My first picture taking experience was with a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera. Mom was so patient teaching me how to look down through the view finder, pressing the button firmly, making sure to wind the film for the next photo, and alway reminding me to keep my finger away from the shutter. (So many photos have a finger in the corner.) As the years passed, I made my way through many Instamatics and Polaroids. 35 mm cameras were intriguing but intimidating.
Eddie Klaben and his wife Irene moved from Brooklyn to Cincinnati in 1955 to manage a regional photo distribution company. They then moved to Springfield, OH in 1963 and purchased Click Camera. There Eddie developed a strong passion for small business, retail and community involvement. He was president and CEO of Click Camera & Video 1 Hour Photo from 1963 until his retirement in 1997 and was known for many years as "Mr. Click." He loved helping people capture special moments through photography. As owner of Click Camera, he grew the business from a single store location in downtown Springfield, to one of the country's largest independent photo specialty stores with 11 stores
I went to high school with Eddie’s daughter Amy. When I began my after college career, I worked with a woman whose husband was a manager of a Click Camera in Dayton. I was interested in taking photos with a more complex camera and so he took me under his wing, advised me on an 35 mm to purchase, a Pentax, and then gave me a few lessons on aperture, exposure, film ISO, shutter speed. That Pentax went through many, many rolls of film and I swore I would never go digital. When my kids began their involvement in sports and other activities, I bought a small Nikon D-SLR and now have a Nikon D5000. It’s about 15 years old and looks kind of clunky next to the newer ones.
Nowadays I use my iPhone camera a lot because it’s always with me and fits in a pocket. It's the convenience factor. iPhone has improved its camera quality but my 15 year old Nikon still outshines it.
But as the saying goes, the camera that takes the best pictures is the one that’s with you.
I started taking photos with an early Instamatic, and have owned some really great cameras and lenses over the years. I have two Nikon D5500s, and 7 or 8 lenses from fisheye to 500mm. I have an underwater Nikon digital, and of course my phone.
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