Hello from Dallas

[ricklb55]

Old photographer, new to the forum. My first camera was a Polaroid 210 when I was 13 and too young to really use it for anything other than Christmas and birthdays. I acquired my first serious camera from my father when I was 17, a TLR Ansco, along with an enlarger. I did mostly B&W and developed my own film and prints. I never really liked that TLR and I bought a second hand Nikkormat when I was 24 and used the heck out of it untill the meter went bad. Repaired it, it went south again, and at that point I kinda hung up my photographer's hat. Then in my late 40s a co-worker offered me a sweetheart deal on some used stuff I couldn't say no to: A Canon A1 and AE1 Program cameras, 5 Canon lenses and 1 other lens, a professional grade flash, lens caps & hoods, and a bunch of filters, all looking llittle used, for the grand total of $100. I was back in the game! But I found myself missing the quality of medium format so about half a dozen years later I went to my first Dallas area camera show and I found exactly what I was hoping for: A fellow wanting to get out of film and selling a single package deal: A Bronica SQA camera with Action Grip, 3 lenses, 2 film backs, caps & hoods, a bunch of filters, and a super nice nylon case, all of it looking brand new, for $400 and he took $375! I popped buttons on the way home I was so happy with the deal. I've since acquired another Canon A1, a Bronica SQAi, Contaflex I, Voigtlander Vito B & Bessa, Mamiya Six IV, Mocba 5, Contina II, Retina IIIc, Bolsey B2, and some extra lenses, film backs and other miscellaneous including a color enlarger so I am back doing all my own B&W developing. Yes, I do have two point & shoot digital cameras but they are not serious cameras to me. My one dislike of analog photography is the process of creating traditional wet darkroom prints. So time consuming! The call of a good inkjet printer to replace traditional prints is very strong! So there you have it. -Rick