natural causes")?

 

Quick turnaround and free delivery!

 

http://www.yuhongzp.com/samples_show.php?id=1908

[Denys]

The use of endangered species for fashion handbags.

Please feel free to start your own thread about the treatment of domesticated animals in the Bar

Thank you

 

I often wonder how many domesticated animals frequent the bar, and how they are treated.. ..but not enough to start a new thread.. ..agree mods doing a great job; really interesting reading; thanks!

[Pyrogallol]

Had a look at the Overgaard site to see what all the fuss was about.

Is it all a big joke? Ugly bags at silly prices, whatever they are made of. Do they actually sell any?

[Stealth3kpl]

 

« It's purely about the moral and ethical use of the skin of an endangered species being "procured" for the purposes of making a handbag ».

I hear this and i would rather choose Hermes or Vuitton if i wanted a luxury bag but what Thorsten is doing is not illegal is it? Assuming legal requirements are complied with, morals and ethics can vary in different parts of the world and i'm not sure if an international photo forum is the best place to discuss about that. There are dedicated forums or the Barnack bar for that. Just my grumpy old lawyer's two cents. 

 

As was pointed out earlier, legality and morality don't necessarily go hand in hand.

Pete

[M9reno]

Had a look at the Overgaard site to see what all the fuss was about.

Is it all a big joke? Ugly bags at silly prices, whatever they are made of. Do they actually sell any?

Did you see "The Vugly"?

[Overgaard]

Elephant has been taken out of the repertoire now. I have decided it’s not something I will promote. I have changed my mind on this, as a result of researching this subject during the last week. 

 

The overall deciding argument in all this is the fact that when governments flushed the market with 105 tons of legal ivory in an attempt to remove the market for illegal killing and trade, it had the opposite effect. The illegal killings for ivory went up. The logics of this must be that the more ivory and elephant products are promoted, the more it is wanted. 

 

That’s why I won’t promote elephant products. History has shown that legal trade will cause an increase in illegal trade too. 

 

So, I have renewed my stand on this. I’m first and foremost a photographer who shares my stories and experiences. For most photographers, that means creating aesthetics and preserving the moment. I think what we have in common in this forum across all geographic locations, different cultures, religious beliefs, and more is an interest for quality photography and a life in harmony. 

 

A great deal of my work during the 22 years that my website has been freely available to everybody has been dedicated to making things work and sharing how I did it. With the intention of helping people improve their skills. 

 

So, enough talk about elephants. Photography is what I do, as in my upcoming article this weekend on the 75mm Noctilux.

 

As for elephants, I have no interest in protecting or explaining legal or illegal slaughter of elephants. It’s not my cause, not my subject.

 

 

But …

 

As a human being on this planet, and as a person who invests much of my time on preserving things, I wondered how to apply my own actual viewpoint about things, to elephants. The odds are overwhelming: With 33-35,000 illegal elephant killings a year, for a species that now numbers a total of 500-600,000 worldwide, the end is actually near. 

 

I’ve researched a lot of organizations, their stand on elephants, the laws on elephant trade, and I’ve come across many good projects from propaganda against elephant trade to geotagging elephants with GPS devises and studying their behavior. Isolated, all these things are great projects, but how do you keep elephants from being extinct? How can one grow the number of elephants, from a personal level?

 

So, I decided to adopt an elephant.

 

I have donated $1,000 this morning to The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust as a gift of life, as a foster parent of an elephant. They also offer $50 (per year) foster programs.  

 

I’ve asked if they would name him (or her) Barnack, as I thought it would be fitting in this context. I spoke with them on the phone and their elephant keepers are with the elephant 24/7, and even sleep with them. Often times these are elephants that are left from the flock and would otherwise die. Or, they are newborns which grow up for their first 9-10 years with them, and are then released in a reserve. One of them is Maisha (means “miracle” in Swahili), and until further notice, my donation is directed to her. They also have aerial surveillance, community outreach, and other activities, which in my view makes this an overall good cause to support when the aim is keeping elephants alive and growing.

 

That felt good! So, I've decided to adopt more elephants so as to make sure that in spite of everything possible, some of my intention actually comes through in the end. Another organization that offers one the chance to adopt an elephant, is WWF, whom I have additionally donated £1,000 ($1,400) to this morning. I chose the UK site because I could do a one-time donation, but one can also do monthly donations from £50/$55 and up on both the UK and the US page. 

 

I would urge anybody to do something on a personal level. Be it informing others about facts involving elephant numbers, or putting your money where your mouth is. I’m not in a position to go to Africa or India myself to protect the elephants, so this is my choice for trying to influence matters as much as possible. I don’t feel tweeting about elephants will change anything other than upset the world, but I feel that providing energy to people who are doing something on the ground might make an actual difference. Hence my choice, which doesn’t have to be everybody’s.

 

If you would like to join me in further supporting this, I am doing a 90% sale on my website of eBooks, video classes, extension courses, and presets with all proceeds going to The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. The discount code “ELEPHANT” will be valid until April 2nd (add it to the box in checkout and the price will be reduced to 10%, all proceeds of which go to The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust).

 

You can participate in that offer here. Get 90% on the materials, and the 10% you pay goes to adopting elephants:  

http://www.overgaard.dk/newsletter-411-2018.html

 

 

 

Thank you for your interest in this. 

 

 

/Thorsten

 

 

 

 

[M9reno]

Thank you Thorsten, and here is to a long a happy life for Barnack.

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[andybarton]

Bravo Thorsten!

 

You have made this man, very happy.

 

Well done and thank you for listening, understanding and doing what you’ve done.

 

One last thing...would you write a piece about the plight of and saving of elephants on your website? You really can turn this last few days to your advantage.