Serendipity 3

This was my second roll on my newly acquired Minilux Zoom, taken in December of 2024.

In a way, I guess this roll, and how it came to be, sort of captures my life. I’ve heard some people, exasperated, say everything in my life comes too easily. How does one get into my college with 1 year to prepare extra-curriculars and 2 AP courses, both taken senior year? How does one casually spend tens of thousands of dollars on a dying hobby? Well, in the same way this camera fell into my lap, apparently, with extreme luck.

I bought this camera on a whim, after an extreme lowball offer was accepted by the seller, and miraculously, the untested camera had arrived not only on time for my departure from Hanover, but also in perfect working condition as well.

I have mentioned before my affection for Ultramax 400. And this filmstock with this camera is chef’s kiss. The roll spans the majority of my break, though I was getting impatient towards the end, as you can tell by my multiple exposures of the same subjects. But this is mainly because it feels so different to shoot a roll through this camera. There are certain cameras that invite the act, leading me to finish a roll in the blink of an eye. If film truly made you slow down and think about your shots, then this camera would be the film-i-est of all PNS film cameras. What it produces is truly remarkable, with a mysterious effervescent quality imbued in every image. Frankly, the photos more closely resemble art than real life. Could this be the product of the ever-famous “Leica micro-contrast” people rave about endlessly?

ghost of summer past

This was my second or third attempt of pushing Cinestill 400D, insipred by my first time pushing the film in Japan. However, this was the first time I shot ‘1600 ISO’ film in conditions with an abundance of light. At first, I was afraid that the film would be overexposed and the photos wouldn’t turn out, but I was beyond blown away by the results. I adore how the photos seem to glisten with this surreal and cinematic quality to them, and how beautifully the colours rendered.

This roll beautifully captures my time in Vietnam, back and forth between my two hometowns, with equal parts longing for the past, and beckoning of the future.

ignorance is bliss

These were two of my first rolls of film ever, taken from mid-October to early November of 2021. It was because of these rolls that I truly fell in love with the way film renders colour and movement, and became infatuated with the rose-tinted glasses that Ultramax 400 filtered my life through—a colour palatte I have been fruitlessly chasing after ever since.

After all this time, if you were to ask me what late fall/early winter is to me, I will always circle back to these two rolls of film to show you what it feels like. It’s shivering to your bones even under layers and layers of clothing, it’s all the time in the world with the people you love—hesitant to think about a future where you can no longer spare the time for each other—it’s new beginnings and closed chapters, it’s laughter-filled nights out, it’s the frigid air under my shirt and the wind in my hair.

This roll exemplifies the beauty of my vivid youth, and the tragedy of what was inevitably to come—the loss of it all. But Amory Blaine once said, “I don't want to repeat my innocence. I want the pleasure of losing it again”, and if this was what he is referring to, I can’t tell you that he’s right enough.

a date with destiny

This was my first ever venture into the world of film photography. I didn’t know it then, but I was done for the moment I picked up my first camera. Three years and twenty thousand dollars later, I am still here, still as bewitched as ever.

I had the camera tucked away in my drawer for forever until the social distancing mandates were relaxed, and until my friend and I zoomed through the winding maze-like streets of Hanoi searching for treasure. Little did I know that this would also be the birth of a beautiful new hobby and tradition, yet another mainstay amongst the existing mainstays in my life.