Amity is on February vacation from school this week, so I took a couple days to dash up to the mountains to visit. Today we had a light lunch, some drinks and conversation at the bar at the Boiler Room in Wilton, ME. Discussed the weather with some poor guy up from Alabama, here to scope out cell phone towers. The snow is too deep to reach most of them. Needless to say, he's one frustrated fish-out-of-water in Franklin County. There are 6 foot mounds of snow everywhere, a solid 3 feet of snow everywhere else. It's almost overwhelming just driving down the road.
But it's also good for hunkering in, lighting a fire, and getting some work done. Though there's been some socializing too, and even some photography. I brought my old 35mm Rebel G, a film camera, with me for the trip. It's actually in better shape than the Digital Rebel, and overall I've enjoyed working with an old friend. I'm curious to see what the pictures look like though. The instant gratification of seeing a digital photo right away has spoiled me.
Then again, that's the whole point of going back to film. All this expired film I've acquired gives me an excuse to return to my roots a bit, and to revisit a technology that was swept under the rug very suddenly and very completely. I even had spare rolls of Supra 100 and E100VS, about a dozen of each, that were dropped instantly upon the arrival of the Digital Rebel. It's only been three years and yet I feel so much like I'm going back to basics. I have some film to drop off for processing on Thursday when I get home, negatives to scan, and then I'll have a better idea of where I'm at with that project.
It's appropriate that I do both of these things in Maine: I get work done, and I use a camera that was my constant companion in this place at one time. Granted, it was the other end of the state. But the symbolism of returning to the roots is both in using the Rebel G, and in using it in Maine. I felt productive and confident in Maine, and I see that every time I return. Fortunately, I find it. Perhaps that's what keeps me returning. That and Amity's excellent, ass-kicking hospitality, of course.
