20x200 edition-maker and globe-trotting photographer extraordinaire, Stuart Klipper, is included in the recently released book, Momento: Capturing Moments and Memories by Bill Westheimer, which takes a look into the unique and personal histories of cameras.

With each camera is a story told by its owner. The cameras were photographed using 19th century glass plate negatives, emphasizing how quickly the technology of past image-making has been made antique. The cameras capture our experience in mere fractions of seconds, but the cameras themselves endure to reflect the technology and aspirations of their eras. The memories we connect to the cameras are significant, sentimental and cherished. The cameras themselves evoke memories of meaningful moments in our lives that are as vivid and vital as the pictures they captured

Inside, among numerous others essays about the specific lineage of photographers' prized tools, you will find three pieces by Stuart on the histories of his Brooks Veri-Wide, Canon/Bell & Howell Dial and Hexar Cameras. Below is an excerpt from Stuart's History of the Canon/Bell & Howell Dial:

I was living in Stockholm a couple of times in the 60s and one time when I was sitting around with a friend in a konditori a photographer friend or hers – a Czech or a Frenchman, or maybe a Hungarian -- showed up and joined us. He quickly whipped out an object that was not immediately identifiable; but, he pointed it at me as if it were a camera, which – click, zip – it indeed was. At the time he had an exhibition of work he’d made with that selfsame camera – very raw and immediate Euro-nitty gritty grainy street pix. I’m not sure I previously knew of there being such things as a half-frame 35mm cameras, but this little beaut sure was. Thanks to the diminutive scale of the negs. it made, he was able to make the aforementioned style of photos.

It's fascinating to hear the stories behind Stuart's cameras, especially knowing the places to which they've traveled: Antarctica, Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard, Alaska, Lapland, Australia, Israel, Sinai, Costa Rica, Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.

Icebreaker, Emperor penguin, Southern O., Antarctica by Stuart Klipper

And, while a great camera may make for an interesting story or three, Stuart's photography shows that it's truly the adventure, not the camera, that makes for a great photograph. Luckily for us, Stuart's editions Icebreaker, Emperor penguin, Southern O., Antarctica and Swell, Southern Ocean near 50 S, Antarctica are still available on 20x200.