The 35mm Film Photo Drop

At long last, the rolls from abroad have been developed and as promised, here they are in all their grainy glory

I know I said I had retired from posting about study abroad but I know you all have been waiting eagerly by your computer screens for the 35mm pictures I alluded to in past photo drops. Don’t fret, your two-months of waiting will not go in vain.

Buckle up for a wild and crazy journey through Europe via 35mm film.

The Story Behind the Camera

Here’s what I wrote on my DIS application essay before coming abroad:

I further hope to engage with Danish culture and the city of Copenhagen through photography. About a month ago, while cleaning a cabinet in my house, I discovered my dad’s old Nikon FE 35mm film camera. My grandfather gave the camera to my dad before his own college study abroad trip to West Germany in 1980. I plan to bring that camera on my own study abroad experience and use it to document my travels, just as my dad did almost 40 years ago. Copenhagen would be perfect to photograph: it is a beautiful city, rich in design and urban architecture. It features a rare blend of modern architecture and historical artifacts.

I took the camera for its second trip across the pond and after many moons, the rolls I shot have been developed. The pictures below include a mix from disposable cameras and the Nikon FE.

Here are my favorites:

As I sit here at home back in the States, looking at my dad’s old film camera that documented so many of the images above, I can’t help but think about the camera’s history, and, maybe, its future.

With my dad, it documented Europe in the 1980s, his time traveling through Germany, and the people he met along the way.

With me, it documented the people, places, experiences, and things that made my time in Copenhagen so special. It made fleeting memories permanent, experiences relivable.

Maybe someday it will document those very same things for my son or my daughter. Maybe even my grandson or granddaughter.

Hopefully, it will take many more pictures and many more trips abroad.