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07/15/2003 06:37:40 AM · #1 |
Dilish Parekhâs face lights up with childlike delight as he displays a 1960s Rolliflex camera, its purple ribbon seal still intact.
Neatly arranged in the glass and wooden cupboards in his Peddar Road flat are some of the 2,500-odd cameras he owns â a collection that earned him a place in the Guinness Book of Records.
The certificate from Guinness, that arrived on July 3, was the result of 18 months of painstaking correspondence with the UK-based keeper of world records.
ââTo establish the genuineness of my collection, I sent them pictures of the cameras, details of their make and particulars of lenses.
"I sent them a computerised inventory of the cameras and also letters from prominent people who had seen my collection,ââ says Parekh (50), a freelance photographer who occasionally contributes photographs to magazines and newspapers.
Much of the inventory work was done by Jay and Harsh, his college-going sons. In fact, it was constant prodding from them that led Parekh to write to Guinness.
ââHis dream was to enter the record book. But he did not pursue it seriously,ââ says Jay. Jay and his brother occasionally pick up cameras to add to their fatherâs collection.
Collection of cameras
Rolliflex, Leica, HasselBlad, Zeiss, Canon, Linof, Nikon and Kodak, all old and trusted names in photography, feature in Parekhâs collection.
A wood and leather Royal Mail Postage Stamp Camera that produced 15 stamp-size photographs at a time is an especially prized one.
An Agilux World War II camera that was hung from aircraft to capture pictures of bombings is another valuable possession.
In fact, Parekh has so many cameras, some of the less valuable ones are stacked in his garage.
Parekh feels much of the joy of photography has gone with the introduction of digital cameras.
âWhile photography has become less messy, much of the surprise element associated with film photography is not there,â he points out.
Parekh developed an interest in cameras after his grandfather, J C Parekh, a jeweller, bequeathed his collection of 600 cameras to him in 1972.
Since then, the collection has grown to 2,634 pieces and the hobby into an obsession, much to the irritation of his wife Binita.
ââWhen we go for holidays, much of our time is spent scouring studios and shops for old cameras,ââ she says.
Parekh's cameras
But the hunt for cameras has often yielded bounties â for instance, a visit to a century-old studio near Dal Lake in Srinagar.
The studio owner, who had just bought the latest studio equipment, was only too happy to dispose of his old cameras.
âI purchased 50 cameras for Rs 2,500. Some, like the 1930s Contaflex twin lens reflex cameras, were quite rare,â says Parekh.
In Mumbai, Parekh is known among dealers of antique cameras. When a rare camera makes an appearance, he is often the first to be told about it. Parekh is guarded about the prices that some pieces in his collection would command.
But catalogues of antique cameras quote prices that run into thousands of Euros. The hobby is an expensive one and Parekh says he has often to put off plans to purchase some models because of their price.
Cleaning the lenses periodically and protecting the cameras from Mumbaiâs notorious humidity is a continuous job that his sons have taken upon themselves.
For more: //www.mid-day.com/mumbaikar/2003/july/58380.htm |
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07/15/2003 10:02:00 AM · #2 |
Parekh feels much of the joy of photography has gone with the introduction of digital cameras.
âWhile photography has become less messy, much of the surprise element associated with film photography is not there,â he points out.
Well, maybe, .. but the only 'surprise' I ever got was the "ooh.. look how I missed that shot", and "hmm. guess a smaller aperature would have been a better choice", and "who was that again?"
LOL
2,500+ cams! Wow!
Message edited by author 2003-07-15 10:02:20.
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