My name is Jan and I'm a 44 year-old Zuikoholic. I started photography as
soon as I was tall enough to look over the edge of the easel on my father's
enlarger. He worked semi-pro, moonlighting a few weddings and portraits now
and then, and I was his darkroom helper, from about 1962 on into high
school. I learned to use his view camera and his 35mm gear.
My first camera was all I could afford as a teen-ager in rural Michigan: a
screw-mount Praktika SLR with a 50/1.4 and 135/3.5 and a Gossen Luna Pro,
which I picked up for the small fortune -- in 1970 dollars and
grass-cutting money -- of $150. I was the photographer for the high school
yearbook, and then majored in Photojournalism for a year, before dropping
out to ride across the country all four directions on a bicycle. My
Praktika was stolen from my panniers in Red Lodge, Montana, in September
1975.
When I got my first "real" job in 1977, I did careful research about all
the different 35mm systems that were available. Never one to follow crowds,
I was unimpressed with Nikon and Canon. I narrowed it down to Olympus and
Contax. After handling both machines, I spent $800 on an OM-2, 50/1.4 SC,
and 75-150/4 SC.
I've never looked back on that decision, and moved up to the OM-2n, OM-4,
and OM-4T as they came out, adding a new 24/2.8 SC, a new 50/3.5 MC (which
Siddiq is now enjoying) and bellows, and finally a new 21/3.5 MC. My peak
was working at the 1980 Winter Olympics, and free-lance trips to Korea,
England, and Cyprus. Then I became un-inspired, and "dropped out" -- taking
only a roll or two a year for nearly a decade.
Now I guess I'm in what is popularly called a "mid life crisis," and have
become re-acquainted with my passion for photography as I figure out what I
want to be when I grow up.
I now have three OM-4T bodies, 18 Zuikos, and a couple third-party lenses
-- all used. (If Olympus would produce new OM equipment, I'd probably buy
it.)
Now and then, I'll handle another camera for a bit, but soon hand it back
to its owner, feeling confidant that what I have chosen is not holding me
back.
: Jan Steinman <mailto:jans@xxxxxxxxxxx>
: 19280 Rydman Court, West Linn, OR 97068-1331 USA
: +1.503.635.3229
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