A history lesson, perhaps part one of ∞

Looking back at my last post, which, if we were talking in accounting terms, would be so long ago that we’d just call it a write-off and forget about it, I’ve noticed something.  And I don’t wanna sound too pompous here, but, I’m not a bad writer.  Not when I get down to it and have drive and a direction, or a deadline, or some [recently] unfound inspiration to blog.  It seems as if this is not the first time I’ve said, “let’s try this again” (it’s not, see TITLE of another recent post), but, well, let’s…

My main focus these days, apart from any ancillary obsessions that may or may not relate to said focus, and indeed, the ancillary pun that I will shoot down right now with the word “focus”, is how how how to get myself going in a career with photography.  As such, I think it’s time that this here blog had a bit more focus of its own.  The problem is, I’m already ten years in the making with this, already ten years down some kind of path that I have, from time to time, drifted violently away from.  This, that, and the other is to say that ever since I can remember as a semi-adult, I’ve ultimately told myself that if I could do anything I want, I’d be a photographer.

So, I can’t quite start here and now.  I’m at a point on the road that would make no sense whatsoever to the outsider if I didn’t provide a little background info first.  I’m gonna try my best to make that info interesting to all readers, but, inevitably, I will drift into Ovie¹ territory with the technical, and over into Roper² territory with the abstract.  Ready?  Jump!

The year was 1998.  No, 1997.  I was fourteen, about to enter high school, and this was the first time I can remember planning to take my own camera and multiple rolls of film on a family vacation.  The camera was a hand-me-down from the 80’s, an Olympus AF-1 that my dad had paid a seemingly ridiculous amount of money for when new.  I’m talking ridiculous like 80’s CD player-money ridiculous.  Either way, he bought it for my mom and she didn’t like it because it didn’t have a zoom, so it ended up in my hands.  I wonder what happened to it…I haven’t seen it in this century.  As it turns out, it was a perfect starter camera to pique my interest.  Built-in motor and flash, true autofocus functionality, and a 35mm f/2.8 lens, waaayyy better than whatever crappy Zoom that my mom ended up with.  Here is a picture of it:

That took some searching to remember which one it was.  But even now, I think it’s a really well-laid-out compact camera.  You who know me know that I love such a fine example of boxiness.  Maybe I’ll pick a used one up.  Maybe I’m searching on eBay and KEH right now…grrr!  No results.  Someday.

Anyway, I took it along on a family trip to the four corners area during the summer of 1996.  As I remember, I put about 8 rolls of film through it, including one or two of T-Max 400, something brand new to me.  At the time this all seemed monumental, both in terms of number of exposures and developing expense (like $75 at Wolf Camera!  I insisted on high quality prints.  Even though they were 3×5’s.  Wow.  Kids these days are lucky!).  Most of the photos were forgettable, so much so that the negatives are no longer with me, but there were a few that I’m still pretty happy about.  This is one of them:

Google tells me this was in Bluff, Utah, right outside of the Navajo Nation.  Mmmm, Navajo fry bread:  the original funnel cake.  Google also tells me that the place, and more importantly, the car, are still there.  A much better photo is found here, from a Russian website that amusingly titles the image “Damaged car at Cow Canyon Trading Post”.  You’d think I would’ve, you know, spun around an noticed the huge BLUFF and thought it would’ve been a little bit better for photo composition.  Live and learn.

I got home from the trip, looked through the prints, and decided that I really liked doing this.  I really liked having a decent camera and, therefore (because at the time I don’t think there was any skill involved whatsoever) decent printed memories because of it.  This got me thinking…my dad also had this other old camera…

More to come!

Notes:

¹ If you really wanna know, or have ever wondered why I have a refrigerator-sized Studer tape machine floating around, and why I may or may not innately know how to repair it, you can look here.

² You really should check this out.  One of the best times I had in college.  My Man Roper is the star.