I served in the Army during Vietnam, but retired from the Navy. I then worked in R&D for a heavy equipment manufacturer for 15 years before retiring again. Now I’m the pastor of a small country church in central Illinois. Photography provides me an occasional escape from the sometimes overwhelming demands of ministry.

It seems that the older I get, the more “old school” my photographic desires become. I started out with a Nikon FE that I bought while stationed in the Navy in Japan. Fast forward over 40 years, and I’m experimenting with 35mm rangefinders. My weapons of choice right now are a Kiev 4AM and a Nikon F, both completely manual. I just used a changing bag and developed my very first roll of B&W film; and I think the pics came out great. I am excited to begin this new phase that challenges my skills.

I am focusing (no pun intended) on Ilford HP5+ film. I have a collection of about 20 cameras, which includes 3 Russian rangefinders, 3 Nikkormat models, a Nikon F, FM, and an FE, Pentax, Vivitar, and a number of other rangefinders. I am sure that I will eventually downsize once I have become proficient with them all.

I am submitting three photos from the first roll of film that I shot via the Kiev 4AM, my newest addition to my rangefinder camera. Since I wanted to prove the camera, I did not wait for some extraordinary photo opportunity, but exhausted the roll in an expeditious fashion.