"Since I left my full time job, I've been teaching photojournalism as an
adjunct professor at the University of Arizona and beginning digital photography at Tucson Botanical Gardens.

"I took a lot of photos for the magazine. Until I left, I only shot film. The cameras I used included my trusty Minox III, a screw mount pentax, a Rollei TLR and medium format rangefinder cameras, and a 4x5. Just two years ago, I published a full page picture in the magazine that I shot with my Minox.

"I enjoy shooting big Arizona scenics and wish every day I had the time and discipline to shoot my 4x5 more frequently.

"Right now I am focusing on photographing what I call, "the results of American philanthropy." For example, I just finished a project for Catholic Community Services in Tucson where I photographed portraits of people, from children to folks in their late 80s, who benefit from the charity. I produced a book that was presented to the Bishop of Tucson at a dinner in his honor. Now, I'm getting started on a project for Tucson's Habitat for Humanity, photographing
folks living in their Habitat Homes, people whose lives are better, thanks partly to the generosity of others. We hope that project will result in a book that will be given to Habitat's 12 biggest donors as a way to thank them for their help.

"I got my first digital camera about six months ago at my wife's urging. She thought (correctly) that CDs would take up way less space than transparencies, negatives, and prints. I, guiltily enough, am shooting it a lot and am amazed at the quality.

"At the same time, the camera that is with me always, and I mean always, is my Minox III.

"I bought my first Minox (a Minox B) in about 1972. I used it for fun stuff but also to take pictures of the Seri Indians in Sonora, Mexico, using the little right angle viewfinder. I still have the negatives and contact cards. I sold that camera and always regretted it for years -- like I regret selling my Leica M-3. But, unlike the Leica, the price of the Minox didn't get out of reach, so about five years ago, as the world was turning to digital, I bought a Minox B.

"Then, getting hooked again after 30 years, I bought my Minox III,
calibrated my eyes to figure out the correct speeds, and have enjoyed shooting since.

"It's always a wonderful surprise, when, a month or so after I send my film to Monica and the nice folks at the Minox Lab, to receive my processed film and CD and see what I had shot. The information that Don can get out of that tiny negative and put on a CD still boggles my mind. How does he do that?

"In addition to being a fine precision camera, it is always a conversation starter, ice-breaker, and tool for education. My students, some of whom have never shot film, can't believe that sleek little piece of machinery is 50 years old. Plus, for taking pictures of people, it couldn't be less threatening.

"Anyway, I can't wait to see what develops as I move from the middle to the late 20th century as I transition from my Minox III to the TLX I won thanks to you, the judges, and the generosity of Minox. Thanks again.

Sincerely,

Jay Rochlin