Welcome to the home page of redberns
American. And proud of it.
[Update: February 28, 2005]
[Update: November 04, 2006]
Photos taken with "classic" cameras by redberns
[Update: August, 2003]
Panoramic photography of redberns
[Update: April 25, 2001]
[Update: February 10, 2001]
[Update: June 6, 2002]
Another obsession: Vintage
timepieces
[Update: June 25, 2002]
Editorial comment: Don't mess
with the U.S.
Update:
March 21, 2003
When I was
13 my eldest brother, Jerry,
gave me my first "good" camera - a single lens reflex, Kowaflex E. The Kowa was a
wonderful present, but -- to phrase it mildly -- a less than reliable camera.
But in its brief lifetime, it served to introduce me to the wonders of
"real" photography. I felt like a photographer! With it, out
of sheer luck or ignorance (or both), but certainly not talent, I took what
some consider my finest
photo on the very first roll of film through it. Actually, it was a test
roll to see if the Kowa worked! Appropriately enough, it was a portrait of
Jerry and soon wife-to-be, Wendy. Some say that photographically, it has been
downhill for me ever since!
From the
first look through the viewfinder of the Kowa, photography has been a passion
of mine. Now, however, the older I get the more I find myself appreciating the
cameras of the period before the proliferation of plastic in camera
construction. As a result, I have begun to collect and use "classic"
cameras. I am privileged to have as the centerpiece of my collection, the family's
photographic patriarch -- the one that started it all -- Jerry's original Nikon F,
together with its almost unknown 5.5cm., preset Micro-Nikkor, and clip-on
selenium meter.
Nowadays,
its not at all unusual to see me carrying a classic camera when I'm out
shooting pictures for the fun of it. Surprisingly, the response of people who
see me hauling around one of the old cameras is almost universal encouragement
and support. Invariably, my use of a camera like the Nikon FTn prompts people
to reminisce about how they had (or always wanted) a similar camera, how great
were the pictures it took, and how much they regret ever parting with it. The
comments usually end with a deep sigh.
I'm not alone.
My oldest buddy, Larry, feels pretty much the same way I do. Although we might
differ slightly in the details -- he is much more a Zeiss aficionado than I am
-- nonetheless, we both enjoy hauling out our antique hardware and flogging
some film through those old warriors now and again. A visit to Lar's site is highly
recommended to those who enjoy the subject (Note: I categorically deny anything
nice he writes about me). Lar has a new member of the family . . . a NEADS
service dog, Ben, to
help him with MS-related stability issues. Visit the NEADS site for information about these
wonderful animals.
My
favorite camera manufacturer is Nikon. Nikons and I go back a long way. My
first "professional" quality camera was a rangefinder, Nikon S2. From there, it
was on to a multitude of other models. But of them all, to this day I have to
admit that none feels better in my hands than the mighty, Nikon F.
From Agfa to Canon to Kalloflex to Zorki. And from Leica to Retina to Voigtlander to Zeiss.
Every classic camera has a personality all its own. Each has a certain
intangible quality that feels so natural and so eminently capable of making
wonderful photographs. Each from an era when the only computation that occurred
took place in the mind of the photographer. Using those cameras makes even the
routine photograph a challenge to produce a correctly focused and exposed
image. Of course, that presupposes even that the camera will function as
anticipated when the shutter is tripped. It's a fact of life that love of
classic cameras necessitates a love/hate relationship with those who still
repair the old beasts.
It has
reached the point that I find it hard to pass up buying a clean classic camera
when I come across one. The internet has allowed me to expand my collection
greatly -- even allowing purchase of items from the former Soviet Union.
Yes, the
contemporary auto-everything cameras greatly improve the odds that depressing
the shutter release will result in a creditable photograph. To me, though,
creating a comparable image with a 30 or 40 year old camera produces a
substantially greater sense of pride of accomplishment that is often well out
of proportion to the end result.
All of
that having been said, when I have to make the shot count I haul out my Nikon
8008S. Plastic and electronic it might be, but it is a terrific camera. And, to
me, still nothing beats those Nikkor lenses.
My primary
photographic interests generally run toward portrait, scenic, and panoramic photography.
And, a surprise to me, I've rediscovered the beauty of black and white. With
the advent of quality scanners and imaging software, I finally have the
darkroom I've always wanted. Now, though, instead of long hours in the basement
smelling of chemicals and cursing insufficient plumbing -- mine and the house's
-- my darkroom is in my computer.
E. J.
Berns
Entire
site: Copyright (c) E. J. Berns, 2000 - 2002
No part
may be used or reproduced without permission.