In February I went on an epic road trip around the country of Iceland. I had some of my favorite people and my favorite camera, my Mamiya 645. If you’re planning a road trip in Iceland, consider these 12 things to do – https://www.carsiceland.com/post/12-things-to-do-road-trip-iceland
She was my first medium format camera. It was the first film camera that I got the roll back and couldn’t believe I took the images. I have been addicted to film ever since.
When we returned to the states, I immediately turned in my film to the developer. I did everything I normally do when I get my film back… sat in the car and looked at the negatives. I could see some of my images were just as I imagined and my heart skipped a beat. I came home and tried to scan my many rolls of film. Sadly, our old scanner decided that it just couldn’t scan one more image and it finally died. I was devastated.
Together, my husband and I tried to repair the scanner. Finally, out of frustration, we both gave up, and my unscanned film sat on the desk. I was so disappointed. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it put me in a film funk.
I have taken my film cameras out to shoot, but I haven’t snapped an image. I just didn’t see the point. Sure, I could have my rolls scanned, but I knew that was going to cost more, much more.
For my birthday last week, one of my presents from my sweet husband was a new scanner. He said that he noticed my film photography funk and thought that the broken scanner was keeping me from creating new images. It feels so good to be seen and known… especially when you don’t see things for yourself.
And how right he was! I have been scanning and scanning and have finally gotten through all my rolls of film from Iceland. Some fill this blog post.
It is interesting how not seeing what I have created in the past kept me from creating for the future. I think I have learned a big lesson here, not just when it comes to photography, but life as well. Sometimes it is what we have done, lived through, and seen in the past that helps us get through the present and find hope and inspiration for the future.
What inspires you to keep shooting? Have you ever received some insight to help you out of a photography funk?
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Such a wonderful post. Oh my goodness, the images are absolutely stunning and you know how much I loved your trip with fave people too. But your words were what really resonated with me. Thank you. x
I have funks too. The only thing that gets me out of them, truly, is to take my camera out and shoot again. Even if it’s just a few shots around the block.
I’m so glad you are able to scan again – and see these – the not seeing them would have killed me! I love and actually benefit from the distance between shooting and seeing the images that film creates, but too much distance and I think I’d lose momentum for sure. There’s a feedback loop that I need to show me what I want to or need to do next. And if you are shooting film again, we’ll all benefit. Well done, Andy!