An Olympus OM-1md, bought by my dad for me in 1973. I still remember the day. I was in 6th grade and had a science teacher, Mr. Okun, who was a photo buff and who taught a me and a couple of students how to develop film. I was shooting a Kodak 126 Instamatic at the time and told my parents that I wanted a "real camera" just like Mr. Okun's Nikkormat. My parents mentioned this to Mr. Okun during a parent-teacher conference and my parents told me that Mr. Okun said that I was a good kid and student and added "Why don't you get him one?"
My dad (who also liked photography) was receptive to the idea. I had wanted a Minolta SRT (although I dreamed of a Canon F-1 based on the National Geographic ads, but it was really expensive) and my dad took me to Willoughby's in Manhattan to look into getting one. The salesman talked my dad into getting an Olympus OM-1md, which the salesman said was "all the rage" being smaller, lighter and able to use motor drives, etc. Of course the OM-1 was considerably more expensive, being around $300, which was alot of money in those days. I still remember my excitement when my dad bought the OM-1 for me -- I slept with it next to my bed for weeks. That led to a decades long love affair with the OM system through the end of elementary school, junior high school, high school, college, law school and into parenthood. I still have about 12 OM bodies -- all of the single digit series except for the OM-3 and OM-3Ti and about forty Zuiko lenses from 18mm to 300mm, which I still use today. I used them for the high school paper, used them in college and became the editor in chief of my university yearbook, which helped me get into law school. I made a couple of thousand dollars shooting parties, group photos and weddings on the side while in college. Looking back, that first OM-1 camera (which I still have and use today) had a large, positive effect on my life. In the 1990's, my apartment was burgled and most of my OM cameras and lenses were stolen. I was relieved that my first OM-1 was somehow left behind as this has alot of sentimental value to me. I was just shooting it last week and it still works great (with one overhaul by John Hermanson around 2012 to remove deteriorating prism foam).
I was just telling my dad (who is turning 93 next month) how grateful I am for his buying me this camera all those years ago. He smiled and laughed a little and remembered how I used to sleep with the camera next to my bed. It was a great moment.
