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At the weekend, Keiki expressed an interest in using a film camera. I think this might be because of one of the Miyazaki films we’ve watched recently. I showed him an array of the film cameras I have tucked away, and he picked out the Polaroid Impulse. As I haven’t used it in six or seven years, it didn’t have any film in it,. The packs only last about twelve months, so I would have had to get some new ones anyway. I didn’t want to order off Amazon as sellers there don’t seem to have any scruples about flogging expired film. I wasn’t entirely prepared for the sticker shock. I got some from Jessops, who didn’t have any colour film in stock, but did have black-and-white at £18 for a pack of eight. It focuses the mind wonderfully when you know that every time you press the shutter release, it costs £2.25.
Once I got over that, the film arrived in two days and I checked the manufacture date: October 2019. Phew. I loaded up the Impulse and instructed the children to work out two photos that they wanted to take outside in the garden.
Keiki wanted his creeper lego toy, which is about four inches tall, to look as if he’d just climbed a mountain.
Humuhumu wanted a nice portrait of the two of them holding their favourite teddies (hers: Happy Face the llama, his: Creepery the Minecraft creeper) whilst sitting on the wooden bench in our garden. Just as I pressed the shutter release, a butterfly flitted past and Keiki couldn’t help leaping up and pointing at it.
Humuhumu’s second idea was for them to peek out of the windows in her little tent. This turned out as planned.
Keiki’s second idea was for the two of them to look out of the playhouse door with their teddies.
I cropped the images just to the photos themselves, because I find them rather haunting to look at in isolation.
Creepery.
“Butterfly!”
Peeking.
Playhouse.
We’re saving the other four shots for a walk up the canal. I’ve also promised to rustle up some colour film, but possibly they’ll have to earn it through chores, as this could become a very expensive hobby otherwise.
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