Capturing Light: A Journey Through Film with Sunshine Lady Photography

As a youngster, my grandfather gifted me my initial camera. It was a purple Vivitar that utilized 120 film, and I carried it nearly everywhere. As I matured, I made certain to bring that or a disposable camera along to every event I attended, such as summer getaways, camps, sleepovers, etc. During high school, I was ecstatic to enroll in Photography One, requiring me to borrow an SLR from my friend’s mother to join the class. We worked with black-and-white film and learned the developing process in the darkroom. Overall, I wasn’t particularly skilled.

In university, my education in film photography progressed as I focused on photography and ceramics for my art Minor; again, it involved shooting film and developing in the darkroom. Despite all these years of engaging in film photography, I never truly mastered the art of shooting film. It became evident that developing film took precedence over grasping the intricacies of film and film photography.

Once digital cameras became widespread, my film photography diminished significantly. Fortunately, I didn’t completely eliminate it from my photographic repertoire, and I cherish the film photographs from my backpacking adventures in Europe, studying abroad in Australia, and travels around New Zealand and Central America.