i got this junk for $4 quite a while back. i don't think it works but it is similar to one of the two cameras that my father used to have when i was growing up. i'm planning to bring it with me to manila the next time i visit so i can give it to him, hoping it'll trigger some hidden memories that i could record. tee-hee!
in 1977 the airconditioned buses were introduced in our city. the fare cost more, but because not a lot of people took it, it was the fastest and most comfortable way to get to work. also, because the buses were airconditioned, the riders were mostly tourists.
one day, i got on an empty bus and when i sat down at the back, i found a camera in a fine, and i would imagine, expensive leather case. it was a small camera and can easily fit in one's pocket. i brought it home to my father who went agog because it was a 'hasselblad', apparently the BMW of cameras. i had a very handy instamatic where you just dropped the same roll of film as the hasselblad used and it took care of itself, whereas the hasselblad you had to load the film manually. he used it for almost 25 years; he was even hired as a wedding photographer and he used only that camera. when one day it stopped functioning, he fiddled with it and ta-dah! hasselblad was kaput! gone! he had always bragged to his cousins and friends about that little hasselblad and never failed to mention in his stories that the 'prodigal daughter' found it and gave it to him.
thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for visiting and commenting; i appreciate it so much. you must forgive me tonight though as i have a headache and thus unable to do much commenting. i shall catch up with you on the weekend.
Amazing story ... what great memories you have of your family! You have "photography" in your blood. Goes back to your Dad's love for it too! So you had something in common. You should write an autobiography, summerfield. Great shot of the hawkeye ... would love to have seen the Hasselblad.
Such a great story! I do hope the little camera sparks his memory. I feel there were so many stories I missed from my own father, but I'm glad I have the ones that I do. Nice black shot!
@karenann - thank you, KA. i can't remember anymore exactly how that camera looked like but i know it was quite small, it fit in my purse easily. i didn't turn it in as the driver would just keep it for himself or if he turned it over to his manager, then the manager would keep it for himself. i found it so finders keepers. it was put to good use for a long time anyway. i think until 2004 he was using it. autobio? been working on that, not too exciting. but thanks.
@olivetreeann - thank you, ann. last time i visited, i extracted two cassette tapes worth of stories, but mostly repeats of the ones i've already recorded. the new ones were quite interesting though. now all i have to do is kick my photography addiction and sit down and write it all. :-)
i so remember these cameras. was very much like the first one i was given to use on our vacations. each year, as we set out, my parents would hand us 'our camera' with the instructions to not take photos of other people because that was rude - just keep a record of where we went because when we grew up, we would want them. so enjoy this entry. i was just looking at a shot of my dad's cabinet with all his equipment in it, all that glass. i have one of his cameras - does not work. all else is gone. i think i got my habit of shooting out the window from him. he did it all the time. my mom did most of the driving. he had this wooden, padded box built over that hump in the middle of the car just for his camera things and would switch glass all the time. as she drove, he was shooting.
I hope you are doing well and headache free. I love this story but feel for whomever walked away from it on the bus. My husband once left his camera on the x-ray device in an airpot check-in line.
@catsmeowb - thank you, camille. so you've been photographing since you were little. would love to see those pics! i remember holding my father's camera once, he made me take his picture with the neighbour. and he said after that i didn't do it right. hehe! tests were fine, they attribute it to stress. thanks for the concern. you're so sweet!
@pandorasecho - thank you, dixie. i felt bad, too, for the poor soul who lost it. apparently, it was a very expensive camera. my father had to bring it to a camera shop to get a roll of film and since we didn't have the user manual, he had to inquire. all he knew was that it was an expensive brand and only available for professionals. however, had i turned it in, it still would not have gone back to its rightful owner. bus drivers in my old country were dirt poor, and even when they're honest their managers wouldn't be. my sister and a neighbour who were at home the whole day listened to the different radio programs who entertained calls from people looking for lost dogs, lost relatives, lost cameras, lost anything. for a whole month, they did that listening for such calls. there was one tourist who did call in for his 'kodak' camera. we also gave two stations the description of the camera and whereabouts it was found and after a month, they wrote to us saying nobody came to inquire for such camera and they had suggested that it would be wise to keep it, especially that someone in the family could use it. one announcer even said if the person could afford such expensive camera.
