5 Frames with a Nikon FE and a Stroke of Luck

I had a Nikon FE camera many years ago, when they were first released. I remember seeing it for the first time while unpacking a slit lamp, an optical device used in ophthalmology. At that time I worked for the first company in Argentina that manufactured contact lenses and also brought ophthalmological equipment. Some of the equipment, such as slit lamps, came from Japan and came equipped with photographic camera bodies that were attached to the microscope and allowed taking pictures of the different areas of the eye, and thus document and make a diagnosis. I saw various other cameras used for this purpose including Olympus OM1 and Nikon F2s. I was in charge of receiving this kit and installing it in the offices, as well as helping the doctors to use the cameras for the first time.

I remember falling in love with that camera body and buying one as soon as I had the chance. My interest in photography had been born suddenly some time ago, when I saw a Ricoh KR5 in a store near my work, and asked myself again and again how the photographic image was produced. It is my belief that once photography enters your life, you will no longer be who you were. From then came a long story that would be impossible to relate completely here. It was one of almost of obsession with photography and the artifacts that made it possible. Magazines like Popular Photography, Kodak collections and even the trilogy of books by Ansel Adams passed through my hands. Then came the Internet, and digital photography which – except for an old Pentax K10D that still accompanies me with a 50 mm F 1.7 lens – I no long really pursue.

The Nikon brand remained in my heart to this day, but for reasons that I don’t recall, I got rid of the faith. Then, over the years, I bought, not without effort, many of the best cameras that the brand made. I admit that I don’t need another camera to take photographs, but those who suffer from this syndrome will know what I’m talking about, there comes a time when you can no longer say “I don’t like that camera”, they all have the magical power to stop time, to document a moment of joy, of telling a story or turning an image into a work of art that shakes you. My mother is no longer here but I have her photograph, my daughters have grown into adult women and yet my camera has kept their little childish faces.

And here is a brief story of how this particular camera came into my hands.

I was walking one morning to a doctor’s appointment and I saw a green bill on the sidewalk. It was very early and no one was walking down that street, the businesses had not yet opened their doors. I looked in all directions hoping to find the unfortunate person who had lost it but I couldn’t see anyone. I picked up the bill and verified that it was a one hundred dollar bill, I continued walking, still waiting for someone to appear looking for it but that never happened.

When I got home I verified that it was a real bill. It was then that the camera buyer in me was activated and I decided maybe it was fate. That’s how the story of this camera was written. Sometimes things happen unexpectedly.

The photographs seen here were taken at a stop on National Route 2, which took us to the Atlantic coast to welcome the new year. While the family had coffee I went outside and took these quick photos, eager to shoot the FE.

The film I used was Kentmere ISO 400, and developed at home by me with a nationally manufactured ROMEK PQ7 developer, for 8 minutes. I will avoid sunny days in the future with this sensitivity and this film. The corrections in Photoshop were minimal.

I sincerely hope that readers of this incredible blog find this story and my 5 photographs interesting or entertaining.

PS: if by force I had to be left with only one camera I would almost certainly choose the FE, even before the legendary F3 or the then revolutionary FA, great cameras that I have and have tested.

Thank you for reading.