Polaroid

12-20-06

My second camera is actually the tale of two cameras. I was selected yearbook editor during my senior year in high school (1965-66). That same year my former agriculture teacher bought a Polaroid camera—I can’t recall the model—and basically turned it over to me for yearbook use and to photograph FFA events for him. With him buying film and flashbulbs I was in photographic heaven that year. It just couldn’t get any better than that.

Unfortunately, that year came to a speedy conclusion, and I had to turn that camera back over to its owner. Immediately, however, I began to suffer from Polaroid addiction withdrawl. I set about to fill this void by taking on summer jobs and as many part time jobs as possible while attending college. One of my first major purchases with my own earned money was the very best (at that time) Polaroid camera available. It served me well through college when I could afford to buy the film packs and flashbulbs.

Several years after graduation someone would break into my home and steal that camera, making it impossible to display with my other treasured cameras. It wasn’t worth much then—didn’t even work, as I recall—except to me as a reminder of all the fun it provided. I still have the pictures. And I remember it was a beautiful camera—such powerful fun!

Starflash

 12-18-06

I can’t tell you exactly when I fell in love with photography. But I do remember my first camera. And my second. And my third. I’ve had many cameras since then and with each one my love for photography has deepened and widened.

My first camera was a Brownie Starflash. I was in the sixth grade (circa 1960). It cost my mother three books of S&H Green Stamps. If you are younger than 50 years, you probably don’t know what S&H Green stamps are, but that is another story. We were very poor. My parents could not afford to buy one outright.

I had been hounding them for a camera for well over a year and that is probably how long it took to accumulate that many stamps. As I recall three books equated to about $9.00, which in those days could buy a week’s supply of groceries for our family. Mom and dad were always of the opinion that eating was more important than luxury items.

The Starflash transformed me from rags to riches. Actually, I didn’t realize at the time how poor we were, but with that camera I was the richest kid in the sixth grade. As it turned out, I never got to use Brownie very much because film, flash bulbs (again, if you are under 50 you probably don’t remember flash bulbs), and processing required money we didn’t have and you could not get those items with S&H Green Stamps.

That lowly little camera now occupies a place of esteemed prominence in my office. It hasn’t worked in years, but the flame it ignited still burns. It will never be extinguished.