David Brommer's 2013 Holiday Wish List

Holiday time is when we’re all kids again, and we get gifts.

 

 

 

 

 

I recall back sometime in the late 1970s I received a Polaroid Sun 600 Camera from my mom and dad. They gave me two packs of film, and I shot everything, from my poodle Michele Ma Bell to GI Joe action figures. When I finished my two packs of film (20 shots total) I was in shock to find out just how out of reach Polaroid 600 film was to an unemployed 10-year-old. I had to double-down on my chores to get a raise on my allowance and now I look back—my dad was teaching me a lesson about work-reward-spend wisely. This was also preparation for my fondness of shooting with an 8 x 10 camera, where every shot is calculated. Speaking of calculated, I have assembled my wish list for the 2013 holiday season.

First off, I’d like the new Fujifilm instax mini 90 Neo Classic Instant Camera. I can relive my youth by shooting instant photographs, and this camera is way better than my old Sun 600. Aside from a neat retro look, this jammer can shoot double exposures and has a bulb setting for 10-second exposures. It even has a tripod socket. Pictures in a NY minute, baby!

We all have a little James Bond in us, and I’m positive that Q would outfit 007 with the KJB Security Products DVR290 Covert Camera glasses to record the antics of SPECTRE, if he had access to B&H. These glasses can be fitted with shades for outdoor covert ops, or clear glass for indoors, or your optician can fit them with prescription lenses, but what really makes these glasses is the built-in 720P HD camera and 2MP still camera. I’m not sure what a mild-mannered photographer like me would do with them, but with 8 gigabytes of built-in memory, I could record almost anything I see and no one would know. Until the YouTube video would be released, that is!

For those of you familiar with my blog and teachings, you know that I’m a huge fan of the Fujifilm X series of cameras. This is the camera that reinvigorated my photography, and they released a very sweet new lens: the 23mm f1.4. When you match this optic to any of the X-series cameras, it has an apparent focal length of 35mm, which is just right for capturing the fleeting, candid moments of street photography. The fast 1.4 aperture and Fujifilm’s revolutionary X-Trans sensor will  allow you to shoot with super quality in just about any light. It’s not a small lens, but it’s extremely high performance, and the focal length is pretty much perfect—not too tele, not too wide.

My old Macbook Pro is getting long in the tooth, and by that I mean I can’t upgrade to Mavericks, the newest OS, and by the time it takes me to restart it, I could brew a pot of coffee (don’t even ask about  launching PhotoShop 6; I can watch my beard grow). I recently tried to download a new Lexar 128GB card I had shot to my archive, and the OS is so old, it couldn’t even see the card! It’s time to upgrade to the new Apple 15.4 MacBook Pro with Retina display. It’s blazing fast, with 1TB of flash storage and 16GB of RAM. If you have never done photo editing with a retina display, you’re in for a treat. Plus, there is nothing like a new MacBook Pro, and let's face it—time is money and money is time, so save me some time and money and gift me a new MacBook Pro, please. 

Kick out the JAMS! I need to hear my new favorite band, Sleigh Bells, loud and on the run, so it’s time to let my iPhone’s Bluetooth connect to the Jawbone Big Jambox. At only 2.7 lb, the sound that comes out of its cool stainless-steel shell is impressive, and the built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery gives you up to 15 hours of continuous jams. If you can’t slip the Jawbone in my stocking, I’ll take tickets to the next Sleigh Bells concert coming up in 2014, thank you.

So that’s about it for my wish list from B&H. I live in Manhattan and have a small apartment so I keep a careful eye on the stuff I surround myself with; I prefer small high-end things, so no 80” inch TVs for me. There is one thing I really would like that B&H doesn’t sell, and that’s the new 2014 Harley Davidson Custom 1200 Sportster. My dream is to load up the saddle bags with my Fujifilm X-Pro1 system and the new MacBook Pro while just riding across the country shooting classic Americana along the way. This new motorcycle will go very well with my recent NY State motorcycle license. Easy Rider, anyone?

Happy holidays,

David

David Brommer is the curator at the B&H Event Space, a state-of-the-art learning center located on the second floor of the B&H SuperStore, where his class on advanced composition, “Beyond the Rule of Thirds,” is an all-time favorite. Learn more about David and his photography on his Suspect Photography blog. Learn more about the Event Space here.

Photo by Louis Branko