Here's a sampling of the first annual "Beyond Nikon Poetry Contest" entries received:

Here's my entry, so get out your hankies:

There once was a man named Peter Jennings,
Who wanted to take a photo of Peter Jennings,
He stood in front of a mirror
Took a picture into the mirror
And got a photo of a guy that everyone said looked just like Peter
Jennings with a camera covering part of his Peter Jennings-like face.

-Mr. Rogers in my neighborhood.

             "HOLGA"

With the name of a waitress
  at a Midwest truck stop

            HOLGA

I hesitate
cheap plastic shabby
a mere toy
held together with black tape
and persistence

What do I
want with
YOU?

Diversion? Maybe

Diverted from reality into dreamlike visions
photos flow easy, supple
my conscious thick with
images inspiration

my affection for you will never be matched


-jennifer adams

"I Heft My Little Canon In My Hands"

I heft my little Canon in my hands,
Surprised as always at her delicate airy weightlessness.
She's a cutie, all black and silver.
Sleek lines like a watchful one-eyed panther.

There isn't a mark on her that I didn't put there.
Not a scratch or a ding or a dent
That wasn't made by my careless paws
Through some heavy-handed caress
Or misjudgment of time and space.

She is my first, for better or for worse.
The day I opened up that blue-and-orange box
And saw her peeking up at me
I knew she had to be mine.

-Jackson Pritt

These moldy cameras, some might say,
have had their run; lived out their day.
To feed them film just wouldn't pay,
They're only good to throw away.

But there are those who disagree.
And though we can't afford a fee,
we still would really like to see
these cameras spared. So let them be. 

True, screws are missing here and there,
the leather cover has a tear,
the hinge is showing signs of wear.
But do we care?  NO! Au contraire.

Frozen shutters?  Mangy bellows?
Down deep they're still all faithful fellows.
And so the way we'd give them thanks
is to let them join our collections' ranks.

Embrace them, lovely Marcy mild,
Just as you'd hug a homely child.
Let all their defects not detract
from this one universal fact:

When someday we're as old as they,
our joints froze up, our hair turned gray,
shall we not lift our eyes and cry
to that great artisan on high,

"Grant one-half second more of rapture,
As some sweet scene we try to capture.
And then at last, through your kind grace,
in your collection, give us a place."

-Robert McGraw

This poem was made by me after I saw a good friends camera collection,
many years ago. It can also be taken out of context...  :-)
"Giggle giggle chortle snigger,
I've seen yours and mine is bigger."

sincerely,
Douglas St.Denny

CLICK, CLICK, CLICK
FLASH, FLASH, FLASH
DAM, DAM, DAM!
-Getz, Richard A

Laughing,
swimmers leave the beach,
tinged orange they are
and a rainbow of color
transforms
the spokes of bicycles.
-Michael Levy

Here's yet another submission for the contest -- came to me in the shower
this morning:

Kodachrome is nice,
But for high saturation
I take Fujichrome

A haiku: I felt a Japanese poetic form was apt. -Michael Levy

A forgotten camera
Sepia toned prints from another's perspective
Someone else's memories

Mark H  

"The Sickness"

While traveling on vacation as a tiny tot,
I sported a Starflash, a Kodak I got.

I carried that plastic wonder around my neck,
Like a pro on assignment I was a photographer by heck.

I soon outgrew that Brownie of mine,
and longed for a 35, Oh, that would be fine.

Dad got a new camera, and handed down to me,
The finest little camera that ever could be.

I felt so proud at school that day.
as I showed off my beautiful, Tower 57a.

Worn out, dropped, broken, the Tower soon died,.
Now what would I do to recover my pride.

I saved all the money I earned and was given,
Until I could afford a Yashica J-7.

A pattern emerged that holds true today,
I buy cameras, trade cameras and give them away.

I collect them all old or new,
big, little, green, red or blue.

I just can't stop this passion of mine,
It takes all my money and most of my time.

I like all cameras from Agfa to Zeiss,
and even a Contax IIIa would be nice.

How many cameras does one guy need?
Maybe it's selfish or maybe it's greed.

My wife likes to help me buy cameras you know,
and we look for them everywhere we go.

Sometimes I call it a hobby sometimes a business,
but It's not a hobby it's really a sickness.

Doug Wilcox
"The Camera Collector"

-Ryan Buck

THE BIG JOB

I was shooting a big job
Thinking how to light
Then I met the model
He was really out of sight
He gave me a little smile
Along with a little wink
My heart was pounding fast
And my face was turning pink
He walked over and said
"Hi, my name is Keith.
Just thought I should tell you,
That there's food between your teeth.

written by Shelley Gamez

Weird Photo

Your picture is beautiful
you look fine
except that guy there
looks like Frankenstein!


by Alexander Thompson Klug
9 year old photo-enthusiast

Ok, I saw your poetry contest on the web while searching info on
Brownies...You nevere said the poem has to be in english - so my entry is
in finnish. Try to figure that one out...

A SHORT vocalbulary:
Brownie=Brownie,
kerran=once
yrittää=try
(ok, eith these the poem is pretty clear, huh?)

Brownie

Kuljin ohitsesi sinua huomaamatta,
            kerran,toisen.
Kerran vilkaisin sinua ohimennen,
            jäit mieleeni.
Päätin yrittää.

Saavuin luoksesi uudelleen,
             olit poissa.
Paikka jolla olin sinut nähnyt oli tyhjä,
             hätäännyin.
Kysyin sinua kuitenkin,
ja löysinkin.
Lepäsit hyllyllä ikkunassa,
otin sinut syliini ja kannoin kotiini.
Ensimmäinen Brownieni...


Greetings, Juha Suokas
__________________________________________
                        http:/suokas.travel.to/
Juha Suokas
Karjalankatu 10 a4                
Finland
P.s. By the way - I have a couple of shots taken with a Beautyflex 6x6 TLR
on my webpage. If you're interested follow the links below...
http://ltk.hut.fi/~suokas/gallery/pages/heino.htm
http://ltk.hut.fi/~suokas/gallery/pages/pahka.htm

Umm...er...ah...anyone know Finnish? -MM

Sun reaching hilltop,
Shadows going long.
Click.                                     

-Bob Hickey

I fell upon a dream

        her name was by the sea

               Victoria by law was her name to be

she said to me:

buy an old Pony*.

...and so i shall

forever prove:


the Pony II is in the groove.

Ha.
ps. it takes nice pics in low lite. adjustable aperature and everything.

-Mr. Stanton

And the winners are...

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