An Ode to Film

Amira, Juris Dogtor

16 Apr 2026 • 2 min read

Reflections inspired by the used Minolta x-700 film camera I bought last summer.

I recently started making it a point to have a life (hobby) outside of my dogs, of course still involving said dogs.

Penguin, my black and white field-line English Springer Spaniel (left) and Pierogi, my liver and white bench-line English Springer Spaniel (right) look out over the Pacific Ocean from a ledge. The deep red dirt that is so characteristic of Kauaʻi is visible in the foreground.

Spoiler: I'm not a scientist. Yet, despite my lack of scientific training and the thirty-seven percent I scored on the last science exam I took, I know that learning a new skill is good for neuroplasticity. Taking care of my brain is important to me, as there's a high association between early onset Alzheimer’s and congenital anosmia (I was born with no sense of smell at all). Learning the art of film photography is one of the ways I'm practicing brain care.

Beyond simply learning to hone a new skill, I'm loving everything about film photography: the anticipation of not knowing right away how my photos came out, supporting a local business (Treehouse Photo Lab), the story behind the camera (Cliffnotes version: someone flew over from Oʻahu to Kauaʻi just to sell me his trusty Minolta x-700), slowing down and observing my surroundings, growing a collection of media that may serve as an archive beyond my phone and Instagram (I've been scrapbooking and junk journaling), and being able to capture memories in the digital age, all the while having no clue where in the world my phone might be.