Hello, I'm a new member with an inordinate fascination with rangefinder and medium format cameras. I'm sure this stemmed from my father's Contax IIa Color Dial that he bought in the Tokyo PX on R&R while serving in the Army in Korea. Knowing how frugal he was his entire life, his purchase of that camera, plus wide, portrait, and telephoto Nippon Kogaku lenses and other accessories is puzzling. Alas, he's no longer around to ask why he spent such an extraordinary amount on camera equipment...
In high school, through a friend who was one of the yearbook photographers, I became obsessed with Hasselblad cameras. I was captivated by the extraordinary photos in their catalogues showing adventurous mountain climbers with 500 C/Ms strapped on and SCUBA divers photographing sealife with their waterproof SWCs (I've always had more ambition than skill or talent ;-) . In those days, I also helped in the darkroom, learning to develop film and load cannisters from bulk spools of Tri-X Pan film.
I had a chance to acquire a Leica IIIc (though could have been a later version) from a family friend, but I was made to choose between a perfectly functional Olympus XA2 I'd already been given and the not-so-well-working Leica. Ahh, what could have been. I should have turned the XA2 over to my sister, taken the Leica and gotten it serviced, and learned how to actually take photographs.
My college-era low-end Nikon could have provided a solid education, if I'd not been more distracted by trying to do clever things with Cokin filters. That wasn't helped by the fact that it was impossible for a non-art major to get into any of the photography classes to learn basic skills.
Since 1997, it's been a succession of Canon, Nikon, and now Fuji digital cameras. Sadly, for the last few years, I've taken almost all my photos with my phone :-\
Now, I'd like to get back into film photography. I've inherited the Contax, had it serviced, and bought a new light meter. I tend to be more of a lurker than a poster, but I expect I will learn a lot from the other members here.
Jim
Fort Collins, Colorado
In high school, through a friend who was one of the yearbook photographers, I became obsessed with Hasselblad cameras. I was captivated by the extraordinary photos in their catalogues showing adventurous mountain climbers with 500 C/Ms strapped on and SCUBA divers photographing sealife with their waterproof SWCs (I've always had more ambition than skill or talent ;-) . In those days, I also helped in the darkroom, learning to develop film and load cannisters from bulk spools of Tri-X Pan film.
I had a chance to acquire a Leica IIIc (though could have been a later version) from a family friend, but I was made to choose between a perfectly functional Olympus XA2 I'd already been given and the not-so-well-working Leica. Ahh, what could have been. I should have turned the XA2 over to my sister, taken the Leica and gotten it serviced, and learned how to actually take photographs.
My college-era low-end Nikon could have provided a solid education, if I'd not been more distracted by trying to do clever things with Cokin filters. That wasn't helped by the fact that it was impossible for a non-art major to get into any of the photography classes to learn basic skills.
Since 1997, it's been a succession of Canon, Nikon, and now Fuji digital cameras. Sadly, for the last few years, I've taken almost all my photos with my phone :-\
Now, I'd like to get back into film photography. I've inherited the Contax, had it serviced, and bought a new light meter. I tend to be more of a lurker than a poster, but I expect I will learn a lot from the other members here.
Jim
Fort Collins, Colorado
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