My father passed away about 2 years back and in some ways I am still going through the process of grieving and moving forward. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’m crying all the time or anything like that, in fact I’m as normal as I’ve ever been. (whatever that means) Recently I spoke of my new camera, a Voigtlander rangefinder, not thinking that it would take me down a path that my father traveled over 60 years ago.
The Photos in todays post are of his rangefinder, a Nicca 3 (One of the many Japanese knockoffs of the Leica 3 made in the early fifties – although I’ve been told this is one of the better ones) The camera, when I took it from my parents house was in ill repair, it leaked light, and was dusty and a bit dirty. I shot a roll of film through it one day and after developing it realized that repairs or retirement was needed. So I ended up at my local camera shop and after a long discussion and some research I went forward and had it repaired. The camera now is as nice as the day it was new, if fact it might even be nicer since the entire thing is adjusted, cleaned, and lubricated and put in optimal order.
I don’t think my father ever thought that the camera was going to be a possession passed down from one generation to the next – in fact, my folks had a yard sale one year and almost sold it for 10 dollars. At the yard sale the guy who was interested got to be a little bit snarky in the haggling process and it pissed dad off – so he said the hell with it, took the camera inside and decided not to sell it. From that time on it sat on a shelf in the downstairs office my parents paid their bills in for 15 years.
It’s funny, you never really know what objects you will bring forward with you from one generation to the next, however in this case, the camera is literally an old friend that has seen me at some of my best and worst, and now allows me to do the same with my loved ones. While I make images for myself, I see the past reflected in the future of these images made with this camera.