I never liked the performative nature of film photography. The people I imagine walking around with film cameras always wear the same fifty-dollar Patagonia hat and something mustard yellow. Online it feels similar — my feed is full of “look at my — camera” or “watch me shoot — on film.” It often reads as self-important to me. Because of this, I never gave film photography a real shot, despite it being part of why I got into photography in the first place.

I play around with point-and-shoot cameras but never give it much care. I worry that the photos are only good because they’re on film.

Looking back, some of my best friends shoot film — and they don’t wear mustard yellow clothes. Looking back at the point-and-shoot film I’ve taken, not all of it looks good. So why do I still carry these connotations? Why don’t I give it a genuine shot? Slow down. Be aware of what I’m photographing. Remember why I picked up a camera in the first place.

This is the first roll I’ve actually finished with this camera. I bought the cheapest film I could find and spent an hour or two taking photos around my apartment, mostly to see if it worked. I didn’t know how to use the light meter, so a lot of it was guesswork.