As we reach a certain point (age) in our lives, I think many of us begin to look back over the decades with a heightened sense of nostalgia. Through the years we tend to recall fond memories of days gone by. It’s not the same as living in the past, but moreover enjoying quick recollections of momentous occasions and good times. For me, personally, as I neared the age of 60 I found myself reflecting more often on my youth, which I suppose is normal when we get to that point in our lives when we suddenly realize that we have less time ahead of us than in the rear view mirror. To that point, my most recent obsession fascination has been focused on an era from 45 years ago, give or take a year.
Back in the mid-to-late 1970’s my brother took a keen interest in photography, and as I was prone to do, I followed in his footsteps. Being the younger brother I often idolized my one older sibling (he’s laughing now as he reads this). I suppose idolize is a strong word, but lets just say he pursued some interests that ended up appealing to me as well. One of those interests was photography–film photography, to be sure (there was no other form at the time, nor would there be for a few more decades).
My brother, Hal, led the charge with his first camera, a Canon QL17 GIII 35mm rangefinder (which he still has!). Within a couple of years (maybe less?) he moved up to a Canon AE-1, which was a SLR (Single Lens Reflex). About this same this time I was able to get my first camera, a Konica Autoreflex TC.
We both carried our cameras on the many backpacking trips with our Boy Scout Troop, shooting mostly Kodachrome and Ektachrome color slide film. I’m grateful for that because I still have carousels of slides to commemorate those great times in the outdoors. We would shoot rolls of film and then our mom would drive us to the local Pay’n’Save where we dropped the film off at the counter to be developed. A week or so later the call would come in that the slides were ready to be picked up. There was always a sense of eager anticipation to discover what the images held in store for us, but I don’t recall being impatient as we waited for the film to be developed. After all, life moved a bit slower back then. Eventually we began buying black and white Kodak Tri-X film in bulk, loading our own film canisters and developing the negatives at home, where we also had a makeshift darkroom in the basement. Our parents were very supportive of our hobby, which I think they hoped would keep us out of trouble (which it did, mostly). There were photography classes taken in high school which further fanned the flames of photographic passion. I even got to be a TA (that’s “Teacher’s Assistant”) for my photography teacher one year, which was essentially an easy A (which I desperately needed to offset my dismal grades in math.
Following high school, the photography “bug” waned a bit, at least for me. I did take one photography class in college but, as a hobby, photography took a back seat to other interests. That said, while I didn’t carry my SLR camera around with me, I often had a “point and shoot” camera at my disposal. Thankfully I have a good trail of photos that chronicled my journey into young adulthood. Whether serious about photography or not, having a camera was just something that was part of me.
In the mid 2000’s digital photography was really taking hold in the world and I made the change from fumbling with film to pushing pixels. Gone were the days of buying film, shooting 24 or 36 exposures, sending the film off for processing, and waiting for the results. Now, instantly, I knew if the shot was good or not simply by scrolling through the playback window on the camera. It was magical! Soon my last 35mm film camera became a forgotten relic and was eventually sold off to some antiquated caveman, or traded in on the next digital camera. Sadly I don’t even remember what became of my last film camera.
Fast forward to today, I have—since the onset of digital world—always had a digital camera, or several. I’ve definitely maintained a fondness for photography, but as nothing more than a very low-level hobby. Most of my digital cameras have had automatic settings for the exposure and autofocus lenses, and I have become accordingly complacent. And it’s easy to understand how that could happen as it’s hard to screw up a shot with the technology available. Because of that I think my skills as a photographer—looking for that one interesting shot and determining the right exposure settings—have suffered due to convenience. And that’s been fine, until recently.
I think, in the back of my mind, I’ve always pondered film photography over the years but never felt compelled to go back. Then a few months ago I began reading the occasional article or blog post about a resurgence in the popularity of film photography. I didn’t have to descend too far into the rabbit hole to realize that film is still readily available (though not cheap), there are many outfits what still process film (both local-ish and via the World Wide Web), and there are countless places to purchase vintage film cameras and accessories. And this is when I got into trouble.
