By the end of the school year this year I was itching for a new hobby to dig into for the summer to avoid my mid-July-I’m-not-serving-society-no-one-loves-me-I-miss-the-students-and-I-am-bored funk. As if by cosmic design, while traveling in WV to see family in Ohio, I found a super cheap 35 mm camera in an antique store and I was ready!
I have some knowledge of film cameras because 1. I’m old, and 2. I had taken some photography classes in high school when you still got to barrel your own film and develop them in the darkroom (see: #1). I cleaned up the camera, bought film, joined the photographer Facebook groups, and grabbed books for my new summer obsession. Because, it would be too rational of me to not deep dive into the shallow end of a loose plan as per usual. Low and behold, the camera didn’t work. Womp womp womp. Soo…because I had already made the financial and mind space commitment, I had to take on another new skill. EBay.
After an obnoxiously long path filled with hidden bots, broken cameras, untested vs. tested, messages, and semi-unhinged stalkerish bidding, I finally got a little Minolta rangefinder gem. Minolta has always been my fav camera and their designs (insides and outsides) have always been the sleekest to me.
She’s a beaut and I love her. Of course, I was also still hoping to have a SLR so I also got another one of those.
Now I just ride around and snap pictures of pretty things and pray to the shutter speed/aperture gods that something will turn out. and it’s lovely.
Because I can’t just do anything without thinking of the SEL side of the activity, I have also found that I’m learning more than just film settings. It’s like going back to the days of waiting through the week for a favorite TV episode or holding on making plans until someone can get home and to a phone. I can’t see what I take, I can’t tell what will come out, and I can’t get the images right away. Patience is a virtue, but far from my strong point so in that respect, my cameras are giving me a full scope of newness, resilience, and needed holding. I’m currently holding back the urge to find a grant to help me build a darkroom in my school to teach kids how to develop. Where is the end for all saints’ sake?!
