Going Down to Rio (1)

In the spring of 1980, I made my first working trip to South America. Destination: Rio de Janeiro. I arrived with a mixed sense of excitement and trepidation. Brazil at that time was rather insecure and I had been warned not to wonder alone in the popular beach and tourist spots. On my first free day, I teamed up with a pilot I met on the outbound flight. Together we headed off for the first ‘must see’, the dual peaks known as the Sugar Mountain. In the 70s, much of my effort was directed towards establishing my career as a research scientist. Photography took a back seat, but I did borrow my wife’s Olympus 35-RC (an upmarket Olympus trip, for those with long memories of David Bailey).

Read more

Connoisseurs of Rio will know that the Sugar Loaf summit is reached by two cable cars, the first ending halfway at the lower of the two peaks. But as I tried to capture the view, photographic disaster struck: the Olympus jammed. Then something almost miraculous happened. I was immediately surrounded by five dark suited Japanese gentlemen. The leader announced ‘Excuse me, but we notice you have problem with Olympus camera. We are from Olympus!’ One other produced a black bag, another opened his suit jacket to reveal an array of tools. The group then went into a huddle and after a few minutes returned the camera back to me fully working, accompanied by much bowing and a profuse apology.

I have since recounted this tale several times to audiences who have been highly sceptical as to its veracity. But it really did happen just as I describe!

PS. The Olympus team were travelling around the world testing out the about to be launched Olympus OM-10. Needless to say, I became one of their first customers to buy the OM-10. I stuck with Olympus for many years as a result of this chance encounter..