The weather was supposed to be nice and I felt like getting out taking some pictures and breathing fresh air. I decided to head to Astoria, Oregon in hopes of getting some colorful fishing boats in the harbor. I started in on my normal routine of making sure the batteries were charged, flash cards were formatted, sensor was dust free, etc. when I saw my dad’s camera bag full of goodies that he had recently sent me sitting there.
I knew what was in it. It was his Canon A1 kit that he was so proud of when he got it. I must have been about 10 when he was unwrapping it. He used to let me use it quite often.
In fact it was my father that got me started with photography at a young age. A family member recently sent me a copy of a photo of me in the early 70’s trying to take a picture of my younger brother. My technique has improved since then but the desire to take good pictures has remained the same.
I unzipped the camera bag and took a note out that was sitting on top of the camera. It read "Checked the batteries and they are all good", in my father’s handwriting. I picked the camera up and remembered, fondly, the cold metal body, the slight musty smell, the heft. I turned the power on - yup, batteries are good. Popped the lens cap and put the camera to my eye - WOW, what a viewfinder! Pressed the button and was greeted by the old familiar Click-Squeak-Whine of the shutter. NICE!
That was it, I was leaving the digital gear home, all of it, and shooting all day with my dad’s Canon. There were two rolls of very expired (I’m sure) Kodak film, the only film I had, in the bag. That was it.
I drove to Astoria, reached the harbor and took a couple pictures of the boats. I heard splashing behind me and when to the other side of the pier to be greeted by a bunch of barking, growling, snapping, Sea Lions.
I burned up the rest of the two rolls on the sea Lions and completely forgot that I was shooting with a film camera. I set the aperture, focused, and had a ball! I caught myself looking on the back every once in a while so I could review exposure on the LCD (that wasn’t there). I just laughed and kept on shooting. I ran out of film at the same time I ran out of light.
I drove home wondering how the shots came out. What did I forget? What if the film wasn’t advancing? What if I blew the exposure? I wouldn’t know until the morning because I had to go to the lab!
These images on the site are all low quality files that the lab’s printer spit out. I will scan the negatives and put the good one up soon. Do I like the results? Let’s just say that my dad’s A1 has a place next to my digital gear in the same bag. I loved it! Thanks dad.
canon a1 film photography 
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