James M. Surprenant

    My first camera was a hand-me-down Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash Model camera that my mom gave me when I was about 10 years old back in the mid-70s.  I really loved taking photographs from the start and nothing matched the excitement in those days of seeing my dad walking through the door after work with a box of Kodak 620 and a box of Sylvania Press 25Bs.  I remember "documenting" birthdays and holiday parades in our little mill town of Lawrence, MA with my Brownie.
    Well, now middle-aged, I seem to have fallen into the all-too-common syndrome of reliving my past through camera collecting and old 620 box cameras have a special place in my heart.  Today I am concentrating on producing better black and white photographs with my 35mm cameras and doing my own darkroom work at home.  When composing photographs I try to see my subjects from unique and varied angles and I like to emphasize geometric shapes and textures whenever I can.    I find shooting color with my Brownie and other 620 box cameras is a nice compliment to producing "technically good" black and white 35mm prints.
    These days my favorite cameras are the Kodak Brownie Hawkeye, the Ansco Panda 20, the Argus 75, and the Holga.    When it comes to 35mm photography....the Pentax K1000, the Argus C4 and the Argus C3 are my go-to favorites.

To see more of my photography click here.
To see my camera collection click here.
Comments, criticism and general correspondence is always welcome!      James M. Surprenant