justin @ pragmaticphotography.com

A few months ago, a colleague at work gave me a 1950s Ansco Speedex camera he purchased with a lot at an estate sale in the Portland, Oregon area.  About a week later I took the camera to Indian Mounds Park, which overlooks the St. Paul skyline.  The resulting pictures were heavily underexposed and were damaged due to not being wound tightly enough (according to the unknown developer to whom Ritz Camera sent it).

I tried a second time a few weeks ago and the results were much better.  I used ISO 3200 B&W film and tried a variety of apertures and shutter times.  I also brought along my Nikon N6006 and shot a roll of ISO 1600 B&W.

E-6 Lab developed and scanned the photos.  I was extremely happy with their level of service and communication and I highly recommend them.

The first three pictures were taken with the Ansco and the last four with the Nikon:

On the following Ansco shot, I double-exposed the moon where I -thought- the sky might be in the first exposure, and it ended up, well…a little lower:

Slideshows of the complete set of pictures for each are here:  Ansco and Nikon.

Today, I bought a used Nikon N6006 35mm camera with Vivitar 75-205 manual focus lens from a gentleman on Craigslist, went into Target and bought 3 rolls of Kodak 400, and immediately went out and took a variety of shots with the Vivitar, Tamron 70-300, and Nikon 50 f/1.4 lenses:

The above pictures were scanned by Walgreens as part of their photo CD option, so the quality isn’t fantastic.  (I attempted to scan in the 4×6 prints on my HP Printer/Scanner/Toaster Oven but the results were pretty awful.)

My father had a Nikon 35mm that I used in high school and on a few rare occasions in my 20s.  Judging by the pictures I found online, I believe it was the Nikon EM as I clearly remember the light meter in the viewfinder.  I have asked him to try and find it.

Until today, my film SLR experience started and ended with the Nikon EM.  For most of the 1990s and 2000s I used a Canon Sure Shot 80 Tele 35mm point-and-shoot and a Kodak DC3200 digital camera, both given as gifts from my father over that time period.

I love the fact that I can use several of the lenses I’ve gathered while venturing deeper and deeper into the Nikon Digital SLR world on the N6006.  Long live the F-mount!

Sometime this summer, I plan to shoot a roll of B&W 35mm on the N6006 and have them professionally developed (read: not at a pharmacy).  It’s been a very long time since I’ve shot B&W film, and I’m really looking forward to it.

I credit my original interest and instruction on photography to my father (Thanks, Dad!) and credit my wife for jump-starting my current interest with her encouragement (and chunk o’ money) toward the purchase of the Nikon D60 in 2008.  I think it’s safe to say I’m doomed, now…

Update: Dad said he junked the Nikon EM as no repair shop indicated it’d be worth the effort to fix.  Must…resist…finding…one…on…eBay…