I have lots of stuff.
In the last decade I’ve altered my buying habits drastically, so that I don’t completely bury myself in things before I’m done down here.
It’s a work in progress.
I knew a cool old guy who seemingly owned one of EVERYTHING.
Much of it held value for him. But when he passed, it all just sat there. Piled up in every room of his house.
Not collecting all that you can acquire has a multitude of benefits.
Most importantly, it saves me from what I refer to as “the paranoid pack mule” feeling, which I used to experience most acutely when on a holiday, or hanging out in the city.
Simply put: I’ve got heaps of stuff on me & everyone I see could be a potential threat to my safety.
An unsettling & unhappy way to live.
Owning lots of things is also a huge pain when you’re moving house.
The only thing I enjoy about moving is those rare moments of discovery during the seemingly endless packing phase.
Sure, it’s a giant time sink, but that’s because it’s fun!
When I last moved house, back in March, I found a few cool things.
Several of them were erroneously thrust upon me in haste during an earlier move & sat in a box, waiting for the next move to occur.
That must be how I got these Sylvania Blue Dot Flashbulbs.
Based on the model’s look & the box’s overly colourful nature, I assume they’re from the sixties, as there’s no date on them.
My good mate Google showed me many photos of similar items, but none were this exact product.
I think this young lady is their most attractive model, compared to the others I’ve seen.
I had some limited experience with my Dad’s Olympus OM-1, which still lives & functions today, but I don’t remember ever using an actual flashbulb.
It’s tricky enough using a modern flash effectively.
If there’s a point-and-shoot lying around somewhere at my Dad’s place, maybe someday I’ll score some film & give these a go.
I imagine needing to load the bulbs over & over must give a real ‘sea battle cannon reloading’ sensation. Or not.
Having some practice with analog gear when I was younger helped me take on useful attitudes that I’m still practicing today.
Such as framing & taking the shots you want in-camera, not relying on post-processing.
Being able to take a limited number of shots with a film camera eventually helped me think about what I really needed to capture.
It must be more difficult to learn that approach as a young photographer with digital equipment.
Thanks for checking this out.
You can take a closer look by clicking on any of the images above.
Jivesucka's Ruminations 