What If I Had?

On Nov. 6, 2010, in Ocean Beach, Calif., I came across some vintage Leica film cameras, cases, and lenses for sale at an antique mall. Back then, I had little understanding about the bigger brand or the real value of older gear, even though shooting the X1, which interested me more for being an excellent all-in-one, fixed-Prime lens shooter.

Nothing in the display case sold for more than $100, if I rightly recall. I considered buying something but passed, which is unfortunate. Collectors pursue classic Leica, and the Leitz Photographica Auction is one of the places they go to spend sometimes tens of thousands to millions of Euros. Now I doubt anything so valuable was available on that November day nearly 12 years ago. But there might have been something that I could use for film photography, even if that required some manufacturer restoration. But I saw nothing more than old cameras that happened to be the same brand as my own.

I cannot find the original of the Featured Image, which troubles me. This clearly cropped (16:9) edit comes from my older archive posted to SmugMug. I spent several hours tonight searching external hard drives for the master photo and am deeply disturbed at no finding it, while wondering what else is gone into the digital graveyard. Vitals: f/4, ISO 800, 1/30 sec, 24mm; 2:19 p.m. PDT.