Indirect Objects

We will start this baby out with a little present for you. A 35mm SLR and a roll of film. Print it and put it together. This is an unusual present in that I ask for something in return. Feel the shape of the film in your hand. Smell it – it’s tangy-sweet. Imagine loading it into the back of the camera and snapping it shut. Use your right thumb to advance the film until it stops. Check your film speed setting and away we go. Ease the strap over your head. Hold the viewfinder up to your eye and let it do what it’s meant to do, like a divining rod. Move around, look down. Find a view, and then a few more. If you press gently on the top, you can see the paper’s horizon. Use your right forefinger to press the shutter button. Click. Use your thumb to advance the film to the next frame. Click. Advance. Click. No need to focus. Not today.

You will need scissors, an X-Acto knife for the viewfinder, a small paper clip for film, and a bit of string for a strap.

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This new blog is an experiment in attention. A million things distract me every day. Some of those things will land here with a splat, while others might fizzle in the vapor only a moment. I promise nothing, and will assume no one is looking.