As a young kid, I enjoyed making photos with a Kodak Baby Brownie Special and 127 film. I enjoyed looking at all the still and movie cameras in the photo magazines. Yet, what I really wanted to be was a television cameraman. On the Steve Allen show, they did the unprecedented thing of turning one of the cameras around to show the cameras being used on the stage and street - this fascinated me.
When I was 12, I literally saved nickels and dimes for six months so that I could buy a simple Kodak 8mm movie camera, which I still have to this day. Less than a year later, In 1965, Kodak introduced Super 8mm, but I couldn't afford to upgrade.
Later, as a poor college student, I bought my first serious SLR. What I really wanted was what I saw in those Popular Photography and Modern Photography ads: the beautiful Minolta SRT-101 with the sexy 58/1.2 MC Rokkor lens. Alas, there was no way I could afford that. So, rather than settle for the plain sister, the SRT-100, which would constantly remind me of my dream camera, I bought something totally different: a Pentax SP500, which I also still have and use to this day.
Since I had the sense to choose a good profession which I enjoy (engineering), I've been able to afford and buy some nice cameras and lenses. I've noticed that the American magazines have always emphasized articles on equipment, whereas UK magazines emphasize techniques and themes much more. Anyway, I blame the American magazines for my habit of buying all this equipment. However, I do use all that I have and can actually make a nice photo occasionally.
I've moved from 35mm, to medium format, to large format. Surprisingly (to me), I've become interested in Polaroid photography because, like glass plate and other early photography, the image is totally unique: a one-of-a-kind material object that was present at the scene. That can't be said of prints from negatives and certainly can't be said of anything digital.
As for my dream camera, over the years I've looked at many SRT-101's, but haven't picked one yet.
When I was 12, I literally saved nickels and dimes for six months so that I could buy a simple Kodak 8mm movie camera, which I still have to this day. Less than a year later, In 1965, Kodak introduced Super 8mm, but I couldn't afford to upgrade.
Later, as a poor college student, I bought my first serious SLR. What I really wanted was what I saw in those Popular Photography and Modern Photography ads: the beautiful Minolta SRT-101 with the sexy 58/1.2 MC Rokkor lens. Alas, there was no way I could afford that. So, rather than settle for the plain sister, the SRT-100, which would constantly remind me of my dream camera, I bought something totally different: a Pentax SP500, which I also still have and use to this day.
Since I had the sense to choose a good profession which I enjoy (engineering), I've been able to afford and buy some nice cameras and lenses. I've noticed that the American magazines have always emphasized articles on equipment, whereas UK magazines emphasize techniques and themes much more. Anyway, I blame the American magazines for my habit of buying all this equipment. However, I do use all that I have and can actually make a nice photo occasionally.
I've moved from 35mm, to medium format, to large format. Surprisingly (to me), I've become interested in Polaroid photography because, like glass plate and other early photography, the image is totally unique: a one-of-a-kind material object that was present at the scene. That can't be said of prints from negatives and certainly can't be said of anything digital.
As for my dream camera, over the years I've looked at many SRT-101's, but haven't picked one yet.
