string fever | photos + commentary.

minolta

A couple of months ago, I won a furious bid for a Minolta XG-M on eBay (which, by the way, is a pretty ingenious concept- auctions, I mean. People like winning things, right? So an auction essentially frames things as "Congratulations! You've won the right to pay for something!!!" And I actually get excited). I've since fallen in love with the camera and it's been treating me well. If it weren't for the fact that I have to pay to get film developed, the Minolta and I would probably be monogamous. Alas......

Anyway, I just developed my first few rolls of film off of the camera yesterday. I love that film doesn't offer instant gratification- that it can be days or weeks or months before you see the photos that you thought worthwhile to shoot old-skool style. That there are no take-overs. That you are inevitably surprised by the photos that you took and how they turned out. There's always the photo you don't remember taking. And the photo you were really excited about that ends up being all underexposed, dammit. And the last frame on the roll that more often than not ends up being one of the hottest photos ever taken, y'know?

I shot many of these film photos last week in California's Anderson Valley, where a whole crew of friends and I vacationed for a week leading up to two dear friends' wedding. Looking at these photos makes me so happy, in part because I got to experience the unexpected when I saw them for the first time and to remember some perfect moments.


It was a whirlwind week. Among many other things, I... lay out under an epic night sky and watched a meteor shower; celebrated my birthday with 40 friends (it was a night so overwhelming and love-filled that I cried so hard I couldn't breathe); biked a total of 110 miles along ocean, redwoods, vineyards and sheep; helped to organize a Grilled Cheese Invitational; participated in a Little Mermaid singalong; did a lot of singing, talking, crying, celebrating, shit talking, eating, coffee drinking, and chillin like a villian; and attended one of the most beautiful, heartfelt weddings I will ever hope to participate in. A couple of mementos: