With 1984 in full swing I was starting to get more commercial photography work and I wanted to purchase a professional camera. Since I owned a Canon ftb and an A-1 I decided to stay with the Canon line. Los Angeles, California was hosting the summer Olympics so Canon released an Olympic Edition of their new F1. This was the camera I purchased. Now here I am in 2024 and the F1-n and I are celebrating our 40th anniversary together. I can honestly say I’ve gone places and into situations that were just because of this camera. It has always given me the confidence to know I’m going to get the shot.
Over our 40 years together we have photographed an eclectic collection of scenes and moments both personal and commercial. We even traveled to Bogota, Colombia in 1992 to do stills for a group of men on a Missions trip. These 5 frames barely scratch the surface of all we’ve experienced but these images are personal favorites from each decade since our collaboration first began that summer of 1984.
1980’s
This first photo is part of what has now become my longest running personal photo project which began in 1978. I call this series ‘People, places and moments of Dallas County’. Dallas was the host city for the Republican National Convention in 1984 and Ronald Reagan was being nominated for a second term. In conjunction with this event the Texas Longhorn Cattle Association trailered in 100 to 150 longhorns and a cattle drive took place each afternoon for the conventioneers. With my F1-n in hand I photographed the midday cattle drive in the August 100+ degree heat. I ran along the levee bank just ahead of the drive and for one brief moment I ran down next to the cowboys and cattle to grab a few shots. I eventually photographed the longhorns at sunrise and sunset over several days with the skyline as my backdrop.
1990’s
Frame 2 is from another personal photo project titled ‘Harvest Festival Memories’. For more than 75 years the West Texas town of Brownfield has been celebrating every October with a parade and festival. From 1986 to 2022 I photographed eight different years. Since that time in 1986 most of this work has now become a photographic historical record of the festival and the town. In 2023 I exhibited a small selection of this work at the Terry County Heritage Museum located in Brownfield. This is the town where I grew up and graduated high school so the 2023 exhibit was a way of honoring my classmates and hometown. The exhibit opening was the kick off to our class reunion. This image was shot during the 1996 festival and is titled ‘Sweepstakes Winner’. The Terry County Fair and the building where this photo was taken, the Armory, are no longer part of the festivities.
2000’s
My wife and I had been married for eighteen years ( see my post “The Honeymooners” ) when we got the exciting news that she was expecting a baby! To say the birth of our daughter changed our lives forever would be an understatement. So many photography projects were created because of this little bundle of joy who became my muse. One of those projects was photographing her on the first and last day of school from Pre K to graduation. In May 2024 she graduated from college and I just photographed her in front of the Montessori school where she started her new job as a teacher. This image from 2002 is our daughter in a family heirloom christening gown. I added a slight warm tone.
2010’s
Back to my longterm project of Dallas. I began my skyline reflection series in May of 1979 on my Canon ftb and Ektachrome 64. Normally the Trinity River is contained within it’s banks and is unseen. May of 2015 saw record rainfall for the region so the river was at flood stage. During this outing the F1-n experienced what I thought may be the end to our time together. The mirror mechanism was not functioning properly so most of my shots were not correctly exposed. This is one of the keepers cropped to a panoramic.
2020’s
The initial diagnosis for my beloved F1-n was not good but I eventually found a repair tech in 2022 who was able to get everything working properly again.YEA! My 5th frame is from this past April 2024. April 8th to be exact. Dallas was in the path of totality for the solar eclipse and my beloved F1-n and I were in the Trinity River basin to document this once in a lifetime (for me) event. I photographed forty minutes prior to totality and forty minutes after at six minute intervals. This is one of the four shots I took during the 3 minutes and 47 seconds of total darkness. One more piece of history for my Dallas series which now spans forty-six years.
Epilogue
As my F1-n and I celebrate our fortieth anniversary together I wanted to raise my glass in a toast to a wonderful mechanical companion. Thank you for all the wonderful places you’ve taken me. May we share many more years together. Salute!
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Geoff Chaplin on 5 Frames, 40 Years, 1 Camera
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Bill Brown on 5 Frames, 40 Years, 1 Camera
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Miguel Mendez on 5 Frames, 40 Years, 1 Camera
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Jeffery Luhn on 5 Frames, 40 Years, 1 Camera
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What an engaging article! Great photos! I bet it was difficult to choose the ones you wanted to include.
I wrote about a camera, Exa 1a, here on 35mmc that was my first 35mm camera. I feel it.
There can be an emotional bond to a machine that's both illogical and real. Musicians, motorcyclists, cooks, artists....all of us experience it.
You did a good job describing it!
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Gary Smith on 5 Frames, 40 Years, 1 Camera
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Gary on 5 Frames, 40 Years, 1 Camera
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Tony Warren on 5 Frames, 40 Years, 1 Camera
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