My wife has encouraged me to write shorter blog posts…  This one’s for you honey.

Bob’s Cameras and Lenses

Recently I had my best camera sale ever where I purchased a large box of cameras and lenses for $100 from a lady named Barb.

Her dad purchased those cameras and his name was Bob.

High School Dropout Success Story

Bob never graduated from high school but he did find a factory job with a large war-time manufacturer during WWII in Chicago, IL USA.

Bob never went to war.  He invented some new device or procedure at the war-time plant that saved time or improved quality.  Most likely he found a way to improve quality on products manufactured by the U.S. for World War II.

Bob’s service was so valuable in the factory that the company asked for a war-time deferment for him.  Bob never went to war during World War II.  He was too valuable making products that supported our men and women during that war.

Bob’s Rise from Factory Line to Company Photographer

According to Barb, her father began helping the company photographer with high speed industrial photos that helped identify quality control problems.  If you photograph a high speed production process you can see how that process sometimes malfunctions and quality declines.

Sound boring?  It isn’t.  This company during post WWII appreciated Bob’s quality control efforts.

The company photographer retires and Bob becomes the company photographer.  He became a commercial photographer in manufacturing.

Bob the Sports Photographer

Now Barb’s story to me on a hot June day in 2013 on her front porch makes sense.

Her father started photographing the girl’s gymnastic team in high school during workouts and competitions.  The girl’s would say:

Oh no.  It’s Mr. B… with his camera.  More photos showing our mistakes.

The girl’s knew Bob would catch them with a high speed photograph showing their gymnastic mistakes during practice or competition.

Bob was a Quality Control Photographer

It sounds quirky, but Bob’s photographic career spanned decades and revolved around quality improvement, in the factory or with young gymnasts.  It makes sense.

Bob’s Cameras are Now Mine

So that’s how Bob’s cameras became mine.  Thanks for reading “Who owned my camera?”.  Leave a comment if you have time.