With Christmas just a week away, I thought I’d go ahead and post my wish list so if anyone wants to buy me these items, they can. I know Christmas shouldn’t be about the materialness of consumerism, but I like these items, and it never hurts to have a wish list right? This year I’ve decided to go old school. I’ve got a retro theme rolling and I’m sticking with it.

To kick off my retro gift party I’ve added the new Nikon Df to my list. While it’s not a camera brand I use on a regular basis, and while I have no additional lenses for it, it is the most retro looking camera to come out in recent months. For that reason alone I have added it to my list. I can look like a hipster sporting a retro film camera, yet shoot full frame digital images.

If I’m going to be shooting all retro with my new Df, I guess I’ll need to keep an old school shot list in a note book. What better note book to write down all my shots, exposure settings, locations and other analog meta data than the Another Great Idea Notebook. This notebook is the size of a passport – 5 inches high by 3.5 inches wide, and contains 80 pages for writing down all sorts of things. Hand made in Brooklyn, it adds to my non-existent hipster street cred. This is a must have.

If I’m gonna be writing in a hand made notebook, I better use the proper writing implement. For that I turn to the perfect pocket pen from Fisher Space. The pen has an estimated shelf life of 100 years. (much longer than me) The ballpoint is made from tungsten carbide and is precisely fitted in order to avoid leaks. The pen can write at altitudes up to 12,500 feet, and since the ink is pressurized with nitrogen at a pressure of nearly 35 psi it can write in all sorts of funny angles and extreme temperatures.

To hold my new Nikon Df around my neck, I need a suitable strap. Something that says vintage, with the durability of new. Something that enhances my look with utilitarian gusto. Something like the Tap & Dye L E G A C Y Leather Camera Strap. L E G A C Y is a classic leather camera strap designed to meet your daily photographic needs,from street shooter to veteran photojournalist.  Each strap is be branded with a custom TAP & DYE logo placed just below the rivet.  Stamped by hand in their Long Island studio.

With all this photo oriented gear, I am probably going to be spending quite a bit of my daylight hours outside. This means I am going to need to protect my eyes, and what better way than with a pair of Randolph Engineering aviator sunglasses. Randolph Engineering started making sunglasses for the U.S. Military over 30 years ago. Today, working with designer Michael Bastian, they are reinventing wire-framed aviators for the rest of us.

All this walking around taking photos is bound to make me thirsty, and in need some adult refreshments. To quench my thirst and rejuvenate my creative spirit I turn to Tuthilltown Distilleries for Hudson Baby Bourbon, Hudson 4 Grain Whiskey, and Hudson Single Malt. Hudson spirits are the first produced in New York’s Hudson Valley since Prohibition. They are also the first bourbon to be made in New York. The amber goodness is Pot-distilled twice from 100% New York State corn for its bright color and character. Each bottle of this very limited-production is hand numbered.

All this time outside is probably going to leave my skin a little dry, and my five o’clock shadow showing. This means I’ll need to clean up before hitting the town for the evening and nothing says “Old School Vintage” like a straight razor. To fill this need I turn to the best, the American Artisan Strop and Razor Heirloom Set from Classic Shaving. The kit has everything I need to get a close shave and condition my face. Thats right folks, I’m clean shaven. I just can’t get behind this lumberjack beard craze.

Being a practical fellow, I need shoes that can transition from daily photo adventure on the street, to a casual night on the town. What better way to do it than with a pair of Allen Edmonds Chicago-tanned Horween Cordovan Leeds Shoes. Simple, clean, and functional these shoes work with jeans as well as a suit. A god pair of walking shoes are a must for the urban adventurer.

With the exception of the Nikon, everything in this post is made right here in the good old United States of America. I believe in buying American made products. If there was an American made camera that matched the Nikon, it would be on my list.