In 2012, I took a trip with my cousin to Ann Arbor, MI, to visit my brother, who was studying musical theater at the University of Michigan. During this visit, on a whim, I purchased an old point-and-shoot film camera for $15.00 at a thrift shop.
I'm not sure why I decided to purchase this camera.
In 2007, while attending the Fashion Institute of Technology for illustration, part of our coursework included a photography class. It was my first time shooting with an SLR camera, and I was terrible at it. I couldn't grasp the relationship between f-stops and aperture speed. This ignorance led to rolls of poorly exposed and blurry photos.
As a broke college student, the constant disappointment of coughing up cash to develop film and getting bad photos in return was painful. It was a hit to my ego and my wallet.
This class was happening when digital cameras were becoming more commonplace. Getting instant feedback on whether your photos came out well or not was the new norm. The mystery of film photography did not enchant me. It felt like another antiquated class pushed onto us by the school that refused to change with the times.
When I returned to NYC from Michigan, I decided to begin shooting with the newly acquired camera. Around that time, a close friend of mine had purchased a DSLR camera. We went to Forest Park to test out our cameras and eye for photography.
My Canon point-and-shoot camera was loaded with Kodak Gold 200, a color film. After finishing that roll, I loaded it up with a black-and-white film left over from my photography class in college.
After that outing, I never had them developed.
Fast forward twelve years to January 2024, and I've been living in Rochester, NY, since the summer of 2021. I was rummaging through a cardboard box of my belongings in the hopes of downsizing possessions I no longer wanted.
The box contained tools, scrap material, tchotchkes, and other oddities I collected over the years. At 37 years, I pulled out the Canon point-and-shoot camera, now curious about the images I took when I was 25. I had forgotten what was even on these rolls of film.
I needed to find out.
I searched online to see if any businesses developed film and came across Scott's Photo by Rowe right off of East Avenue in the Neighborhood of the Arts.
When the film scans came back, I was hit with a massive wave of nostalgia. My family members, friends, and I looked so young in these long-forgotten photos. My childhood home in Richmond Hill looked foreign - the furniture, the color of the walls, the layout - everything was different.
The photos came out well-exposed and clear for the most part. There were some blurry photos, but even those had a certain charm to them.
 |
| This photo was taken in Forest Park in September 2012, about a month before Hurricane Sandy. |
 |
In 2012, the MTA was repainting the elevated trains throughout the five boroughs.
This was along Jamaica Avenue near the 104th Street Station. |
 |
| Getting some artsy fartsy photos walking along some abandoned railroad tracks in Woodhaven, Queens, NY. |
 |
| Playing with perspective and the contrast of man-made structures against nature. |
 |
| My friend Ken Ghani walking the tracks in Forest Park. |
 |
| Tree Tumor |
 |
Young 25-year-old Alex shooting a self-portrait.
|
