Photographic

Camera Odyssey

From the earliest days of our lives, someone was always aiming a camera at my brothers and me. Some of the earliest recollections that I have had to do with cameras and photo equipment, which seemed to be a family hobby. Everywhere we went, there was a camera recording the scene.

Photography was a family hobby. I remember the smell of the photo chemicals from Eastman Kodak that came from the 1-gallon brown glass jugs that were stored in the family darkroom, the red glow of the safelights, and the light emanating from the lens of the old DeJur enlarger that was used to create black and white prints.

I recall cameras from Kodak, Bell & Howell, Graflex, Exacta, Rollei, and a funny camera from a Japanese company called Nippon Kogaku K.K. There were all of the various roll and sheet films, all stored in brown leather camera bags. I remember filters, and tripods with wooden legs, and later a shiny aluminum Tiltall Tripod made by the Marchioni brothers in Rutherford New Jersey... and one of which I still own and use.

I can dredge up memories of the exasperated look on my mother's face as she was asked to smile for "just one more shot."

This will be an attempt to show a bit of how cameras played a large part in my family's life, and one that continues to this day with my son.

Photo #1 of a series

Tags: cameras, family, hobby, jargontalk, lexidiem, odyssey, photography