My First Film Camera

I'll admit from the beginning of this journal that I knew nothing about film photography, or photography at all before Spring 2017. In sophomore year of undergraduate classes, I took a photo 1 class where I was handed a film camera-- a Pentax K1000-- and a roll of 35mm film and was told to shoot shallow and wide depth of field photos. I didn't really even fully consider photography an art form before my first project (I know, I know. What a terrible thing for an artist to say).

I took the camera out around my campus and began taking photos of stairs and trees and houses -- anything I could think of that may meet the project requirements. It was cold, I didn't know what I was doing, and I couldn't even see my photos to know if I was doing anything right.

And in that uncertainty, I found a sort of adventure.

A PS painting of the first film camera I used.

While taking this class, I got a chance to explore my community and actively seek out new ways of seeing things, that I otherwise may not have done. Furthermore, and where I believe my passion began, I got to develop my own film and see the photos rise up out of the paper in the photo lab. Actually seeing the photos I took come to life through a process of experimentation in light exposure was an experience that stayed with me for years after I completed the course.

Two years later, my senior year, I began collecting film cameras that I found in antique stores. That collection started with my mom's old Canon EOS Rebel. While not exactly vintage, it was the first in an ever growing collection of analog cameras and the start to one of my most fun passions. I'm excited to continue learning about these cameras and sharing my experiences and research with all of you!