Old Cameras Can Teach New Tricks

I was always a creative child. I loved to do anything considered artsy. But photography was one thing that never interested me, though much of my family was into photography – my dad, my uncle, my grandfather, and even my stepfather were avid photographers. I wasn’t exactly a stranger to taking a picture; I had the basic cheap 35mm camera that I used to take the normal kid shots of family, friends, and pets. I had just never thought to express my creativity thorough a camera. That all changed in the late 1990s, though, when my dad gave me my first SLR (single lens reflex) camera. This camera would start a lifelong love of photography and give me what became my favorite form of creative expression.

My dad had a lot of extensive photo equipment that he hadn’t really used much in the past few years, but I’d always seen it around. I had never really paid much attention to all the equipment, but then one year before vacation, I asked him about it. He showed me the cameras, an old Yashica and Pentax that he had bought while deployed during his military time in the late 1960s. These cameras were not like the cameras most people use today – everything was manual, meaning no automatic focus or exposure. He explained how to work the light meter, the shutter speed, what the knobs did, how to change the lenses, and add filters. He then explained how the differences in lenses and how certain filters caused certain effects. As I held the camera and learned how to use it, my dad could easily see my interest. He said, “You can take the Yashica with the basic lens to your mother’s for the summer, if you would like.” I readily agreed and in addition to the camera, he gave me a little, battered camera bag and plenty of film.

I packed the camera away with my other items and pretty much forgot about it. That summer, we went on trip to Disney, the Everglades and a few more Florida attractions. Luckily for me, I had remembered to bring my new acquisition and plenty of film. Visiting the places we went was all right, but taking pictures of the things there was much more interesting. I took pictures of everything! Disney provided me with plenty of opportunities for me to take pictures of amazing scenes full of action and vibrant colors. At the Everglades, the alligator wrestling and animals everywhere provided unending opportunities. Once home, though, I put the camera away and didn’t use it again until the next year on a Cape Hatteras trip, where I again had more fun taking pictures than being on vacation.

After that point, I never really quit using the camera. I moved on to using all the gadgets that came with the Yashica and spent hours practicing with them. Every time my father would buy a new camera, I usually ‘borrowed’ it semi-permanently to use for myself. While I enjoyed taking pictures of almost anything, I eventually stumbled upon the first of my two favorite subjects the day I took that old Yashica with me to a local car show. On a random thought, I started taking pictures of the cars from unusual angles and focusing on details instead of the whole car. To my surprise, once these shots were developed, I saw that they better than most of the pictures I had ever taken and I had really enjoyed taking them. I started attending car shows regularly and taking hundreds of pictures at each one.

Around this time, I received the camera that I still use today – a digital Canon Rebel XT. This camera truly helped me expand as an artist and allowed me more creative freedom than any camera I had used before. Now I could take picture after picture, using different exposures, lenses, and filters and I didn’t have to worry about wasting film. Also, not too long after I got the Rebel, I discovered my other favorite subject, which was taking pictures of the old, abandoned and the abused structures of the surrounding area, with a particular interest in the coal industry. I now make many adventures to capture these places on film, in hopes of keeping their history alive and spreading knowledge of them to others through a blog that I have.

That first ‘real’ camera started a love for photography that I still have. That camera still works, with all its added dents, dings and scratches, and I still have it, although I rarely use it anymore. Once in a while, I feel the need to take it out and use it for old time’s sake, and when I do, I remember how much it taught me. Because it was old and complicated, I learned how to really use a camera and to know how much thought goes into making a great photo. Through the years, my skills as a photographer improved tremendously, my love of taking photographs grew, and I owe all of it to that one old camera.

(written in 2011)