Hi Everyone,

I'm Andre. Back in 1994, I took a trip to Poland to visit my Babcia, who I had not seen in twenty years. I decided to enlist a good friend of mine to help me pick out a camera for this trip. My initial thought was to purchase a 35mm point and shoot camera. However, after a weekend afternoon shopping excursion to the photo district of Toronto, I walked out of a store paying a lot more for a 35mm SLR. Ravaged with guilt, I was determined that this camera would not end up collecting dust in a corner of a room. Armed with some knowledge from my Grade 11 photography class, I took my Nikon 401x everywhere. Whether if it was to a coffee shop or a family gathering, that camera came with me. It was well travelled, seeing action in 16 countries. It didn't hurt getting complements on my photos from family and friends. Thus, I became much more interested in photography and took many photos. Unfortunately, tragedy struck in May 2006. After hundreds of rolls, and a few drops, my Nikon 401x took its last photo. My family was dropping a friend off at the airport. I tossed my camera in a napsack that rested gently on top of her luggage. Upon arrival, I warned everyone not to open the hatch to the car. I feared that the bag would fall out. Everyone involved listened to my plee. I sought a luggage trolley and upon returning to the car the hatch remained closed. I then slowly opened the hatch to the car. Nothing happened initially, but then my napsack rolled out onto the ground. Not a big impact. I had experienced more severe drops in the past so much as to crack the filter. Nonetheless, I quickly pulled the camera out of the bag and aimed it towards the light outside of the airports garage. Nothing happed. The shutter was non-responsive and the read out in the view finder was not functioning. I felt horrible. I had a hard time sleeping that night, thinking of the thousands of photos I had taken. As the hours past, I grew more delirious. I told my wife my grand idea of creating a book about my Nikon 401x. It would start off with the first photo ever taken with it, and the finish off with the final photo it took. Not to mention the number of times I recounted this story to every colleague and friend I spoke to over the next 48 hours. I brought the camera into a great repair shop that didn't charge me a cent to tell me the dreadful news that my camera reached the end of the line. That was it. I had to move on.

Thanks to the internet, I was able to obtain two bodies (just to be safe) at a fraction of their original costs. I bought a Nikon N65 and an F90x. Both more advanced than my original. I thought about going digital, but thinking of all the costs I would need to incur, I decided to stay with film. The big drawback of course is getting my photos digitized and posted on line. Maybe one day I will switch. For now, any recommendations on a negative/photo scanner would be greatly appreciated.

*** Update - September 2008 ***

My super wife got me a Nikon D200 body as a graduation present this past June. Enjoy my site as I upload photos using the new camera.