My colleague Rachel and I walked to Mid-State Camera today. Rachel is a film shooter and asked for advice on purchasing a point and shoot film camera. Last week I picked up my camera for a sensor cleaning at Mid-State (a great old-school repair shop) and noticed they had a nice condition Minolta point and shoot there for Rachel to test out. Alas, the shop is closed today and tomorrow, so another visit is needed.
I have owned a host of point and shoot film cameras, mostly purchased on Ebay and one taken in a trade. At least half of the Ebay purchases stopped working quickly. Point and shoots have flimsy electronics and have either been not cared for, or sitting unused for years. I have given up the ghost on these cameras. Despite this, I have made some nice images with these cameras, in particular the Contax T-2, which I still own and use frequently. The Contax is marvelous. I will be sad if and when it stops working.
As for the walk, of course I brought my camera. Rachel carried a disposable film point and shoot left over from the many she used at her wedding reception last week.
The day was overcast, with a smidgeon of blue in the sky. We walked through Kennedy Plaza, the bus depot for the City. It is a forlorn spot, filled with the unfortunate, the homeless and drug dealers. I shot a images of people in the plaza that I hope capture the feel of the place.
Last week I took the bus home from a bus stop near the Kennedy Plaza after stupidly locking my car keys in the office. Earlier on, I wandered around the City with my Polaroid SX 70 (an epic fail photo wise) and got lost in a deserted area. I was constantly looking over my shoulder while lost, and even more self-aware when I got to the bus stop . The nearby park was full of people of the night with bad intentions. Rap music blared from a boom box. A passed out person was prostrate on the stop’s bench next to a kind older man who I said hello to. He nodded in return. The kind man approached me after a short while. He had no voice. He took out his empty money clip and silently showed it to me. I nodded and did nothing. I regret not having given him a few dollars.
