Musings of a Semi-Domesticated Man: Film

The Minolta Maxxum 5 was an 35mm SLR camera manufactured in the early 2000s that featured autofocus and other functions that would later be integrated into DSLR cameras, and was one of the last 35mm cameras made by Minolta before merging with Konica and pivoting to digital cameras exclusively. It was a piece of tech that bridged old school with new school, and in some ways represented where I was when I got it in the mail from an old friend.

I was in my early 20s, uncertain about my future and my place in it, lonely and chronically online. I reconnected with a friend who I'd known since kindergarten, and we bonded over our mutual love of music, art, and Tumblr memes of the 2010s. I had every intention of shooting with the camera she'd sent, especially since I'd fallen in love with shooting film back in high school, but I didn't know where to get film or the batteries for the camera, so it remained on my to-do list. Years went by, and we drifted apart. It wasn't a blowout or with bad blood, but the quiet parting of ways that time has a way of facilitating. We both got married, she started a family of her own, we faced our own triumphs and tragedies, but it weighed on me that I never showed her the world through my eyes like she'd asked.

In 2024, with a little more disposable income than before and knowledge of where to get film and batteries (the pharmacy, who knew?) I started shooting around, unsure if the camera even worked.

Sorry to keep you waiting, Tanya. Here are a few images I shot on 35mm: