This was my father's camera which he gave to me when I took photography back in the ninth grade - this camera served me well. I still have my "artsy" pictures in a box from my three-year tour through Mr. Martinet's elective photography class - funny, interesting photos in black and white, developed by myself from start to finish.

I never stopped loving cameras or the taking of pictures. As I mentioned to someone recently, the digital age has allowed me to really enjoy picture taking in a way that I haven't since I had access to a dark room. Once I stopped developing my own pictures, I was limited to what the labs would give me. And the results were usually disappointing.

In fact, it was the last disappointing batch that finally sent me to the store. David and I took the kids to a touristy ghost town. Lots of fun stuff to shoot, how could you go wrong? What I got back were ruined negatives. True disappointment since the kids will never be that particular age again, at Halloween, in a ghost town that's only good for folks with forgiving imaginations.

I have control in my hands once more...and it's a great thing! But with the control comes re-learning the basics.