The 4th of July 2021 in Prescott, Arizona

It has been very hot in the Southwest but nothing could stop the gathering of thousands on the city Square. I wanted to capture a few moments of this post -2020 pandemic year 4th of July celebration, but given the heat decided to take my dog for an early walk before the large crowds gather.

This year, my goal was to take photos of the environment representing the celebration, rather than pursue street photography of those present.

So, I took my 1970 Nikon F with same year's 135mm Nikkor-Q Auto lens for a cumulative age of 100 years in equipment between camera and lens!

First, as we were walking downtown, a wild cottontail rabbit ran by reminding me that we were indeed in the desert and that it was already 80 F degrees just after sunrise.

The photo at the top of this page captures the identity of the city -- historically a frontier town of the Territories, where cowboys lived life with seemingly infinite land and big skies. But today, I wanted to capture the 4th of July, so a poster of the Constitution helped me frame the photo with "We the People".

Next, to continue with the theme of identity, I wanted my Nikon F to "see" statues around the square in the early light. Here is part of a Sheriff's statue looking at the boots of a fallen colleague. The writing reads:

                                                            "Lest We Forget"

Finally, the statue of  two soldiers topping the memorial for the local soldiers who gave their lives in Vietnam. Opening the lens wide, I wanted to blur the background but still show the chairs already in place for the day's parade.

By now many of the vendors were opening their tents showcasing sculpture, painting, metal work and food. I found this composition of tonal range and gray shades harmony. A perfect setting for testing my expired B&W 100 film!

We had already walked more than two miles and my dog was ready to walk the last mile and get home where he would eat his ice cubes and lay two feet away from a floor fan. 

So, we passed by an antique store that has been on our daily walk path for now more than five years. But the early light was soft to capture both foreground shades and the eclectic nature of this store. By now I had captured cowboys, Vietnam soldiers, a Sheriff's statue, a woman getting her vendor tent ready, and now a Civil War wagon!

Perfect symbolism for the 4th of July.

But symbolism was not yet to end. Behind a metal fence, someone had piled stones perhaps driven by an artistic impulse. But from my angle and the early morning shades, that edifice, in contre-jour, looked either like a cowboy from the back or three hats piled atop of each other.

Now I was ready to see what would come out of my trusty 50 year old Nikon F that has traveled the globe more than once with me and NEVER stopped performing! In fact it is my only camera, out of a few dozen, that has never been repaired or adjusted after running miles and miles of film through.

Here is my most beloved time capsule of mechanical perfection.

July 3, 2021

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2021