life on film

returning from travels in lutruwita / tasmania in february^* i am intrigued by a bag that's sitting on the dining table. it's an exhuberance of yellow - the colour of ripe lemons, dulux tata beach paint, daffodils, golden hour, a small bright swatch of japanese silk.

this gift, from my best friend carol, was found whilst foraging in the op shops around the island where we live.

in it, there's an equally exuberant yellow camera.

even better it's a film camera.

and, even better than that, it's waterproof.

i love it. she knows me so well.

there seems to be a problem with where the batteries go and i can't immediately get the door open. i wonder if this is why it ended up being discarded.

the whole camera looks pretty good though, and i'm excited enough to try it out that i persist and manage to open it, then find some batteries in my stash that will fit. it seems to seal up well enough after some tinkering so, digging some film out of the cupboard, i load it up with a roll.

it turns on and makes noises that sound like its working okay, so i take it swimming with me both here on waiheke and on adventures to rangitoto island, hahei beach and pukawa bay^*. cleverly designed, the lovely little thing also floats. brilliant.

getting the developed negatives back feels a little bit like receiving another gift. the photos, when i scan them, causing me an immense amount of delight. not only is the camera still functional the images are clear and have the deliciously rich texture that film embodies.

here's a few of the photos that came off the first roll...

i've got a roll of black and white film in there now and—though i'm trying not to waste any frames—i can't wait to see what those come out like.

* i have blog posts drafted up to tell you all about these adventures, but sometimes (like now) i don't like any of the photos i made. i need to sit on them for a bit longer and return to the images when i'm ready to look at them all with kinder eyes.