Nikonos underwater // 35mm film camera // Hawaii

Aloha guys !

About a year ago I ran across some 35mm film images that really moved me and were very thought provoking.

They were photos of people surfing, beautiful portraits of women and children underwater, and marine life. Shot in all different styles, shot with different film stocks, in all kinds of  lighting situations, from all over the world, and such different concepts.
But! All shot with the SAME 35mm film camera, the Nikonos.

Nikonos cameras were made between 1970-1990 by Nikon. They can be used on land or underwater. Very study, like small compact metal machines….

I knew I had to have one.

I still marvel that my son Keanu ( who is affected by autism ) can swim so beautifully.
He struggled for so many years in the learning process.

It took years of my husband, really, honestly never giving up to achieve this.

Swimming is not only fun, it is a life-saving skill for children on the autism spectrum. I am working on becoming a swim instructor, to one day teach special needs children how to swim.

Not only do I love seeing and photographing my kids underwater, I realized that the Nikonos can be used for very abstract/artsy/fun portraits of people as well.

I HAD to get one, no-matter what!

They are slightly hard to find in pristine condition, so one day I was chatting with my friends at the photo lab I frequent and they mentioned they had one upstairs, brand new, still in it’s box from the 1980s.

YAY! I saved up my pennies for it and was so excited to take it to Hawaii for the kids’ Spring Break.

I was so lucky to have met a super-talented Nikonos shooter from Honolulu, Erik…he gave me a crash course on the basics, thank YOU Erik!

This is my 1st roll shot, as you can see it’s a learning process for me – focal distance, exposure…… But I am in LOVE with what / all that it can do !

xo Dana

Gear: Nikonos IV | 35mm lens
Kodak Portra 400
Oahu + Tacoma

 

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