Day 12: Film

Huntington Beach, 35mm

There really isn't anything like film. I grew up taking our film rolls to the drug store to get them developed and it was always exciting to open the outer envelopes and pull out the freshly printed pictures. It was a surprise each time to see what we had captured. We would laugh and reflect, remembering the moment it was taken. 

The best moments are finding an undeveloped roll of film and not knowing what is on there. "Was this the roll from grandma's birthday?" or "Was this the roll from the camping trip?" 

Times like that are hard to come by now with the digital cameras, phone cameras, and so on. We are living in a time when everything is so instant, reflective moments with pictures are cut short and at times not done at all. 

Film takes time, composure and patience. The practice of taking, developing and printing is an art and craft. Film is temperamental and any small thing can destroy all your hard work. So many things to factor in while developing the rolls. I say a small prayer each time I put my film into the dryer. I hope I put the right amount of time into rotating and shaking the canister, I hope I washed it long enough and I hope that it dries right. However, all that fades away when I develop the contact sheet and I get that same excitement I had when I open the photo envelopes. The time and patience it takes to get one right exposure can become tedious and aggravating, but when I get the right filter and time, it is all worth it.