Film From Way Back

Last winter my uncle surprised me with a beautiful Olympus 35mm camera complete with three lenses and a flash. He said was sitting away in storage and was in need of an owner to put it to some use. I was completely thrilled. I had taken a photography class in high school, way before I had ever even had a digital camera, and fell in love with film, the unknown aspect of it all and the giddiness and anticipation that comes with placing exposed paper in chemicals and watching a picture appear. I was so eager to go back to the way of photography where each exposure is thought out and purposeful. Being a little bit of perfectionist, I tend to sometimes photograph something a hundred times with my digital camera before it turns out the way I like it. Therefore film photography is a lovely challenge for me and forces me to embrace imperfection, see beauty in a different way, and more so appreciate the art of photography as a whole. It allows me to really visualize the outcome beforehand, taking note of the variations of light and dark rather than being to heavily reliant on that LCD screen.

Well, with the busyness of my last semester at college, the camera didn’t really make its appearance until around April when, on a whim, I picked up a roll of film and, over the course of a week, filled it up. I regret to say that the little roll of film sat in my purse for 7 months, neglected, until just recently. Part of this had to do with my reluctance for getting it developed at a drugstore and sacrificing quality. So, when I learned of a company called The Darkroom that develops all varieties of film and sends you excellent digital copies for a mere $10, I was sold. So that little roll of film made its way over to California and yesterday I finally saw the results.

There is a really intense joyfulness that comes from seeing photos from months ago and to be reminded of small details of the day that have been long forgotten. They evoke a sense of truth and reality that digital seems to leave behind, from their varying temperatures of warm and cold to the graininess of a fleeting moment. With that said, I think its time for me to go and buy another roll of film. Enjoy.

Oh, and P.S. no recipe this time. The kitchen has been quieter than ever and I think its safe to say that my daily meals of toast, yogurt, and Larabars are not necessarily newsworthy. I did, however, make this recently and it was phenomenal so you should too.