lefou
fool
I bought my first film camera just about three years ago; I was nineteen.
I really don't believe that anything in particular inspired me to seek one out; but within a week I had picked one I wanted and began shooting.
The next week I boarded a bus from Saint Louis to Chicago to visit my best friend who had just moved there. I had done a decent amount of travelling but never been to Chicago, so this metropolis in my backyard astounded me. During that week I must have gone through fifteen or twenty rolls of film.
When I returned I was incredibly eager to see my photos; but being young and unable to pay the extra to have the photo store in town handle it, I took it upon myself to develop the black and white rolls. I bought the necessary tools and chemicals, then started.
Lo and behold the Minolta I bought had a light leak and very few of my photos came out. I didn't even flinch. I change the seal and kept photographing with that camera until it stopped working a few months later.
I then bought a Nikon F3 and started to delve further into everything. I let curiosity take me to many places that were unknown to a nineteen year old. Surrounded by drunks in a cigar lounge I took the two photos featured below; two that I still hold as a few of my best. I must say, my photos have not been quite the same since then.
I then bought the necessary tools to start printing my own photos at home, so I could finally turn my negatives into prints. I took to my mothers bathroom and was absolutely clueless. With an enlarger propped up on a throne I printed many photo. No Easel, No filters, needless to say the prints were odd and far from what most printers would call acceptable, but for me they have a certain appeal to them.
I became very frustrated with printing at times. only a handful of those photos survived, and my negatives were burned as well.
Since those times my F3 was stolen at gun point, I have gone months without shooting only to come back, spent times with no camera at all; but in the back of my mind I am always thinking about the immense joy that taking photos has always brought me.
I have yet to find anything in this world that I have been pulled to with so much persistence; especially in the face of adversity.
If only I could rediscover that curious nineteen year old, amidst cigar smokers and drinkers.
I will continue to photograph until I find him.
I really don't believe that anything in particular inspired me to seek one out; but within a week I had picked one I wanted and began shooting.
The next week I boarded a bus from Saint Louis to Chicago to visit my best friend who had just moved there. I had done a decent amount of travelling but never been to Chicago, so this metropolis in my backyard astounded me. During that week I must have gone through fifteen or twenty rolls of film.
When I returned I was incredibly eager to see my photos; but being young and unable to pay the extra to have the photo store in town handle it, I took it upon myself to develop the black and white rolls. I bought the necessary tools and chemicals, then started.
Lo and behold the Minolta I bought had a light leak and very few of my photos came out. I didn't even flinch. I change the seal and kept photographing with that camera until it stopped working a few months later.
I then bought a Nikon F3 and started to delve further into everything. I let curiosity take me to many places that were unknown to a nineteen year old. Surrounded by drunks in a cigar lounge I took the two photos featured below; two that I still hold as a few of my best. I must say, my photos have not been quite the same since then.
I then bought the necessary tools to start printing my own photos at home, so I could finally turn my negatives into prints. I took to my mothers bathroom and was absolutely clueless. With an enlarger propped up on a throne I printed many photo. No Easel, No filters, needless to say the prints were odd and far from what most printers would call acceptable, but for me they have a certain appeal to them.
I became very frustrated with printing at times. only a handful of those photos survived, and my negatives were burned as well.
Since those times my F3 was stolen at gun point, I have gone months without shooting only to come back, spent times with no camera at all; but in the back of my mind I am always thinking about the immense joy that taking photos has always brought me.
I have yet to find anything in this world that I have been pulled to with so much persistence; especially in the face of adversity.
If only I could rediscover that curious nineteen year old, amidst cigar smokers and drinkers.
I will continue to photograph until I find him.
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CMur12
Veteran
Great story, lefou. Welcome to RFF!
It's always gratifying to see young photographers dedicated to shooting film. May it bring you joy and fulfillment!
- Murray
It's always gratifying to see young photographers dedicated to shooting film. May it bring you joy and fulfillment!
- Murray
