Alabama Shutterbugs

I had been trying to recall the very first camera I had had. I was in the third grade in the elementary school.

Unfortunately, I do not have that camera any longer. I don’t remember when I lost it. It is not even in my memory. I remember neither the name of the camera nor the company who made it. All I remember is the shape of the camera, weight of the camera (I should say lightness of the camera, rather), and cheapness when press its shutter. They, however, can’t be a clue to find what it was.

It is as if I am trying to find a girl who I fell in love the first time in my life. I want to see her, but I don’t at the same time. Several months had passed without any success to find my very first camera.

My first lover should live only in my sweet memory. The very first camera might be the same.

One day when I was in the bathroom, very important clue to find my first camera came to my mind all of sudden. I would like to mention that bathrobe is not just a place for excretion. It is at the same time the sacred meditation field for me.

My first camera was using the film called “Bolta film”. It was a 35mm film without perforation, was fixed onto a backing paper. Only B&W was available. The name was “Lightpan SS”

After the extensive search, I eventually manage to find the camera. It was Anny 10 which was made by Hoei Industrial Company in Japan. This is it! This is the camera that I had the very first time in my life.

I did a bit of net surfing. I found photos of this camera. I obtained permission from the people who are running these web sites.

Nowadays, we call this kind of things “Toy camera”. In those days, however, there weren’t such a word like toy camera.

Focal length was 50mm. It was made of single lens, fixed focus. Therefore, there was no need for focusing. You can switch the aperture between F8 and F11. To believe it or not, it had a connector for strobe. Yes, we had to change strobe bulb each time after we fired.

I must say that this toy camera did a tremendous job for me. I still remember that I shot a picture of my father in underwear under summer shine. He, by the way, owned Olympus Pen F at that time. He has taken eternal residence in the better place.

Well, forks! What was your very first camera in your life?

This post was written by Masumi Yamamuro AKA surgeon24hrs. If you have a story you’d like to share, please send it to contact@alphoto.org.