A heat wave has hit Interior Alaska. Temps have been in the thirties much of the weekend, which forced me to let the fire go out in the woodstove on Friday. A Winter Storm Warning is now in effect, due to freezing rain and eventually up to six inches of snow. Freezing rain in Fairbanks in January? Crazy talk.

I had an appointment in the middle of the day, which sadly forced me to empty my theoretical dayplanner. While in town, I spotted a young guy taking a photo with an old Rolleiflex. I think the last time I met someone else shooting a Rollei, I was in London and I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in use in Fairbanks. I stopped to talk to him, even though I figured he must be a tourist. I couldn’t think of any reason a local would be taking a photo of a drive-thru coffee hut with a 120 Shooter. Turns out he was from Germany, and his girlfriend soon joined us to talk cameras, travel and Alaska. They were heading up the Haul Road, in spite of the weather. I wished them good luck, and told them to at least make it to Coldfoot or they would regret it for the rest of their days.

The encounter reminded me that I really need to send my Rollei in for repairs. No one remains in Fairbanks to work on the camera, but I know of shops in both Minneapolis and San Francisco that will happily give it a new lease on life.

Photo of James Dean with his Rollei courtesy of World Wide Web