I miss analog B&W photography. Sometimes, at night, I have dreams of going back to studying at Zurich Art School. And, in those dreams, I’m back in the lab, developing films and prints.
My very first professional camera was a black Nikon FM2 with a 50mm lens, 1:1.4.
I didn’t just love B&W photography. I was really good at it. No joke.
Then, I decided to roam the world and pursue other careers.
I didn’t own any property and had no real possibility for long-term storage. Thus, I ended up selling all my cameras. All my gear. And (something I regret to this day) threw away almost all my negatives and prints. It was an attempt to clean house and let go… to lighten the material load… for a fresh start.
30 years after, photography is still just as alive in my heart. My interest in art (and in creating it) is still as great as ever. So, some months back, I started looking for a second-hand FM2. I wanted the exact same set-up I used to have.
Well, yesterday I got lucky 📸. An analog photo store in Basel acquired an FM2 in excellent shape.
I took her home with me.
I also immediately bought some B&W film. I’ll go back to the roots. My FM2 and I will start roaming the streets, forests, and fields together again.
And the most incredible thing: The art school photo lab I used to develop my film and prints in, in Zurich, still exists!!! Amazingly, it’s even possible to sign up for using that lab! I am so much looking forward to spending long evenings and nights there again. In that beautiful, soothing red light, teasing a myriad of brilliant grey tones out of my photo negatives.
Hello dearest FM2. I’m ready to continue our saga together!