FG

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Originally uploaded by npanth.

Here's a picture of my old Nikon FG. I used this camera for many years before and after "that day".
I decided the plusses of getting high altitude shots out-weighed the obvious risks of putting a camera on a kite. After some experimentation, I was getting shots from 50 feet, just by setting the timer and letting it go. I imagine the pictures were quite spectacular. You see, I never got to find out. Just when things were getting routine, a gust of wind broke the kite line, and the whole thing went flying out over a parking lot. I watched in slow motion as my prized camera swung in a giant arc. The image that remains in my mind is in the same part of my brain that remembers animations of comets hitting the Earth. The impact even looked a little like a comet. My camera split into four parts... Lens, Back, film, and Body. Lens, film, and Back flew like debris, while the body 'bounced' back into the air, just to cut another arc through my heart a few seconds later.
That's when I caught up with the kite line. After gathering together the pieces of my dignity, I reassembled the camera and tried a hesitant shot. CLICK, advance, CLICK.
Yes, it's dusty from sitting on my shelf, but it still works, 15 years after that day.