You know when you plan the most gorgeous photos in your mind? When you imagine the brilliant sunlight hitting the beautiful autumn colours, all perfectly preserved by the camera, preferably on 35 mm film or Polaroid? This was me before we left for the annual autumn holiday at the farm. The thing is, I’m an intermittent film shooter. This, I have come to realise, is the cause of all sorts of interesting issues.

For one thing, I have a stack of old Impossible Project film in my fridge that I wanted to use while we were away. The first pack had a dead battery; nothing happened after inserting the film into the camera and nothing happened while pressing the buttons. The second pack – and I had only brought two, since we were only away for three nights – was … old. I got a total of one more or less good image out of it. Here are a couple of the least succesful:

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Oh well, I thought. At least I had my Minolta along with half a roll of film left, and there are few things I love more than the creamy bokeh it creates. I enjoyed myself a lot, walking outside and shooting the raindrops and the fog and the apple trees, finishing the roll. But once I started to rewind the film, in preparation for switching it out for a new one in the hope that I would be able to sneak in some photography before leaving for the train, I noticed that there was no film in there. I have no idea how it came to pass that the counter wasn’t at zero when there wasn’t any film, but there you go.

At this point I gave up. I did, at the very least, have my phone along, and thus was not completely without images from the holiday. And yes, I have learned – to make a note of when I put a roll of film in the Minolta, and to bring at least one non-expired pack of Polaroid film.

Have you had any photographic disappointments lately? Feel free to share in the comments – a trouble shared is a trouble halved, as the saying goes.

Best, Jenny G.