Artifacts...

So, late last night I was nosing around over at the KEH Camera Brokers site, looking at old 35mm Leicas, and musing to myself that cameras that were absolutely unattainable objects of desire in my early 20s were now rather affordable.

Poking around some more and toting up numbers, it was apparent that I could probably put together an early Leica R for not terrible money, if I was willing to accept some ugly. These are the things that make sense at 0130.

But, really, would I ever use the thing? I mean, burning 35mm film is an expensive hobby in its own right, and one I never could afford in the past except when I was actually working in the photography industry. This was a camera I'd buy just to have a piece of gadgetry I'd lusted after once upon a time. I'd shoot maybe a roll or two of film with it, just for kicks, but mostly it would be just to fondle and work the levers, and listen to the little mechanical German gnomes go about their clockwork chores.

I thought to myself "Bobbi would think that was silly, spending money on something I'll probably never use just because I think it's mechanically neat and..."

My eyes fell on the shelves lining the office walls, full of telegraph keys, old microphones, manual typewriters...

"No," I corrected myself, "If there's one person on the planet who would absolutely understand that, it's Bobbi."

I didn't buy a Leica last night... But that doesn't mean I won't.
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