When I look through the viewfinder of my dad’s Nikon FTn Photomic, I like to think I see the world as he did, if not just for a brief moment. Tom favored the 24mm f/2.8, but I’ve come to love his 105mm f/2.5, and most of the photos here were taken with this more compressed field of view. I feel that it lets me stay just far enough from the subject to not interfere, allowing the scene to flow more naturally, leaving me as just a witness, not a participant.

My dad’s Nikon journeyed with him around the world during the 1970s. He took it to Japan, Mexico, and Europe. It was around his neck while in Santa Cruz, California, and the hippie era. It was his workhorse.

After his passing, I decided that I wanted to give it one more run like that: one last tour around the world. So, over one year, it came with me through California, Japan, Europe, and Chile. It revisited places it had already seen and visited some new ones, too.

With the camera around my neck, I liked to think my dad was with me, too. It was my way of saying goodbye.