Sometimes, in the world of photography, certain cameras hold a special place in our hearts that goes beyond their technical specifications. They become vessels of cherished memories and artistic exploration. The Nikon D80 is one such camera that debuted 16 years ago and holds a special place in my heart. Recently, I was lucky enough …
Nikon D80 – Rekindling the Magic with a Nostalgic Homecoming Read More
(The idea of an ode to my first “real” and favorite camera is inspired by Pablo Neruda’s Odes to Ordinary Things. I love that we can pay allegiance to those beautiful, ordinary items of life.) They say that you can never forget your first: your first love, or, in this case, your first camera. Technically, the Nikon D40 is not my first camera, but my fifth, but it is my first “real” camera, the first one with an interchangeable lens. It’s the camera that I have had the longest, almost 15 years, and for a baker’s dozen of years it was the only camera that I owned. It’s the camera that feels familiar, comforting, and reassuring in my hand. It’s the camera that I reached for this morning as I poured coffee into a mug, pulled on hat and gloves, and grabbed the leash to walk the dog on a gloomy, grey January day.
Ah nostalgia, it’s a strange thing and forms a part of every one’s life and the older one gets the more the past seems so rose tinted. My first Digital SLR was a Konica Minolta 7D, bought in 2005 and which I had almost forgotten, but a click here and there lead me to DPReview and the KM Talk Forum, then a thought formed in my mind; why not buy one and use it today?
Canon released the Canon 1Ds on September 24th 2002. It was one of worlds the first full frame DSLRs. It was also in sept of 2002 the US got its first Camera phone. Brittany Spears and Justin Timberlake officially broke up. Nelly’s ‘Dilemma’ topped the US top 40 Charts. My Big Fat Greek Wedding was the number one grossing movie. Social Media didn’t exist. 2002 was the last year film cameras outsold digital. It was a fascinating time for photography. Film and digital were at war. A 120 year old proven technology vs one still being developed. It’s a camera and a time in the history of photography that has been buried with the passage of time.
Picture it! Cullowhee 2005. I was amidst my second year in college. It was also at this time that I was rediscovering my joy for photography. Going to school in the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina provided me with a magnitude of inspiration and splendor; and I wanted to capture it all. I borrowed my …
