Analog Interlude - Nikon F100

 For this installment of The Analog Project blog, I decided to wander not quite so far afield, as much as the age of the camera being used is concerned. Meet the first(ish) of the cameras in the project which I actually used quite a bit in my professional career, before I made the switch to digital.

RIGHT: SWINGS MOVE SLIGHTLY IN THE BREEZE AT PIONEER PARK IN NACOGDOCHES, ABANDONED DURING A LATE WINTER/EARLY SPRING COLD SNAP, FEB. 24, 2014.

The images here were made with a Nikon F-100. The camera was introduced in 1999 as a more affordable alternative to the then-Nikon flagship, the F5, and bought new by yours truly at that time. It was among the first of the auto-everything Nikon film cameras and was considered by many photographers, both pro and advanced amateur, to be one of the top 35mm cameras of its day.

The F-100 features auto focus, film advance, metering, you name it, it's got it. It was capable of shooting at a blistering (at the time) 4.5 frames per second, which meant I could blast through a 36-exposure roll of film in about 8 seconds.

I know because, several times — especially after I started shooting digital, with its much larger storage capacity on flash memory — I did.

Pulling this camera out of the case and loading it up with batteries for the first time in 10 years or more was exciting. In design, the body of the F-100 is very close to the current crop of Nikon digital cameras, so it wasn't as if I was getting introduced to a stranger. More like meeting an old friend again after a long absence.

This camera and I went through a lot (and I do mean, a lot) on assignments. This was the camera I used when I rode a coal train from Western Nebraska into the Powder River Basin of Wyoming for a feature on electricity production. I carried this camera through a uranium mine, which was really a gigantic water softening plant extracting the mineral in solution from the underground water table, as part of the same series.

LEFT: A REAR VIEW OF THE LONE STAR FEED PLANT SEEN THROUGH THE TREES FROM PRESS ROAD ON FEB. 24, 2014, IN NACOGDOCHES.


Using my old friend, I covered rodeo, football, high school graduations, accidents, fires - basically all the stuff the average photojournalist gets in to on a daily basis. It was tough and reliable, always ready, regardless of the situation or assignment. And it remains so today.

You can imagine my pleasure when I pulled the camera out, went to buy batteries (it takes readily available AA cells) and loaded up the holder. There was just a moment of oh crap concern when it didn't power up right away, until I remembered it takes six batteries, not four.

Then it was drop the film in and close the back, enjoying the familiar "whir" as the film automatically advanced to frame 1, and it's off to go shoot. It's interesting, to me anyway, that as I work on this project, I'm developing something of a route through and around Nacogdoches, particularly as I test out the cameras I'm using for Analog East Texas.

So, I find myself photographing a few if not several of the same subjects with different cameras. The Lone Star Feed plant is one, particularly from the front (which you'll see in future installments, or sooner, if you visit the Flickr feed).

RIGHT: THE ABANDONED WAYNE TOOL COMPANY BUILDING ON PRESS ROAD IN NACOGDOCHES.

One such location is the abandoned Wayne Tool Co. building on Press Road in Nacogdoches. I was first drawn to the building, just because of its appearance, and the proliferation of graffiti decorating its exterior. I was toying with the idea of working on a project focused just on graffiti. But I quickly realized there isn't as much street art as I thought in Nacogdoches. And a good bit of what there is really can't be photographed well.

It's liberating, in a way, getting out with the film cameras again on a regular basis. It really helps me free my mind and refocus my energy on creating, because I really don't have to please anyone but myself with what I create.

And a big part of the enjoyment of the process for me comes after the image is made and waiting in the camera. I used to complain about having to spend an hour or more in the darkroom every day, processing film and - early on - making prints for the daily newspaper. Now, I relish the time I get to spend in the darkroom, so much so I spend as much of my free time on the weekends there.

I was talking with a friend about the project the other day. He brought it up while I was making photos of him (on digital) for an upcoming special section on life in the Nacogdoches area. He's been following it for the past couple of months and has enjoyed sharing my journey with the old cameras.

He mentioned he'd taken some basic photography courses in high school and college and enjoyed the discovery of the hidden images in the darkroom, that thrill of viewing the still-wet negatives for the first time, the revelation of the image appearing on the photo paper in the dim light.

 LEFT: A VINTAGE AMERICAN MILITARY TANK STANDS AS A MONUMENT TO VETERANS AT PIONEER PARK IN NACOGDOCHES.

But I think that's something anyone involved in the creative processes, whether its art, food, music, film, or making something functional with your hands, can understand. One of our writers was talking the other day about his enjoyment of the creative process and how that is what drew him to journalism in the first place. Putting words on paper, or images on film, or doors on cars, can provide a sense of accomplishment I don't think I could ever find, sitting behind a desk and shuffling paper.

Thanks to those who've commented on the project and opted to follow along as I take this journey. You can continue to follow Analog East Texas with the monthly installments at The Daily Sentinel and periodic updates here and through my Analog East Texas set on Flickr.