Nostalgia

Ilford Delta 400 – Rodinal 1:50 – Mamiya 645e

It has been a slow week around the blog. I’ve not had much to say and I’ve not had the opportunity to get out and shoot at all. This week has been kind of busy in the evenings. Those couple of evenings that I was free to go and shoot have been quite dreary or rainy.

I have quite a few rolls of film 120 film in the vegetable draw of the refrigerator, no vegetables though. Last week I was looking through the film and came upon a few rolls that brought instant waves of nostalgia. They were two of my favorite films: Agfa Pan 25 and Kodak Tech Pan 25. A couple of the rolls expired in 1999, the others, 2004.

Seeing those rolls took me back in time to when I used to make my usual Saturday journey to the local photo store, whose name escapes me, and plow through their outdated film bin. I’d cherry-pick out all of my favorite B&W films, purchase them at half price, or less, and leave happy. If that store didn’t have it, I’d move on to Metzger’s Photo or Van Photo hoping that they might have some. It was very rare for me to pay full price for a roll of film. Other friends like Robert Terry, who visits this blog, would purchase 100 foot rolls of film and would roll their own. It was cheaper that way, but I never did roll my own film. I just liked to grab and go.

After my fleeting bit of nostalgia, I grabbed a couple of rolls of Tech Pan and put them into my bag. I knew almost right away where I would shoot them, at least I thought so, but I needed to wait for the conditions to be right. Well, this week has taught me patience.

I’ve considered this subject before and have shot it with my D300 and liked the results, but there is something special about doing it in a film that is long gone. It just fits the subject. I won’t say what it is, but I pass it every day that I go to work and I’m just chomping at the bit to do it. I may actually wait until I have a Saturday morning available to do it because the light from the east just makes this subject look wonderful and I want to take my time with it. Further, as I can most likely not get anymore of this film, that makes it even more special.

Much thanks to Tom A, The Photo Father, for giving me these rolls. I am looking forward to using them. The photos may not match the nostalgia, but who cares! I’m thankful for the memories.