I have always been interested in photography since I was a small kid. My Dad used to have this SLR camera, which I believe was a Kodak Retina. I forgot which model exactly, but it was cool, because it was considered to be quite an unusual gadget to own in those times. He also used to have this binoccular (oh I forgot which make/model). He even had a black-and-white enlarger then. He said that he used to develop his own photos when he was a student in Zurich.
He used to bring these gadgets to any trip that we went to. We lived in Bandung, Indonesia, which is encircled by mountains, which the Tangkuban Perahu mountain is the closest one. Sometimes in the weekends, we went to picnic on these mountains. No doubt, my Dad always brought the gadgets with him. Sometimes my Dad would be kind enough to let me have a go and take pictures with his camera, that I believe has triggered my interest in photography.
In a trip to Europe, my Mom then bought him Nikon EM because the old camera was not fit for purpose anymore. I think that what makes me fall in love with Nikon cameras. I like its sturdiness. The firm feeling of taking photos with it. The only problem with this camera is that it is a semi-automatic one. You can’t really do experiments with it. However, the results were good and I loved it.
Unfortunately, as time goes by, there are other things that take more priorities than his photography. At the same time, the costs of doing photography as hobbies are increasingly getting expensive, particularly with his wages as a pensioner, that at some point he gave up doing it.
I completely understand this. When I was doing my Informatika bachelor degree in ITB, I managed to get a few moonlighting jobs, from which I could save some money. One of the things that I bought with this money is a Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 SLR camera kit and a Sunpak flash and I never complained. Well, of course, it’s not Nikon, but apart from there was a little trouble that with the shutter that I had to put it on service, it gave me fair quality of pictures. The most important thing is that I can try and experiment with different compositions, appertures, and speed. While it is good for experimenting, in some occasion I would want to just have quick snap photos. Therefore, my husband, who is interested in photography himself, bought a point-and-shoot Nikon camera. Although it is bigger than other point-and-shoot cameras, but it was sturdy, and the results was superb. I love it to pieces and my heart was even more settled with Nikon.
However, just as my Dad, I didn’t have enough money to develop that hobby. The cost of developing and printing photos were quite high. The costs of developing our photos in the commercial photo services was quite high, let alone having our own enlarger and other developing tools and materials. Busy with our firstborn, the frequency of doing photography is even more diminishing. Until, eventually, because we were moving to England, I had to sell that camera and flash.
Not long after we moved to England, my husband bought me a Nikon F60 35-70 kit with additional Nikkor 70-300mm lens as a birthday present. We also bought a Nikon-compatible flash. Again, we couldn’t afford to buy a genuine Nikon flash, because of its hefty price. But this camera is more than enough for me. It suits me as a beginner in photography. I managed to produce few good pictures that I’m proud of. The only problem is again, about the costs of developing films. And the same old problem recurs…
Until at some point, when I was pregnant with my son, we just wanted to be able to point-and-shoot. By this time, digital cameras were become norms and the prices had become more affordable. Therefore, combining the two concerns, I bought Nikon Coolpix 5400 camera. In terms of its results and costs of ownership, there’s no complain there. It can be used in a fully manual mode, so that I can keep experimenting. However, I soon found out that this particular model is very slow in storing the image, particularly compare to Nikon F60 that I have. There are many moments that I missed because of the camera takes a while in getting ready after every shot. And of course, I also miss the sturdiness of Nikon SLR cameras. That’s exactly why, I’m now still dreaming of my Nikon D80 kit to come true…
