At the time I shot this I only owned three cameras - the Ricoh GR1, Voigtländer Bessa R3A, and Lomo LC-Wide. With only three cameras to choose from and the impressive reputation of the GR1, I was surprised to find myself struggling to choose the Ricoh at the beginning of each day.
The Voigtländer R3A with all its buttons, knobs, build quality, and strong look felt like tinkering with an enigma machine. The Lomo LC-Wide was just plain silly simple with two focus setting and auto everything else, with my attached external viewfinder and it's center sharp 17mm lens it was a great gadget. Yes the lens of the Ricoh GR series is amazing but for me it just wasn't fun to shoot - an underwhelming experience.
After 7 months with it I decided to let it go and use the money for a plane ticket to New York. And before I could even post it you might guess what happened.. yes the Ricoh had seen enough of this world and decided it was time to go via a spontaneous unrepairable shutter jam. It was the catalyst for my learning to shoot without a meter and so that I may rely on mechanical only cameras. Now over a year later is was a decision I do not regret.
