Old Pens and New Ideas
An old clip from Mad Men has been doing the rounds lately, and it rhymes with something that Gajan Balan included in his film about the SL3s from earlier this year. In the clip below, Don Draper describes the power photography has to allow us to mark time, recording as we move forwards and allowing us to travel back again. It’s moving stuff in its way and a fun few minutes.
Days later I was unearthing something old in the form of a fountain pen that was my Grandmother’s. Looking it up to work out what kind it was, I found that in a Mad Men style there was a fantastic ad campaign when the Parker 61 was first released in the 60s. It filled up simply by dipping the end into a bottle of ink for a few seconds. No twisting or pumping or anything, and other manufacturers were initially stumped by it. It was described by Parker as “The world’s most wanted pen”.
I’ve been using said pen and another fountain pen, inspired by Peter Karbe following our recent conversation in Germany, to make plans. I’m thinking that each month I’ll give patrons an update on progress with the show, future guests and newsletter topics, that sort of thing. I would love to have a chat with you over on Patreon and as always my DMs are open to all conversations photographic.
GRIV is on the way!
I’m beyond excited that there will be a new GR this year. I adored the GRIII when I had one and this seems like a solid upgrade. Samuel Lintaro has published an early view which leaves out a few key details but am excited to see what happens with this new release.
Coming up…
As you read this I’m in London recording a very special episode for next week, more on that later. I also hung out with the folks at Ffordes Photographic in Scotland. If you’ve not been over to Ffordes it’s an amazing store, piled high with gear. I met Steve, the owner, at the Leica 100 event in Wetzlar and it was a real treat to see him again as well as some of the wider team. No M5’s in stock, sadly 😉 Oh and I’m helping to organise a photo walk in Inverness in September, more on that nearer the time but maybe keep the weekend of the 27th free.