1. As a kid, I enjoyed making faces when being photographed, by a family friend who shot with a TLR.
2. My family's first camera was probably an Agfa. It came with a beach carry-all bag. Beach and camera that was the idea.
3. I bought a Ricoh SLR in middle school. I don't know where it is now. I was inspired by an Uncle Ng in middle school. It's all his fault.
4. I bought a Nikon FE with a 50mm f1.4 later before me and my friends took a trip to Beijing by train. I still use it. Over the years, I bought a 35~105mm f3.5~4.5, 24mm f2, and a MD-12 motor drive.
5. I used it in a college photography class. My professor was frankly impressed with my knowledge in anything photography. She was good. I knew everything I needed to know about photography already except the darkroom bit. That was my ego talking. My friend ghorse and most other people know much more than me. I am just too lazy.
6. The camera survived a car crash on Garden State Parkway in New Jersey. I got the camera and lens fixed in HK, thanks to my brother. The lens was left with a big scar on the barrel but works just as smooth.
7 With passive aggressive tactics, I broke down my wife to finally buy me a Nikon F5.
8. I did not even use it with an AF lens until much later.
9. Basically I used my F5 like once a year during Christmas and New Year times. Now I don't even actually use it.
10. I bought a Coolpix 990 together with a fish eye add-on.
11. I broke it or it died on me. Anyway it's gone for good.
12. Then I got a Canon G3, I still use it.
13. Then I got my Nikon D70, Nikon's major success in the pro-sumer DSLR space. I think it's very nice even to this day except "excessive" noise in shadow area by today's standard.
14. I can't keep up with this digital revolution.
15. I am all behind in Photoshop and whatever editing skills essential.
16. I bought a Yashica Mat-124 G and started in earnest in medium format. OKAY, not so earnest.
17. Then I got myself a Hasselblad 500C/M with the 80mm lens. It isn't perfect but it works.
18. I admire photojournalists especially war time photographers. They are crazy people who are ready to die on their job. I think women dig them too.
19. I got "published" once. It wasn't a big deal at all, it was just some reader's submission. I think the publication sent me some voucher, I put it inside a desk drawer otherwise known as the mess and somehow it just got lost.
20. The award winning picture was a picture of my friend at the Hong Kong tram station next to a mirror column showing him and his reflection. The editor was impressed how steady my hand was given that it was hand-held at a slow shutter speed. But he missed my point totally: the duality and twisted personality of my friend.
21. That was it. I had reached the pinnacle of my photographic Everest. From that point on, everything went downhill.
22. Pictures look better with me behind the camera. Not because of my aesthetics or technique because I wasn't in the picture.
23. I know my pictures are boring.
24. I mess up all the time.
25. I thought I loaded up my Yashica Mat-124 G, but I didn't. So I have been pretending shooting around town for the past few days.
Inspired by Michelle (not the mess up parts)
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I heard about 60% of your 16 things and some other insider story of your car crash of your FE, you placed your FE in between your legs during the car crash
ReplyDeleteThe first family camera is an unknow brand and the only adjustment that could make is the 4 position lever on the lens that control the aperture with sunny, overcast and cloudy icons.
ReplyDeleteIt's more than 16!
ReplyDeleteghorse: I think ours was really a point and shoot, absolutely no adjustment.
ReplyDeletereadandeat: Those are surprise bonus points i just threw them in to bore people further.
lcl, I don't see many photos in your blog :? you should show them more !
ReplyDelete7. What a nice spouse :)
18. hahaha, why don't you try to be one too so women would dig you too :D
Michelle:
ReplyDeleteI thought I so did. mostly they are pictures of my kids and a mix even more boring subjects.
7. my wife is the best.
18. I am not ready to die for or on my job. But I am fascinated by them, a lot of true gritty romanticism, idealism and an odd mix of machismo and macabre. Women dig me already. Ha-ha.
7. details! details! details! i want to know what passive agressive tactics you used :)
ReplyDelete17. i'm sooooo jealous! i always wanted a Hasselblad but didn't want to spend the money ;p
18. ok, here's my shameless self promotion - we'll be launching a photojournalism blog next month. stay tuned.
19 & 20 you should post that pic here
now i want to write my own photography 16 too!
7. Basically I just looked at the catalog all day every day, back then the Internet hadn't been invented yet ...
ReplyDelete17. I bought it used from eBay. It was crazy expensive considering it has no meter no nothing just some glasses and a box and they are all used. But hey Hasselblad went to the moon. And that's why the Swedes have such a high standard of living, blame it on wordwordword. A Japanese digital camera doesn't worth much in 5 years down the road but a Hasselblad or a Leica, their values just don't drop.
18. Remind me to check it out.
19&20. That was a thousand years ago. I have no idea where the negative is. But you won't miss anything.