Then There Was Life

Welcome Kodak.

Continuing along the chronologic order of my life with my camera comes, and should be no surprise to anyone, The Brownie Hawkeye. 

How to begin and remain focused (no pun intended)on photography when my life was centered around my Grandmother’s, (affectionately Bubbie) LOVE and PROTECTION. Yes, protection I was protected from any and all boogie men whatever the form they took. I was protected and until now never knew that whatever path my life took, Bubbie would be there with outstretched arms and uncomplicated love to help me when needed.

What is best about this is that knowing this? One, it allowed me to torment my uncle (a mere three years, two days older) so that I could get whatever I wanted, regardless of what evil lurked in the mind of a BRAT. As the number one grandchild for at least the first seven years, I played that card often until it became an unstated rule; when my Uncle was going out, I had to be taken along. But the best sound was when Bubbie would ask me to help her in the kitchen. WHOA! get back on track, what about my photography. The simple answer is that my Brownie arrived as a birthday gift from her. You see, she knew.

So the Brownie Hawkeye and I started off on the journey of a lifetime. When you’re 12 you don’t see or can accurately acknowledge why your heart tugs at you every time an image appears in your mind’s eye, or when you’re looking at magazine covers in the candy store and find yourself staring a moment longer at an advertisement, even if you realize it you may not understand it; you don’t know you will be a photographer in the many variations it takes you. Then one day someone may say to you, “You know when I saw your photo, it really got me to think.” There lies your first hint of the direction you are going even if you were traveling blindly; your path has been set. My journey of cameras as I recall took me from the Brownie to a Rolliflex to the Pentaflex and onto Pentax and then I got my first Nikon, Nikon F. I was ready with my NIKON in hand to move bravely forward into the streets of Brooklyn, and more.. Nikon has been with them ever since, and there have been really tough times during this relationship, but we managed to stick it out.

Thursday, sometime in September of 19?? at Max’s Kansas City waiting for a friend I venture into the backroom and the group in there goes silent. A couple of dozen eyes look at me gawking at them, never once considering to lift the camera to my eye for a shot. Not me, if nothing else, I recognize when privacy is the best answer you can silently express. So I nod, turn around, and resume my wait.

The rest of the story is meant for another time.

Thanks for joining me and feel free to leave a comment.