I love using my film camera to take pictures because it feels like a much more physical way to capture scenes, as compared with using a digital camera. I have to really pay attention to what I am seeing and choose what I want to focus on, and whether I wish to have a sharp picture or a duller one. 

The other aspect of film that I like is the lack of instant gratification. Unlike with digital, with film I have to have the film developed and the photos either printed or put onto a CD (I used to develop film on my own when I had access to a lab, but the wonderful resources available during college are no more!). I drop the film off at the camera shop and come back a few days later; then, not remembering exactly what I took, I race home to put the CD into my laptop to check out the prints. Sometimes there are images I forgot I had taken; mostly though the images bring me memories of moments when I felt very connected to my environment. The following are a few examples from the last few weeks. 

Cypress Gardens near Charleston, SC; we saw alligators and turtles roaming in the mysterious waters. It is strange how we were driving on the nondescript highway, and all we had to do was turn twice before finding ourselves at this dreamlike place.

After one of the best meals ever at Husk in Charleston with the girls, we were messing around with our cameras. Kristen looks so beautiful here - I think this photo belongs in one of her magazines!

Arvid graduated! And his family came here all the way from Germany to mess around with him! I know they say they came to watch him graduate, but they had many more laughs when they were away from the formalities. We had a great trip to Martha's Vineyard, where they saw the quainter side of Massachusetts.