Nikon F2 S Photomic and the Walky

Last week was a time of coincidence, I found three separate items. On Monday I found a mans wallet lying on the pavement which I returned it to its owner. On Wednesday I found a glass marble, which is unusual. And on Thursday, while walking to the post office, I found the photograph you see below. Was the photo lost or discarded? Whatever, it has a new home now, in my collection. The type is known as a Walkie.

People are ingenious in finding ways to earn a living from a camera, from weddings to wars and everything in-between, but without doubt the boldest and bravest were the Walkies. These were the men (I've never known of a woman Walkie), who spent 12 hours a day, seven days a week patrolling summer holiday resorts and snapping holiday makers, walking towards them.

Found image taken by a Walkie

Until about 20 years ago, every seaside resort in Britain had at least one Walkie. Starting around mid morning and finishing when the crowds thinned out, the Walkie would comb every inch of beach, promenade and fun fair, taking photographs of anyone and everyone. What a job, eh! The very thought of it makes my feet ache and my shoulders sag.

The Walkie's I remember were extremely professional. They would appear in front of you with a broad smile and take a single photo. You were given a card with the name address of a shop or pub, where you could view your photo, usually the next day. They were always well groomed with polished shoes, smart trousers, white shirt and polyester tie (used to clean the camera lens). Occasionally you'd  see the a showman Walkie, with a monkey or parrot on his shoulder. Men at the top of their game.

There can't be many people in Britain who don't have a snapshot taken by a Walkie, I have at least ten photos of members of my family with a walkie stamp on the back. It was always part of our summer holiday to find our photograph amongst the hundreds on display, either in a shop window or behind the bar of a pub. The photo was affordable and usually cost the same as a pint of beer.

The photos in most collections and those that are found tend to be like the example above, rather bland and casual. But like gold nuggets on a pebble beach, there are examples where subjects are caught in a moment of happiness that transcends the snapshot and becomes beautiful record of social trends. 

Walkie from my collection

Walkie cameras had to be tough to cope with the summer conditions of heat, humidity, salt and fine sand blowing around. Leica and Nikon were obviously the most popular brands, indeed I once saw Walkie using a Leica 3f, whose film advance knob had been worn to smooth brass. Which brings me to the Nikon F2 S Photomic, you see below, it's a Nikon F2 with a DP-2 head and was the considered very exotic in its day. This one is a veteran ex-Walkie camera that spent ten years on the sea front at Blackpool between 1974 and 1984. It's one of two Nikon F2's owned by the same photographer. One camera was loaded with negative film for prints the other loaded with slide film which was used to make little souvenier viewers on a key ring.

Nikon F2 S Photomic - The Walkie Camera

Nikon F2's are remarkable cameras, elegant in form and function, and you can fully appreciate the quality when you handle and use a well worn example. Despite the hard professional life the camera still works perfectly and there's no evidence of sloppiness, it walks and talks as it should. The heart of the camera, the shutter, sounds smooth, strong and its slow speeds are music to my ears. This is from a camera that has never had a service or CLA (clean, lube and adjust).

Nikon F2 Style Icon - Yeah Baby

My Nikon F2

Imagine you only have one camera and you had to use it for the rest of your life. What camera would you choose?

Until quite recently that's how you had to chose your camera, unless you were wealthy enough to indulge yourself. Not long ago, just before digital cameras took off, camera manufacturers had production runs that lasted several years. In relative terms cameras were a lot more expensive than today, and you bought your camera knowing it would be a long term investment.

My first big investment in a camera was a Bronica that I used for social photography, weddings and portraits. My second big investment was a used Nikon F2. Both purchases required me to attend an interview at Lloyds bank, where I was lectured in the importance of regular repayments of the loan before putting my signature across a penny stamp with the Queen's head on it.

 Paris with a Nikon F2 using outdated (1998),  film - Photograph by Tim Irving

That was over 25 years ago, the Bronica was sold when I couldn't stomach another wedding, but the Nikon and I are still together, in fact I used it in Paris last week. And after 25 years and countless other cameras passing through my hands, I see no reason to abandon my Nikon.

The Nikon F2 is without doubt a design classic! It's evolutionary path can be traced back to 1957 and Nikon's SP rangefinder camera, which then evolved into the Nikon F in 1959, before finally evolving into the F2 - which was launched in 1971.

The Nikon F and F2 cameras became popular at a time of historic social change throughout the world. It was the chosen camera of photographers covering the Vietnam war and in particular Don McCullin. You can see Nikon F's being used at Woodstock. Dennis Hopper photographed the civil rights marches with one. Paul Simon put one in the lyrics of a song, and the icing on the cake, a Nikon F co-starred in the movie "Blow up" -the film that inspired Mike Myers to create Austin Powers! For a young man in the 60's and 70's owning an F or F2 was like owning a Fender Stratocaster, it made you attractive to women, a leader of men and it cured acne. I had to have one.

Austin Powers with his Nikon F2

The F2 is a totally mechanical camera. The meter requires a battery, but the camera itself will take photographs requiring only the power of your thumb to wind on the film. I don't know how many thousand films I've used over the years. In all conditions from dusty and hot to wet and cold, all over the world, the F2 has never missed a beat and it's never had a service apart from changing the foam light seals every 10 years, which takes 10 minutes to do youself.

As  a professional system camera, Nikon over-engineered the F2 and built it for life. As a system camera it can be modified to perform anything asked of it. The system comprises thousands of accessories and lenses. It was used by architecs, archiologists and astronauts (I could go on), in locations from the ocean floor to outer space. There's even an accessory called an endoscope that lets you take photographs inside the human body. Can you imagine your doctor asking "please touch your toes and relax, I'm just going to insert this Nikon F2 up your anus".

From an aesthetic point, the Nikon F2 is a fine looking camera, it's design was the product of gradual improvements over its 9 year lifespan and the end result is a handsome, workmanlike machine. It looks serious and has always received respectful glances, today it's considered cool and very trendy. It's the perfect accessory for the game of One-upmanship.
 
The camera that followed the F2 (the F3), was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the designer of De Lorean and Alfa Romeo cars. The F3 was a total re-design and Giugiaro added, for no good reason, a red stripe that runs down the handgrip. I'm not a design snob, but if I owned a Nikon F3 I'd have to cover up the red line.

I don't think you could improve the F2 without compromising some of its many qualities. A titanium lightweight version would be nice. My camera with a standard lens weighs 2lb 13oz and after a long day swinging from my neck I do sag, I wish it were lighter, but the Nikon F2 is what it is, I live with the weight. Austin Powers would argue that the weight of the camera makes it a good weapon, and he'd be right.

 David Hemmings in Blow-up