Trains can be an incredibly rewarding way to travel, especially if you’re not in too much of a hurry to reach your destination. I love travel, and for me, time spent on trains is truly special. I enjoy the scenery along the way, the unique atmosphere of the railways – the whole experience, really. And I always carry my film camera with me, to capture impressions and moments from this experience.
I have vivid memory using my dad’s Mamiya ZE Quartz which I very much wanted to learn how to use, but never did. Years later, as I started my first job, I decided to put conscious effort in learning film photography and started off my quest using an Olympus OM-10 with a 50mm Zuiko lens which was gifted to me. It was the turn of the century, and AF-capable SLR cameras were the state-of-the art.
THUD – “That’s going to be expensive” I said to myself whist caressing the new indentation on the Leica MP’s housing; the body now so disfigured it was rejected by its own baseplate. After an initial quotation of twelve hundred gold coins and a two/three month lead time, I was very thankful of the insurance policy I had taken out a few months before, especially as I doubt my kidneys would fetch that much on eBay… not when you add in selling fees, postage and PayPal costs, at least!
I am a 44 year-old NYC-based photographer, and a proud film user since my very beginnings. About my beloved Nikon F100: It was found in Bogotá, Colombia around 5 years ago, at a “student oriented” photography shop. Maybe that is the reason for the bargain it was (US $100).
