I have been stuck inside doing assignments all weekend, but managed to find one distraction I couldn’t resist.
I stumbled on some old negatives of mine when I went to Europe with my family years ago. I was in year 10 in high school at the time, and just started a photography class at school. The only real reason I did the class was because we had to choose an art subject and I didn’t want to have to draw or paint… Yes I’m aware of the irony in that I’m a graphic designer now.
But anyway, the class quickly became my favourite and I would borrow a camera from school every weekend. When my parents told me we were going overseas to visit relatives in Italy I immediately thought about photo opportunities, so arranged to borrow a camera from school.
These were the days when I didn’t care about what camera or lens i was using, I don’t think I ever actually knew, I’d just pick up whatever was available and loaded it with film. I also didn’t care what film I was using at the time, which was both good and bad. I’d just load canisters with whatever was in the bulk loader at the time and try to squeeze 40 shots worth of film on them 😀
I quite like the thought of not worrying about the camera I’m holding or the film in it. It’s less calculated than the focus that I have now. I like trying to achieve a certain aesthetic which requires thinking about the film and developer used., However there is a definite attraction to not caring about what you’re using and just being content with the process in itself. Not stripping quality back for the sake of getting a “lomo” look, or going out of your way to use a manual camera to have “full control”. It was purely about capturing an image. Finding the shot with whatever you have in your hands.
It all sounds nice until I remember a few things. The lens I did use for a lot of shots was the biggest piece of shit. The left side was out of focus compared to the right so closeup images suffered pretty bad. The film advance lever wouldn’t always engage too, so I’d get overlapped images, or just weird spacing in between shots on the film. Then I remembered how I use to put the negatives in the holders when they were still wet. Some shots that would of been half decent are now covered in dust that has dried to the wet negative..
I like to remember a more “romantic” view of taking pictures when I was younger, but I think it’d be hard to completely go back to the way i used to do things. I’d like to think I enjoy the entire photography process more, as opposed to just the shooting itself.
Well, that’s how I justify the money I spend on cameras at least… 😉

Here are some of the shots that weren’t covered in dust. This set was taken in Italy. I quite like them even if they aren’t perfect. It also helps to have a photogenic area to shoot in.