My spring and summer warbler migration did not go off as planned, and I frankly had a very difficult summer personally. Hence, none of my new OM System gear made it out of the bag, to which I really didn’t care. I decided that I would sell my gear in order to pay off some bills as I wasn’t using it. But, I made another decision in conjunction with the sale.
This week, I bought the camera of my childhood dreams, the Nikon F-2 Photomic. And I am so excited! This is the camera that I wanted as a teen; my friend Peter Hornby was shooting with one, and I so very much wanted a Nikon. All I did in the summer of ‘76 was constantly read and reread photography magazines, lookiing at the Nikon ads and the pricing of them in the major New York camera stores. The truth was that i couldn’;t afford one, and I worked all summer at my uncle’s ice cream stand to be able to afford a Canon F-1, which was no slouch. But it wasn’t a Nikon. It wouldn’t be till I was 34 that I could afford a Nikon F-4S.
Everyone who was anyone photography-wise as shooting Kodachrome with a Nikon. And I wanted to be one of those guys, like Pete Turner or Galen Rowell, or Pete Hornby. Pete had such an informal effect on my photography, and I wanted to emulate him in every way. I remember shooting film among the dunes of Ocean Park, Maine, the ripples in sand following the outgoing tide.
But I digress. Why buy a completely manual, analog camera like the F-2? Because I decided that I wished to return to my roots, to come full circle as it were, and shoot pure black and white film versus converting digital images. I believe that shooting film will make me a better photographer, certainly more intentional, deliberate, and once again bring joy to my photography,
There was something to finding myself once again in a photography store, buying film, batteries and lens caps for my new 50mm f/1.4 non-AI lens. It brought back a lot of memories, when I hung out in camera shops in the ‘70s. Most of my digital gear I purchased online for the likes of B&H, Allen’s Camera, and Ace Photo. EBay is now my friend for gear, and I will be shopping at a great little store I found not too far from me named YM Camera in Youngstown, Ohio. They seem hooked into black and white photography, selling both film and developing services, which I’ll need in the beginning. Who knows, maube I’ll turn my bathroom into a darkroom…
I am so excited to share this new beginning in my photographic journey. And ‘m very excited to undertake this adventure. I’ll post more as things develop, so for now, ciao!