David Odess - a Hasselblad Legend
In February, I had to send my beloved Hasselblad 500 C/M away for repair.
After acquiring this iconic camera in August of last year, as a new medium format film shooterI had only just begun to become proficient with it. For anyone who does not know, the Hasselblad 500 series is one of the most iconic cameras ever made; it was the camera chosen by NASA to document the Apollo missions to the moon, and probably took most of your favorite album cover photographs in square, 6x6 format.
Over time, with very little use from the previous owners during its 50 years, the lubricant in my Hasselblad had broken down, and some of the works - including a spring - had effectively been "gummed up".
I took to some internet research for who to send it to, and my Google searches repeatedly led me to the name of David Odess as the most reputable repair guy for Hasselblad film cameras. This name, I thought, sounded familiar, and I soon realized that the Zeiss Planar 80mm lens that came with my 'Blad had been overhauled by the camera's previous owner, through Mr. Odess himself. A gentleman in his own right and Marine veteran, "Ray" had even provided me with David's invoice for the lens service, which had been performed years ago. At this point I knew that I was sending it to the industry expert.
I soon came to learn through communications with Ray that David Odess's workshop was stocked with parts that even the Hasselblad no longer could source. He was "the man", as it were.
When I reached out with an inquiry to David, he instructed me to send him my camera, and the estimated time for repair would be as long as 16 weeks. He said that he was very busy, and he was undergoing cancer treatments that were slowing his turn-around times. After he checked my camera, he quoted me at $691 for the repair, which I gladly approved, knowing it was in the best hands possible.
After 16 weeks had passed, I reached out to David asking how things were going. We were approaching a summer vacation and I had hoped the Hasselblad would be returned to me by then. In his response, David apologized for the delay, and said I was 14th in line; he'd hoped to have it returned back to me soon.
Another month and a half passed, and yesterday, my camera - unexpectedly - returned to me via FedEx. My credit card had not been charged, and I had not had any correspondence with David letting me know it had been shipped back to me. Regardless, when I pulled the camera out of the box, I could tell immediately that it had been restored to perfection; the smooth action and the satisfying click of the shutter let me know it was as good as new.
As I was just about to discard the packing peanut-filled box that the camera body had been returned to me in, I reached down into the styrofoam and discovered two papers. The first was an invoice for $691 with the amount crossed out. The second, a note from David's daughter, Jill, saying that David had passed away on August 5.
Jill's heartfelt form letter thanked her Dad's customers for their business, and described what a great father he had been and how passionate he was about his craft. She noted that had also raised $250,000 over the last 21 years for the Pediatric Brain Cancer Foundation.
I can only imagine that when David became very ill, he made arrangements to have every single one of the cameras in his possession returned to their respective owners, should anything happen to him. I was one of those recipients.
While I'm, of course, happy to have my camera back, I am humbled and honored to own - with my expertly repaired camera - one of the last examples of a passionate individuals' life's work. I can only hope that, when faced with trying circumstances, I'd continue to live life to the fullest in the same way David did. These notes and David's story are now part of this heirloom machine that will hopefully be passed down to my children, and then to theirs some day.
RIP David Odess.
