Hi, I'm Glen and I'm 34 and I've been trying to resist the urge to confess.
But here goes . . .
Like a lot of you my love for Olys started back in the 70s--junior high.
While I had the usual K 1000 starter set up, the guy who was teaching me how
to use the darkroom had an OM-2 system. Boy how I wanted that little black
camera. . . still I was pretty happy wandering around shooting up a storm
with my K 1000, borrowing my father's gear from time to time (Pentax Me,
135/3.5,28/2.8, Series 1 35-80/2.8) but mostly sticking with the 50/2 that
came with the camera.
Kept using it write through highschool, taking pictures for the yearbook,
friends, family etc. My great passion was working all night in the darkroom
my folks let me build in the basement. Printed thousands of
(HP5/Tri-x)images of the people I knew and the odd "art shot" (as my sister
would call anything not recognisably an event).
Then in university, I decided not to take anymore photos. I remember it
being a conscious decision, but now can't remember the logic behind it. I
guess I was too busy working on the two R's I needed to get through my
BA--reading and riting.
Finally got my sense back, when I started my PhD and found myself working on
theorizing the documentary form in "the Canadian Long Poem," I decided I
needed my camera back. Went out one afternoon (in 1993) and bought myself a
Spotmatic F with a SMC 35/2 & an SMC 85/2 (which I trade for a SMC 105/2.8
because I didn't like the flare or the weight of it). I was reading Walter
Benjamin and fancied myself as a kind of West Coast flaneur, pointing my b&w
loaded camera at almost everything that crossed my path. At this time I
inherited a IIIf with 35 & 50 summicron and a 135 elmar, which started my as
yet unrequited love with leicas. I discovered Tmax 100 and Delta 400 at
this time.
Since then I've been steadily becoming more involved and passionate about
photography. When the computer began to take its toll on my eyesight, I
traded the spotmatic for an Elan IIe. Got some USM lens and started making
more impressive (at least to me) colour images (velvia). This was going
along swimmingly until last summer I dropped one of this suckers in a river
hiking in the mountains. Re-enter oly. Quickly went out and bought myself
an unassuming 0M 1n, a 50/1.4 and 135/3.5.
Now I own an OM 1n, 2n, 4, T20,T32, winder 2, Zuikos 21/3.5 SC, 24/2.8 SC,
28/2, 28/2.8 MC, 35/2,50/1.2,50/1.4 MC, three Tamrons--90/2.5, 35-105/2.8
(actually returned cuz of zoom problems, but I want another), 80-200/2.8.
I'm still looking to pick up zuikos 85/2, 50/3.5, 100/2. And pretty soon, I
think I'll get some sort of modest rangefinder set up: Contax G1/Leica M?
and lens 21/35/90. Most of the time I shoot agfapan (100/400) to document
literary events and people or Ektachrome (VS100/SW100) when I'm outside.
Yes it's a sickness.
Glen
Ps. I just put up a webpage with a smattering of b&w photos. I'd love
feedback.
www.sfu.ca/~lowry/photos/gallery.html
Pps. The interface with my other pages is a bit funky, but the photos should
load fine.
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