The Sunny Side of Life (Icons Behind The Lens Series)

One cannot have too many cameras.

The iconic photo behind the two cameras was shot by Bill Beall as he chanced upon Officer Maurice Cullinane gently coaxing two-year old Allen Weaver back to the Curb.  The photo won a Pulitzer award.  And how could it not?  Entitled Busted, the photo is a classic street shot.  Unsuspecting protagonists caught at the decisive moment by the photographer.

I decided to use Beall's photo as a background for my Mamiya-6 as the camera came out about the same time as when Beall took his photo.  Around late 1950s.  The Mamiya-6 (note the hyphen) is different from the more famous plastic-bodied Mamiya Six, which came out in the 1990s.  The former is a classic folding camera, which has long been forgotten.  The latter is still used around.  Actually the Mamiya-6 series debuted in the 1940s.  My Mamiya-6 is the last version.

It is curious why Mamiya decided to resurrect the model name fifty years later.  Perhaps, a period of fifty years is too long for one to remember the classic folding camera.  I'm glad I have one.  In my fantasy, I dream of having two.  Thanks to the magic of Photoshop.  Besides, one cannot have too many cameras, right?

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