I have recently initiated a series of blogs, which pose this question: "Am I a [certain profession or activity] ?"
Within this context, I have discussed these topics:
Am I a maritime economist?
Am I an operations researcher?
Am I a painter? (title of blog changed)
And now let me pose this question: Am I a photographer?
So here is the picture:
I first practised photography since I was about 6, and when my father bought me a Kodak Brownie, an extremely simple camera that looked like this:
This camera used a film that had only space for 12 photos, each of dimensions 6X9 cm. I used this camera until I was about 14 years old. It took decent pictures if lighting was adequate. Most of them were black and white, but at the end I also used color film.
The basic film used was Kodak 620, see below:
Other than Kodak, films by Agfa, Ilford, and others were available.
Perhaps the most remarkable of the pictures I took with that camera was the following:
Pic was taken summer of 1963, when I was 12, onboard the S/S Limnos, on our way to Sifnos, and just outside Sounion. The man you can see in the picture was my father. It is not clear (and I do not remember) if my father was looking at me or away to the sea. The picture was recognized by magazine EIKONES. They published it when I submitted it for a photography contest.
Incidentally, my father had a more sophisticated camera, THIS ONE (Ensign):
Film used had the 120 format, which was a variant of 620. The difference between 620 and 120 was the diameter of the spool.
I never used my father's camera, but I wanted something better than the Brownie. The solution came in the form of a Zeiss Ikon 35 mm camera, which my father bought for me as a Christmas present when I was about14 and which looked like this:
This camera had the famous Tessar 50 mm f2.8 lens, had a photometer, could take a flash, and had a variable apperture and variable shutter speeds up to 1/500 sec. It also had a timer. The standard 35 mm film could take as many as 36 pictures (there were also versions with 20 pics). Wow!
A typical 35 mm film looked as follows (here by Konica/Minolta):
Film was available for prints or for slides.
Incidentally, my sister had a simpler camera, a Kodak Instamatic 100, which was very popular at the time. Here is how it looked:
The 100 took the Kodak 126 film, which came in cartridges like this:
Anyway, I took many nice pictures with the Zeiss, mostly prints, but also slides. Unfortunately, I lost it when my apartment in Cambridge MA was broken into in 1976. That was really a downer.
A few months later I bought a Nikkormat FT2 camera, THIS ONE:
I bought it from the Ferranti-Dege photo shop in Cambridge MA, near Harvard Square. I spent a lot of money in that store, buying cameras, lenses and film, and giving film to develop. I always remember their motto, "once with Nikon, always with Nikon".
The Nikkormat camera is a 35 mm SLR (single lens reflex), with vertical focal plane shutter and speeds that could go to 1/1000. In addition to the standard 50 mm f1.4 Nikkor lens, I also bought a 135 mm f3.5 Nikkor telephoto lens and a 28 mm f3.5 Nikkor wide-angle lens. Unfortunately, I lost the wide angle in one of my trips to California in 1978. I lost it in a rental car- it accidentally dropped there from a bag that I used, unbeknownst to me.
I remember the "certificate of recognition" I received at a Nikon contest for a picture I took from a TWA airplane in 1976 (sunset over the Atlantic Ocean). I am trying to locate the picture and the certificate.
Here is a Nikkormat pic that I like:
In addition to the Nikkormat, I also bought another 35 mm camera, a Rollei 35, this one:
Additional photo activities of mine include the following:
While in Greece, and during my university years, I constructed and maintained a darkroom, to develop and print black and white pictures! It was an exciting activity. Developing pics involved using the so called Paterson tank and the use of chemicals. Other chemicals and a projector were used for the printing. It was amazing to discover the latitude one has when printing (parameters include the kind of paper, the chemicals, the exposure, etc).
Also in Greece and while in high school I got a movie camera, a Canon 518 Super 8. This was an 8mm film, whose duration was only a few (probably 3) minutes. It looked like this:
Films were in Kodachrome cartridges and were sent to Kodak France for processing. There was no sound.
Below is a pic of a Super 8 cartridge:
Sadly, this camera was stolen too, in one of the (3) burglaries that I suffered in the USA. I took many movies. I had also a movie projector by Silma.
In the mid 80s and while in the US, I also bought a waterproof Nikon camera, with which I took a lot of underwater pictures. It used regular 35 mm film. It died at some point, but I still have it. Ηere is a pic:
POLAROID: I also bought a Polaroid camera in 1985! The ONLY reason: At that time there was a super deal between Polaroid and TWA (a big US airline), by which if you bought a $25 Polaroid camera you got a 25% discount on TWA tickets worldwide, plus a free car from Avis for a week. So I did, and rented a Citroen Visa in one of my trips to Greece. That was actually the last time I used TWA.
With the advent of digital photography, my illustrious career as a photographer suffered a blow. I got several digital cameras, by Nikon, by Sony and by Canon. Many (I would say too many) died along the way. For instance, this one:
My latest digital is a Canon, I still have it, and it works just fine. Here is a pic:
Naturally, I also take a lot of pics by my cell phone. I do not consider this as serious photography. But some of the pics are fun.
Approaching 70 years since I started, I have LOTS of prints, slides and digital pics. Some others have been lost. Even though I have some old albums, I have yet to organize most of the pics. That would be a serious undertaking. Also I have some albums on Facebook.
I still have the Nikkormat and theoretically it should still be working. This is the best camera that I ever had.
