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?