TonyP Loc: New Zealand

Having hung around UHH for awhile now, I know there are many here that go back way
further than I do in their life with photography, and the gear they have owned and the
experiences they have had.
50 years ago I would never have imagined my life today.
The pleasure of now sitting in front of my computer with a cup of tea (cigarette in the ashtray),
sunlight streaming through the blinds and a carpet on the floor.
Leisurely editing the days images.

If this was 50 years ago, today I would be standing on bare boards in a dimly lit 'darkroom'.
The smell of chemicals wafting around me.
Definitely no smoking and panicking that the negs weren't overcooking and the boss wasnt
going to walk in and 'interfere'.
I was about 3 months into my 'apprenticeship' which meant I hadnt been allowed to do
anything, other than do what I was told in the Darkroom and carry equipment around on jobs
and get blamed if the flash units werent fully charged or I hadnt loaded the film backs properly.
Looking back, Im sure he was a really nice guy, a little bloke, had very fair, thinning hair I recall
and always seemed calm, never appeared nervous, always took charge of whatever the job entailed.
Weekends was weddings and we could be rushing around doing 3-4 weddings every Saturday.
(he had 'casuals' who did the candids etc at the Wedding Breakfast).
He only did the 'Formals'.
Weekdays was mainly the Darkroom for quite awhile but eventually I went out and learned
how to photograph (and Light) everything from Factorys to Boardroom Portraits.

By 5 oclock we would be back at the Studio, me sent to the Darkroom to start Developing
while he would wait in reception and be organising the Casuals who would be working the
Candids and also Balls if it was Ball season.

I lasted about 4 years of my 'apprenticeship' and then took the plunge and went out on my own.
With a bit of mentoring from both my ex employer and another equally busy Photographer,
I did pretty well.
One of them gave me a Leica and I never had the heart to tell him that I was paying one off
along with a couple of lenses.
One of them gave me a whole set of lights when he upgraded his Studio and I inherited 4 or 5
(Meta?? something) Blitz flash units with over the shoulder battery packs.

So where did all this come from and where am I going?

My wife and I had to inventory a whole lot of stuff for our insurance recently and I mentioned to
our Broker I had quite a bit of old gear, including old Leica cameras.
Ive got one, still loaded with film, on my bookcase in the office at home but havent touched it since
I 'went Digital'. So that meant looking for the other one and that led to unearthing other stuff
Id forgotten I still had.
Our broker said he wanted pics (as proof I suppose) so a few quick shots later it was all done.
Then I had to give values so sent it all off to Auckland to a Valuer. I think in todays dollars its
come back with an insurable value about 5 times what I probably paid for it.

So heres some pics.
(wonder if our digital cameras will ever appreciate in value??)

Remember when we had to load our own film into the cannister?


This one has only had 2-3 films thru it.


Remember the 'Doctors Bag'?


My old camera manuals


Some brochures I used to drool over

bull drink water Loc: pontiac mi.

there were days when i'd have given my left arm for that equipment, or better yet been able to go to places where i could take pictures worthy of that camera.

ASR666 Loc: Singapore

This sounds like a great story. Why don't you write a book? I will buy a copy for sure ! Cheers

Shakey Loc: Traveling again to Norway and other places.

Beautiful cameras! I can relate to your story; there is a box in my attic that holds my collection of cameras and accessories. I have not opened it for years. Somewhere in there is a Mamiya C3 that produced the most wonderful negatives of any camera I ever had. That was 50 years ago, sad, but time marches on.

TonyP Loc: New Zealand

Funnily enough, thinking back, they were good pro gear, but most of us had them.
Probably like owning a D700 or D800 today.

TonyP Loc: New Zealand

My wife tells me I go on about the old days too much as it is.
That started out a short post and took me half an hour to write.
Reread and deleted probably half what I had written.
But thanks for your comment.

TonyP Loc: New Zealand

Yes, part of my training was on a Mamiya C3 (had a roll film and a plate film back from memory??)
I ended up buying a Mamiya Press (had the handles on the side) but took the same Backs.
I eventually bought a Hasselblad.
Wish I had never sold it but when I got out of the Business and went on to other things
couldnt affird to keep it.
Regretably.

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

Aren't memories like yours absolutely precious and priceless? And if you ever developed your own color shots maintaining the proper chemical temperatures was an added chore. And then, as you placed the photo in the chemicals, your heart pounding with anticipation, your image slowly began to appear. I still remember my fathers Leica, and my untold hours being his chemical grunt. I more clearly remember the amazing quality photos he produced, most of which were photos of post WWII Norway after Hitler's troops pillaged and plundered the country and it's inhabitants at will.

