"i get by with a little help from my friends."

so, i was fortunate enough to have had an incredible photography program at my high school. i don't know that i'll ever really realize the extent to which this will have an impact on me, but regardless, in addition to a good program . . . we also had a wet dark room, a rare blessing amidst raging budget cuts and a declining appreciation for film. i miss that little room. the smells and rush of water, and the serenity of a friday afternoon with the dark room to myself. oh, such joy.

before i went to paris, i had every intention of purchasing a lovely dslr to accompany me and capture my adventures (a canon rebel xt was in my sights) but it didn't happen. so i took my powershot (a trustworthy and compact companion) and my dad's nikon (a rather stiff acquaintance to be honest.) i had worked with film before, but frankly i hadn't paid enough attention to the mechanics and i was incredibly rusty without a convenient screen and easy-to-modify aperture and shutter speed. but i took plenty of rolls of film and two lenses planning on honing my skills in film photography while in gay-ol'-paree.

i came back with plenty of rolls of film. blast. apparently paris distracted me or something because - and i'm hesitant to admit this - i came back with the same roll inside the camera that i left with. (and actually i have yet to develop that roll . . . blast.)

anyway, so apparently that was neither the time nor the place to develop a re-appreciation of film. now, back in provo, my dear brother has the lovely dslr + shmancy lense, and i have now re-committed to become a film extraordinaire (with a little coaching from those more experienced than myself.)

a couple weeks ago, my brother and i took a little trip to salt lake, armed with cameras . . . i got a few catch-up lessons on loading and light meter-ing (forgive battle-cat for not remembering) and set off. and i developed the film over the weekend . . . well i had it developed because i no longer have a dark room at my disposal. it's such a thrill to pull out the prints and remember "oh yeah, i totally forgot i took a picture with that . . . " some of this thrill has been lost with digital, and until i am able to fork up the dollars to replace/accompany my powershot, this thrill will not be lost.

(look familiar . . . i just like having lots of cameras + images at my leisure.)

some of my favorite shots . . .