Pentax P 30, regular steel body, 80S make, Japanese, K mount SLR, as is lens 50 mm. no fuss, nothing grand. But i cannot put into words the feelings i have for this inanimate friend of mine. Countless are the memories i share with it.
My first memory of this camera was when I was a kid of maybe 5 years. We were at the zoo and my father was trying to take a photo of the hippopotamus. he was pointing the camera precariously into the wide well like structure where the hippos were kept.
I was looking at him (not the hippos) worried that he might drop the camera. I did not take my eyes of him till he had finished taking multiple angle shots, put on the lens cover and had strung the camera safely onto his neck.
I do not remember anything else we did/saw on that trip, my only memory is a Pentax P30. By the way, the hippo shots came out remarkably well. Dad is great at it. I am still working at it.
Dad was very posessive of the equipment, he never liked anyone other than himself handling them, so naturally, for a good part of my childhood, I could only long for it from a distance.
It was precious and I knew it. It is not unusual to consider anything that is not easily reachable to be a 'purpose of life' of sorts. When I was in the tenth standard, I took my first shot with the cam, that was one of the best moments of my life. that particular frame never got developed though :)
From then on, I captured in our backyard, a red ant carrying its food, bright red hibiscus in the morning sun, a silky green bug resting on lime green gooseberries and many more memorable shots - memorable only to me ;) My mom took one look at the ant's picture and asked me 'why cant u take normal pictures, of human beings?'
It was in the first year of my college that I had the camera all to myself for 2 consecutive days. I had to beg and plead with dad. It was a photo competition in an inter collegiate meet conducted by another college in town.
My camera was the object of envy of atleast 50% of the students who took part. those two days were bliss. I clicked and clicked till the end of the day, I was happy and content, I didnt want anything more, my mind reached a point where it did not matter to me whether i win. But I won. Another best moment..
Once i moved away from home, it was a challenge to get dad to depart with his camera. But i did manage the undoable sometimes :)
With time and usage, the equipment has slowed down and now, even after getting multiple services done, I am unable to get clear pictures out of it. It is sad, it is heart-breaking.
I still have strips of the LR44 maxell batteries that the cam uses. I cannot amount how much of money i have spent trying to get it into shape. I loaded a new film into it yesterday though i know it will be either over exposed or under exposed, the output will be grainy and distorted.
It feels like having a lover with Alzheimer's. You know you are losing him, but you cannot stop trying.
My first memory of this camera was when I was a kid of maybe 5 years. We were at the zoo and my father was trying to take a photo of the hippopotamus. he was pointing the camera precariously into the wide well like structure where the hippos were kept.
I was looking at him (not the hippos) worried that he might drop the camera. I did not take my eyes of him till he had finished taking multiple angle shots, put on the lens cover and had strung the camera safely onto his neck.
I do not remember anything else we did/saw on that trip, my only memory is a Pentax P30. By the way, the hippo shots came out remarkably well. Dad is great at it. I am still working at it.
Dad was very posessive of the equipment, he never liked anyone other than himself handling them, so naturally, for a good part of my childhood, I could only long for it from a distance.
It was precious and I knew it. It is not unusual to consider anything that is not easily reachable to be a 'purpose of life' of sorts. When I was in the tenth standard, I took my first shot with the cam, that was one of the best moments of my life. that particular frame never got developed though :)
From then on, I captured in our backyard, a red ant carrying its food, bright red hibiscus in the morning sun, a silky green bug resting on lime green gooseberries and many more memorable shots - memorable only to me ;) My mom took one look at the ant's picture and asked me 'why cant u take normal pictures, of human beings?'
It was in the first year of my college that I had the camera all to myself for 2 consecutive days. I had to beg and plead with dad. It was a photo competition in an inter collegiate meet conducted by another college in town.
My camera was the object of envy of atleast 50% of the students who took part. those two days were bliss. I clicked and clicked till the end of the day, I was happy and content, I didnt want anything more, my mind reached a point where it did not matter to me whether i win. But I won. Another best moment..
Once i moved away from home, it was a challenge to get dad to depart with his camera. But i did manage the undoable sometimes :)
With time and usage, the equipment has slowed down and now, even after getting multiple services done, I am unable to get clear pictures out of it. It is sad, it is heart-breaking.
I still have strips of the LR44 maxell batteries that the cam uses. I cannot amount how much of money i have spent trying to get it into shape. I loaded a new film into it yesterday though i know it will be either over exposed or under exposed, the output will be grainy and distorted.
It feels like having a lover with Alzheimer's. You know you are losing him, but you cannot stop trying.
3 comments:
It happens. I still have my old friend Canon in home safely.
Hi, found through the VerveEarth application. Didn't know it'd work :D Nice blog :) It's funny how we can get attached to material possessions. I'm like that too.
hi Venkat, the pentax is safe too, just not too well :)
Suheil, we all have our inanimate friends, you have your pulsar
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