Antique dealers and perfumers/ #monomad challenge / [ING/ESP]

---

The photos 📸 are my entry to the #monomad contest from @monochromes and @brumest.

---

Greetings, Hivers.

Today I share with you a very special little series for me.

I met Juan Carlos, antique dealer in Old Havana, and it was an encounter I will never forget. A spectacular man, with trembling hands full of folds, witness of stories that only he knows how to tell. On his table, every object has a past, and he narrates it as if it were part of his own life. Perhaps it is. Maybe Juan Carlos is more of a historian than a salesman.

That day I started asking him about Soviet cameras, and he brought out some real gems, others more well-known, though no longer of commercial interest according to him. "No one is interested in those things anymore," he told me.

What would be his surprise to notice that on my Nikon I had mounted a Helios 44-2, that legendary Soviet lens so often used on the Zenit. He was thrilled. He asked to see my camera, asked a thousand questions. Then he went straight to an old drawer, rummaged around a bit and pulled out three similar lenses, abandoned because he had no body to use them on. He gave them to me, without hesitation.

Since then I stop by to say hello to him every time I'm in the area, camera in hand.

The photos I share today were taken that same day, with that Helios that moved him so much. They are my tribute to Juan Carlos and to all those who, like him, keep the memory of time in objects.

I hope you like them.

Saludos, Hivers.

Hoy les comparto una pequeña serie muy especial para mí.

Conocí a Juan Carlos, anticuario de La Habana Vieja, y fue un encuentro que no olvidaré. Un hombre espectacular, de manos temblorosas y llenas de pliegues, testigo de historias que solo él sabe contar. En su mesa, cada objeto tiene un pasado, y él lo narra como si fuera parte de su propia vida. Tal vez lo sea. Tal vez Juan Carlos sea más historiador que vendedor.

Ese día comencé a preguntarle por cámaras soviéticas, y sacó algunas verdaderas joyas, otras más conocidas, aunque ya sin interés comercial según él. "A nadie le interesan esas cosas ya", me dijo.

Cuál sería su sorpresa al notar que en mi Nikon tenía montado un Helios 44-2, ese legendario lente soviético tan usado en las Zenit. Se emocionó. Me pidió ver mi cámara, hizo mil preguntas. Después fue directo a una vieja gaveta, revolvió un poco y sacó tres lentes similares, abandonados por no tener cuerpo en qué usarlos. Me los regaló, sin dudarlo.

Desde entonces paso a saludarlo cada vez que ando por la zona, cámara en mano.

Las fotos que comparto hoy las tomé ese mismo día, con ese Helios que tanto le emocionó. Son mi homenaje a Juan Carlos y a todos los que, como él, guardan la memoria del tiempo en los objetos.

Espero que les gusten.

---

"All photos were taken by me @rg2_foto @rg2-foto"

---

Technical data:
Nicon camera: Nikon D610
Nicon lens: 50mm f1.4 p-ais; 105mm f2.5 p-ais; 55 f1.2; 35mm f1.8 G
Translated by Deepl free version.7