Oh dear

All I wanted to do today at lunch was buy some Polaroid film and christen one of my lovely new journals from Japan but alas, there was no film to be found!

I should have known, what with the end of Polaroid film production earlier this year, but I was optimistic that there would be a few boxes lying around at one of the stores near my place of employment - not so. I immediately contacted Henry's who (thankfully!) have some in stock (both in-store and at their warehouse). Naturally, scarcity has forced up the price but it's well worth it, I say. You really can't beat the beauty of a Polaroid.

Instead, I stocked up on some old film and instant cameras from a nearby camera shop for next to nothing. I'm excited to see how the aged film will process. My hope is that the images won't be crisp but rather, faded or heavily tinted in one color over the other. We shall see!

As for the journal, I never did get around to writing in it. I've been carrying it in my bag for a week now, waiting for the perfect moment to introduce myself and begin writing. I know, it must seem strange that I don't just write something already but I think I'm resisting because of the soft cover. Normally, I like to use journals with hardcovers and thicker pages so the things I paste into it are well protected and stay put! I made the mistake of trying out a different journal - a softcover! - for the trip to Japan at the last minute (Curry's ran out of my cherished hardcover journals!) and found that while the items stayed on the pages, my writing did not (it smudged quite a bit!). Hence, the reluctance and hesitation I'm experiencing with starting the new (softcover) journal.

Or not. Maybe, I just don't feel interesting these days and am afraid that writing things down will confirm it.

['Oh, the inner dialogue that must go on', you're thinking!]

Anyway, back to today's obsession with film... I'm excited to bring out those fun cameras again - the Lomo fisheye, the Pop Cam camera, H's cameras including the one that takes six or eight shots at once - and have some fun.

Y'know, while I love my digital cameras (and I do love them so!), I really miss holding and having actual photographs. I always loved bringing my film in for developing and waiting anxiously to see how they turned out. I would make double or triple prints of each roll and share them with friends/family, make little albums or pin them up to my wall or bulletin board. I remember how paranoid my parents would be about me losing their precious camera or breaking it. (Incidentally, the cameras of long ago were much more resilient than the toy cameras they have today!). Now, it's all about turning on the computer and loading up iPhotos.

In any case, there will be mad shooting taking place this weekend! Watch your back (and your front!), they may just show up in one of my photos! :)