A 35mm Pentax film camera from the ‘80s sits on my shelf. Photographers love to decorate with nostalgia. It was my father’s and captured the early moments of my life. There’s something special about a “vintage” camera. Release the shutter. Click. In a fraction of a second, behind heavy cylinders of glass, a mirror rises, exposing a fragile square of cellulose acetate, forever imprinting a frozen image in time. Wind and repeat.
I’m a creative producer with over ten years of experience working to build story-driven “content”. In today’s online world “content” can be anything. A 6-minute YouTube video, a fifteen-second commercial, a travel show for WRAL shot in 4K High definition, a photo essay blog, and even a Facebook post. Creatives adapt, and we live in a crowded media environment with devices seeking our attention. But the process hasn’t changed since the film era, and my Father’s Pentax. Observe, capture a moment, and share it.
Sometimes we create to promote, sometimes it’s to inform, other times it’s to entertain. I’ve traveled far and wide for work, from Rockefeller Center in NYC to the black sand beaches of Iceland. I’ve told stories of a local business owner hand-rolling bagels in downtown Cary, and Cherokee actors performing outdoors in the mountains of North Carolina, recreating a memory from the past. We all have a story, and communities need to hear those stories. Sharing and learning from each other’s experiences makes us a community.
I recently restored that old Pentax, and as I gaze through the worn viewfinder, watching my son riding his bike, time stands still. I wonder if the camera remembers when I did the same. A moment captured – a story shared – a memory created. And in a world of iPhone cameras, instant gratification, and Instagram filters, it’s hard to justify the cost of film. But sometimes it pays to slow down. Be present. Focus. Capture a moment in time, and share it.