I first began looking for the model that was my first SLR camera, and then my second. I was surprised to see that I could pick one of those up for much less than $100! The problem with those cameras is that they were not high-end models to begin with, and while the lenses were good, the cameras themselves did not stand up particularly well to the passage of time (that happens to many of us). Thus I began looking at other cameras from that era of the mid-to-late 1970’s, and there it was. The camera that invoked awe when I was a teenager. The camera that only professionals possessed: the Nikon F2. It was a big, beautiful beast of a thing then, and now. I don’t believe many casual hobbyist photographers carried this camera for a couple of reasons. First, it was professional-grade piece of equipment capable of much more than most consumer photographers needed or wanted. Secondly, it was made of all metal and was big and heavy. Third, it carried a price tag as heavy as the camera itself. In 1977, which was late in the life cycle of the Nikon F2 series, the F2AS model was about $750 with a 50mm f/1.4 prime lens. That equates to almost $4000 today! As a comparison, my entry-level Konica Autoreflex TC camera went for about $150 in 1976 (about $830 today).
Some quick reading was all I needed to know that the Nikon F2AS was what I wanted. With the DP-12 viewfinder it was the most advanced of the F2 models, and is widely regarded as the best. My next task was to find one. I’m particular about the condition of my personal belongings and so finding a 47 year-old camera in near-new condition was paramount. I learned through reading to be careful of buying from the Asia-Pacific region because of the potential for fungus on the lenses and viewfinders. OK, so no purchases from EBay sellers in Japan. Unfortunately that seriously limited things as that’s where the greatest selection seems to be found. Fortunately, I found just what I was looking for at KEH Camera. It was a black-bodied beauty graded in EXC+ condition and available to me for less than what it would have cost new in 1977. Into my shopping cart it went, along with a couple of Nikon lenses that were also in EXC+ condition. A week later the package arrived and I was as giddy as a little kid on Christmas morning. Despite the F2AS appearing to be in mint condition, I needed to be sure that everything was functional. I tested the light meter against a light meter app on my phone, and everything seemed to check out. The shutter worked as it should, as did the aperture rings on the lenses. With that, I first loaded a roll of Kodak Tri-X 400 (black and white) and powered through 24 exposures. Next up was a roll of Kodak Gold 200 (color). After I completed the second roll, off went the film to Blue Moon Camera and Machine in Portland Oregon, for processing. To say that the week and a half of waiting (and checking the daily progress of my order online) was a painful exercise in patience is true. This was a little different than snapping a pic on the iPhone and then immediately looking at it before sending it to someone or uploading to the Instant Grams. But the waiting was good for me, as a reminder of simpler times. Slowing down–that’s what this whole film endeavor was all about, after all, right?
While I was waiting for my film order to be completed, of course I had to pick up a couple more lenses. I now have a good selection of fine Nikkor glass to pair with my F2AS body: 135mm f/2 AIS (mid-telephoto), 105mm f/2.8 AIS (short telephoto), 24mm f/2.8 AIS (wide angle) and of course the “standard” lens, 50mm/F1.8 AIS . These lenses should cover all the focal lengths I need, for now 😉
I will say that it has been a lot of fun going back in time. Loading film and setting the ASA (desperately trying not to forget to do this!). Adjusting aperture and shutter speeds until the exposure is correct, then focusing carefully with eyes that aren’t what they used to be. Depressing the shutter button and hearing the heavy clank of the titanium shutter curtains slamming shut before advancing the film using the right thumb…it’s all coming back to me, and I love it. At this time I’ve shot a couple more rolls of black and white film which I recently sent off for processing. And again, I wait.
One thing is for sure–lugging around a heavy camera and multiple lenses is not an endeavor that one embarks upon casually. When I’m going out to shoot with this gear, that is what I am doing, and nothing else. I quickly discovered that walking an energetic dog while trying to be intentional about shooting photos is not a good combination. So what about possibly having a smaller, lighter camera for daily-carry to capture a shot when the opportunity randomly presents itself? More on that in another post.
For now, here are just a few shots from my first two test rolls. I’m looking forward to retraining my eye to look for good subjects and gaining familiarity with the camera to ensure that I get the results I intended.
