of photographers.
I am in Calumet Photographic - a rare thing now-a-days as there seems to be a crisis of identity with them – digital or wet and not really doing either well. I buy online as there seems to be more options. With wet, there are places who revel in odd papers and developers, I have to go online to buy anything for the platinotypes. With digital again the better prices for paper and inks are from office supply sites. I go into a camera shop for the same reason one goes into a convenience – I need it now.
I’m in there buying my Moab Kayenta paper and while waiting to check out, I see this beautiful 10x8 Zone VI camera – all clean and looking unused $1800 I want it. Why do I want it? I already have a camera that causes backache but nevertheless I drool. I go to look for used film holders as the pendulum swings toward the good ol days of working with it. I see myself tooling about two new nations of upper Québec and Labrador in the Saturn with it.
While looking for the film holders I run across a used Leica M6 - $1200 – don’t know what version, don’t really care. I want it even though I have a hard time reconciling 35mm, even though I have a hard time using the format. I see myself wandering urban areas with it – better yet I see myself back in Niterói , in the hotel in Ingá, with two rangefinders wandering the former capital more slowly than in 2001. Niterói is rife with crooked streets and things surreal. Days reacquainting myself, nights in butequins on the street having cold Antárticas watching the world go by. Trying to show some rationality I look at the new Zeiß Ikon ZM.
I now realise that I am the photographic equivalent of Billy Liar.
I am in a local Kenosha camera shop to buy some Dektol and looking in the used case I see a Nikon FM2 - $200…
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