Father's Day and the FD 35

I’m surprised on a regular basis by the number of interests I share in common with my Dad. While we are technically a generation apart, we both appreciate figuring out how things work, great music, history, and photography. He’s a civil engineer, and I’ve made a nice little career so far out of being a software engineer. I think had we been born at the same time we’d both have the exact same jobs.

While we were home last weekend for Father’s Day, we were talking about photography and taking pictures. He went into the closet and pulled out the camera shown above. It’s his old SLR from his college days, and the first years of my life. I don’t remember much about it as a kid, other than its signature strap pattern.

It’s nothing terribly fancy, certainly compared to today’s standards, but it took a lot of meaningful pictures about thirty years ago. I’m incredibly impressed by the photography tools of previous generations and am also extremely aware of how easy the camera systems of today make it on photographers. Below are some shots he shared with me taken with this camera of New York City in the mid 1970s, shortly after the World Trade Center towers had been completed. Powerful images to see now, on many levels.

So, thanks Dad. Great shots.