When I got old enough to afford my own gear, I warmly remember my first Minolta SRT 101, then moving 'up' to an SRT 102. And finally moving up to a Canon A1 before going digital and becoming a Nikonian (d800e among others) and learning the joys of pp using Photoshop, Lightroom and others.

The passion for good photography still burns strongly in my heart, and the magic remains when I see a quality image developing on the computer screen. My Leica owning father would have been amazed at what can be produced today sitting in a lit and oderless, chemical free office. He probably would have thought that today's digital manipulations were simply 'wrong' and that 'good' photos had to be shot with film and processed in a darkroom.

I wonder what the photographers in 60 years will think of our current equipment and workflows, and will hopefully reflect fondly on their memories of 'camera raw' and learning the multiple complexities of Photoshop and Lightroom. I hope so, and they will find boxes of old DSLR's and heavy lenses and will wonder in amazement how Gramps ever produced anything of quality using such primitive gear.

Thanks for taking me down memory lane, just think, a little Leica camera had a huge impact on my life and my decades old passion for quality photography.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

I may go back almost as far but have not have had as much experience as you describe so eloquently.

However I did start with film, moved on to digital and happily returned to film once more. I plan to travel to Europe in a couple of months with only an M6 and a Zeiss Ikon. It's going to be a lot more fun than taking my heavy DSLRs and zoom lenses.

Film has not been asleep. There are better films available today than ten or twenty years ago. I hope you have hung on to some of you film stuff just for the fun of it.

And no, only a museum might collect old DSLRs. They won't be worth anything because there are too many of them.

Shakey Loc: Traveling again to Norway and other places.

Oh! The Mamiya Press. What a camera! Mine had a 6X9 back and I used it for color trannies. Placed them with a long gone agency for extra dough. Like you I had to sell eventually. Happy days.

wilsondl2 Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

I just had a Yashica Mat 124 and many Minolta SRT's 100 - 202. Seemed like every Wedding I did someone had a better camera. I's the same today. Would have to buy two or three cameras every year to keep up. Anyway it was fun to think back. - Dave

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

Attic storage doesn't play well with the older gear...Hope they are still in decent condition....My older gear is stored in a bedroom that was converted to an "office" when the kids moved out...Climate controlled inside the house makes for better chances they still work right...

Kingmapix Loc: Mesa, Arizona

Love it. I have my memories up in the closet with a Nikon S-1 and a 50mm f/1.4 lens given to me in the 1960. Every once in a while I take it down and marvel over the structure of the camera and feel in my hands. These were golden days in photography.
Kodachrome 25 slide film was the king. And those stored slides endure to this day. May Kodak rest in peace.

I see that Fuji has a camera out that echos days gone past.
Look at the Fujifilm X100S. This camera emulates the retro
cameras that we grew up with. Sort of like bringing back an old friend, also a camera system that gives quality results.

mel Loc: Jacksonville, Florida

Oh! I don't remember all the cameras that I had except for two of them, a twin lens reflex Mamiya and a Rollie. I used to buy bulk film and load my spools in a changing bag. I can even go back to the days of gas light paper. Do any of you remember that? What's that ringing in my ears, must be my hearing aid batteries.

TonyP Loc: New Zealand

Thanks for your comment Jon.
Tho there wasn't a lot of heart pounding in the Darkroom, fortunately.
It was a job (and sometimes got very boring, especially printing 'proofs').
Our developer/wash/fixer trays etc were fairly large, about 3 foot square x 4-5 inches deep
and we had immersion heaters to warm them up and as the room was kept very warm
(not a lot of ventilation either in those days), temps werent really a problem, but we did check
probably every 10 mins or so as part of the routine.
Negative processing was a bit stressful for me. Very fiddly.
We developed about 10 rolls at a time in a big round cannister and it could take
ages to load them around the drum.
I nearly ended my career at an early stage by trying to develop a batch in pure water.
We had a lot of large plastic jugs on the wet bench that we would mix the chemicals in.
One morning I got mixed up and loaded the drum full with the 35mm rolls from the
Fireman's Ball the night before. About 400 negs at 40ish per roll.
In haste, I then poured from the wrong jug.
After a Ball, we had to have the proofs out in Reception by 9am the next morning to
catch the hungover 'punters' on their way to work. They would view the Proof sheets and order
4 x 6 prints. This was bread and butter work for the Business.
Pleased it brought back a memory or two for you.
Cheers