40 years ago, my first nikon

[belgiumreporter]

 This went wrong, thread may be removed



Please have a look at my other thread if you want to see the whole story 

[mickeyobe]

Sept 6, 2014 3:13:38 GMT -5 belgiumreporter said:

 This went wrong, thread may be removed

Don't remove it.

J for Junior Nikon.

[genazzano]

Hi. I'm not sure what went wrong but the thread fit me perfectly. 40 years ago I began working as a stringer for UPI in Buffalo. My major job was to cover the Bills' games. Since I could only afford a Pentax H1a, I loved the Nikons and all the lenses at the office. Made the front page of the NYT after the Bills beat the Jets. Memories.

David

[Deleted]

Late '60s and early '70s I was also a stringer for UPI in Boise and later in Seaside, Oregon. Made the national wire with some photos of a storm with 100 mph winds that hit the Oregon coast. Seems like in those days they paid something like $25 for a photo that actually made the wire. Sold one photo to Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" and they paid me $125!! Thought I had really made the big time. That was almost a week's salary at my regular reporter's job.

W.

[genazzano]

Well, when I said I made the front page a full third of the page, I actually meant that it was a picture of me at the game and not a shot that I took of the game.

It turns out that I had shot all my film by the last few minutes of the fourth quarter and I needed to get out of the stadium, drive back to the office, develop the many rolls of film all the while listening to the last few moments of the game on the radio. By the end I needed to have the shots selected and a fresh wet print ready for a caption and onto the scanner to hit the wire within seconds of the games end.

However, the best shot of the game was taken by another guy who happened to be directly across the field from me. As I was walking along the sidelines, a play came my way so I briefly knelt down on one knee, two empty Nikons hanging around my neck and my pockets stuffed with exposed film. Just at that moment, the Jets' end caught a spectacular pass just a few feet from me and this great sports scene was caught from across the field by a photographer who hadn't shot all of his film. On the front page of the NYT the next day was a photo of the Jets' end gracefully catching a pass right next to a UPI stringer, cameras hanging down, watching the game on one knee.

My boss, not interested in my great excuse, fired me and my career took an abrupt turn.

I loved those big old Nikon F's though.

David

[philbirch]

I sold a couple of photos to my local paper and in both instances the motorcycle dispatcher who collected the films brought £25 and my negatives back.

One pic of a bus crashing (actually in the process of crashing) and one of a UFO. The UFO one was shown on TV too I got £60 for that eventually. It turned out to be a rare conjunction of Venus Mars and Jupiter.

[mickeyobe]

I worked for a small weekly newspaper for a couple of years.
My primary job was doing the paste-ups as it was printed offset.
But like most small underfinanced papers everyone did everything.
I loved that job.

I always carried my Exakta VX2a with me.
I took some pictures of a fire of a school portable.
I got hell from the fire chief as I got too close and was a trifle singed. I only had the standard lens.

But the insurance company paid me $25.00 for my pictures. A fortune to me at that time. A whole week's salary.
That is the only time I was ever paid for my photography.
I heard from the secretary that Mr. G. the publisher/editor warned the men from the insurance company that they had better pay me handsomely.

Mickey

[genazzano]

I still have a few 35 mm film strips from some NFL games back in 1970 or so. I don't recall being paid but with that great darkroom and bunch of Nikons that I couldn't possibly afford as a student, I really didn't care. I do wonder where I would be if I hadn't been fired that day, though.

David

[belgiumreporter]

Since this (wrong) thread has triggered a lot of memories for a lot of people i might as well go down memory lane as a beginning photographer.
These pics were made with the F, in those days i did mostly events and fashion. You might recognise the guy with the cap, it's me 40 years younger  (trying to tell the models what to do)
I did take better care of my gear wich is still around, as these are some of the only prints i've got left from way back then, because my archive got destroyed when the basement in wich i kept it flooded with dirty water.

[genazzano]

I love these photos. Thank you for sharing the memories.

David