I owe my fascination with photography to my Dad, who was an amateur photographer from the time he was working on the Alaska railroad in the 40's up to his death in October 2010. He always said that he taught me everything he knew in
five minutes and I took off from there. I remember him with his Argus c-3 showing me how to hold it and how to hold my breath as I released the shutter, and that springy clunk as it took the picture. Sunny sixteen was his meter, though he had a sekonic meter he seemed to always guess in his own way. It worked! He came up with some fantastic shots using Kodachrome ( the slooooow stuff like ASA 25).
He would comandere the only bathroom we had in the house and set up his Kodak coldlite enlarger on the toilet seat and a piece of plywood over the tub. Screwing in a red light bulb utterly captivated me. Mixing the chemicals
was a job he had me do. Explaining what did what. The smell of the stop bath, the slimy feel of the developer, getting the temperature just right. When that image appeared in the Dektol developer it was magic to me. This was the early 1960's around when I was 7 or 8 yrs old.
God, there are so many memories...... I remember going down to St. Vincent De Paul's on lake union in Seattle where there was an alley of small shops. One particular shop sold film and used cameras. Bins of 35mm film in green and silver foil packaging with names like Royal X, super xx, Ansco, and Verichrome. Shelves of old Kodak and Agfa folders, old Argus's and Mercurys.
My dad loved Agfa 120 roll film cameras, the ones where the lens folded down revealing a 75 or 80mm lens, all black, but a red shutter button, and the smell of the old leather! they took 6cm by 6cm pictures and some even took wider shots with little barn doors the would fold in to allow the square format. Those where the days.
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7th grade report
Bicycle trip
Posers with the Nikons in the brown leather case
The camera magazines: Popular Photography January 1971
Harold Meyer Drugs on K st Tacoma hilltop
My first good twin lens: http://www.jimsimonphotography.co.uk/103-Yashica-Mat.jpg
The darkroom under the stairsthen to converting an old coal bin to a full darkroom in the basement
Camera class at Stadium High school
My first SLR Zenit E (the Russian exhibit in Seattle)
The Russian camera from Vienna, The "GOED" mystery the 30 dollar Lika Lieca
Hiking in the Pacific Northwest
My second SLR and the start of using Canon cameras
Glass Brass and Chrome, history of the american 35mm miniature camera
The Vocational school boat shop and the abundance of subjects
My first real classy camera the Mamiya 645 ( camera show in seattle )
The Camera shop downtown Tacoma
Dad and his Sears cameras ( or Ricoh )
The Kodak Photo contest in the Tacoma News Tribune
The Kodak Tourist Big 620 rollfilm folder
Silver Image Art Gallery
"Photo Dark" my first job at a darkroom rental store on Proctor st. Tacoma Wa. Bret Woody
My second good Twin Lens camera the Rolleicord Vb.
Almost got a 4X5 graphic view but was not to be.
On strike so I'm going to shoot and print weddings.
Shooting Weddings and loathing it.
The Omega Auto B3 enlarger
Anniversary Speed graphic the 3 1/4 by 4 1/4 model not the 4X5 like I wanted.
My wife's Uncle Johnny, and his photographic history
The Canon AE1
Then came to computer revolution and my interest waned.
The dumb thief that stole my zorki 4, the car window was worth more than the camera by twice.
The Minolta X-370 my second breath at Photography
Then Came the Canon EOS autofocus system
The world of Ebay
The weird Kalimar 66
Buying and selling
My Soviet Camera enthrallment
Zorkis, Feds and Kievs Oh My!
The Digital revolution
The Agfa cl30
The Olympus C-3000
My first Canon Digital Rebel
The Canon 20D
The Canon 5D
The Canon Rebel XTI
The Epson Stylus Photo 1280
The Epson Stylus 2800
The Epson Stylus Pro 7600
You have caught up to me.
