I finally paid attention…
Besides sitting at his desk at night, it seemed that Dad hid out in the closet a lot. He usually entered with his hands full of ? (stuff…because I wasn’t paying attention). He closed the door and was really quiet, except for an occasional clicking or clacking (whichever), tearing paper, and a couple \( #>o<#)/ !!! tossed in there.
Dad worked in an office for the plantation, that’s all I knew at the time I was 3 or 4. I didn’t know that he was the editor and photographer for the mill’s newsletter, and he was taking photo equipment into the closet, specifically; packets of sheet film (2 1/4 x 3 1/4) and magazines to reload for the next shoot with his Graflex Speed Graphic. The camera’s magazine holds only 2 sheets of film, I try to imagine the bulk he carried when covering stories…but then again, efficiency was his trademark, he knew what he wanted and was ready to get the shot.
My curiosity piqued, I sneaked a peek in to his camera case and finally “discovered” his equipment…whoa, what an arsenal! I sat next to dad one day when he was repacking his case, he kind of explained what he had and what he did, but I wasn’t paying attention because I was so taken by the stuff.
I also recall regularly going to the camera shop (Modern Camera) to drop off/pick-up film and/or prints (yikes, I did that to our kids, too!), another feast for the eyes…display cases of cameras, lenses and other photographic accessories. I had that “deer-in-the-headlights” look as I pressed my face against the glass while the pungent, nasal tingling odor of processing chemistry from the darkroom permeated the shop.
Fast forward a few years, around the 5th grade, I got my first…a load-your-own, 120mm film, Delta 127 (off brand-rookie-all plastic) camera. Dad showed me how to load and check the camera to ensure that the film properly advanced (keep this point in mind), and introduced me to “aperture/shutter speed/ASA”…imagine, 10/11 yrs. old, loading 120mm film into my own camera, taking pictures, and turning in a roll for processing…what a rush…I was stoked! I shot, and shot, and shot, and shot for the sake of shooting (didn’t pay attention to details, like, $)…and dad quietly paid for the rolls and rolls of film for processing, and the images…they were terrible, but I made that moment immortal.
My apologies, a few terms for clarification:
*sheet film -individual “plates” of film ready for exposure, numbers usually indicate sheet dimensions
*magazine -a carrier/holder for film
*120mm -roll film with capacity for 12 exposures (approx. double width of 35mm film)
*Aperture -opening in lens that allows light to pass through
*Shutter speed -amount of time that light is allowed to pass through the aperture
*ASA = ISO -film characteristic that facilitates camera settings for proper exposure
Mom and Dad believed in giving us opportunities to learn/experience life beyond the classroom; Japanese School, art class, music, Kendo, Scouting, 4-H, Dharma School, and at my insistence; sports, were all part of our education…we kept busy.
By the 6th grade, I began to be a little more selective in taking shots; the art lessons kicked in and gave me a good foundation for composition. My environment and objects in it started to look different, details like shapes, lines and patterns appeared, I noticed color and shadows at different times of day…I started to pay attention.
Fast forward a few more years; a conference in Chevy Chase, Maryland, a visit to our Hawaii delegation in Washington DC, and a lesson learned that I will never forget.
