aozora blogspot

so i rushed out to the subway during lunch today so that i could make a dash to kominek to get an estimate on repairing my fed5b. i had a feeling kominek was a low-tech operation when i didn't receive a reply back from an email inquiry i sent 2.5 weeks ago, but i didn't expect to be greeted by a man who looked like a mixup of santa clause and a hell's angel, sitting crowded by shelves of used mamiyas, canons and leicas. he sat behind a narrow counter littered with various newspapers, daily magazines and a huge, freshly purchased bag of mcdicks.

i was a little intimidated by the small cluttered space and his gruff demeanor. he filled out a work order as i explained what my problem with the fed5b was. then as i took a peek at the various medium format non-toy cameras, mr. hell's angels said that the shutter speed dial wasn't broken!

i think my excitement transferred over to him as he showed me how the dial really needs to be pulled up hard in order to set it. his gruffness somehow disappeared and he started to impart stories of how all the lens manufacturers and technicians of russia were relocated to a suburb of moscow after WWII, or how i shouldn't spend any money on the fed5b b/c it wouldn't be worth it or how 'that woman' (aka terry shiavo) died suffering for 13 days.

relieved, i was half skipping with happiness out of kominek, when santa shouted, 'come back with some photos. i'm sick of cameras.'