Well…..After 4 months I finally developed a roll of film that I started back at the end of February of 2014. When I saw the prints I was once again blown away. Man do I love film. Yeah, these shots below are not 100% sharp, perfectly focused or developed/printed perfectly.  Nope. I know folks can get that good with this stuff, but dang it, I don’t care. I could look at these pics all day because of the rendering and the feel of the image. I look at these images and I think maybe it is worth waiting for? Maybe my digital, wifi transfer to ipad/iphone, quick edit followed by a quick update to some social channel isn’t the direction I should be going. I love film. I love having images printed and on hand to look at, hold, feel and smell. I love that I can scan them quickly and get images that I think are just not replicable in digital despite my best efforts (I try a lot). I am considering a photo project where I only shoot film.

One of these days I need to delve into film/negative storage as well as print storage, but that is a story for another day. If anyone wants to comment here on how they store and archive their film, please do so. I need the help.

So what is worth waiting for?  Let me tell you.  I brought my camera last February to a party hosted by the folks at All-City Cycles. Given it was at the eagles club and prom themed, I knew it would be fairly dark. I loaded my old Contax G2 with Delta 3200 and put on the brightest lens I have, the 45mm f2. I took the following shots that night and since I did not finish the roll that evening, I ended up doing nothing with it. I set the camera aside. I finally developed those pictures after 4 months and here are a few of my favorite shots of the night.

After a month or so in my bag, I also managed to take it out a few early spring bike rides. This particular day was cold, dark and rainy. Again, perfect for film and Delta 3200. It was a great day.

Last but not least, recently, I headed out for a quick spin one evening and went up to Minnehaha Falls to see the raging water. Wow the water levels are high and the mass and power of Minnehaha Falls is truly incredible. Here are a few of my favorite shots of the evening.

As I sit here looking over these images and remembering the moments, I can’t help but think that somewhere I may have gone wrong. Really. I am serious. There is a true pleasure of waiting for these. Yeah, I know they are not perfect. That is not the point of taking pictures, at least for me. I take pictures and look them searching and feeling for an emotional response. Film helps that and I think it is worth waiting for.

So….Two old film cameras loaded and ready for the coming days and weeks….Or months.  Who knows. This time I loaded some old expired film that someone dropped off at my desk at work. Who knows what I’ll get, but I do know it will give me something special that is worth waiting for.