I have to confess there are times when the thought of just sticking a memory card in a DSLR is appealing; the odds are higher that the camera will “just work.” Recently, the idea of something “just working” in traditional film photography for me seems unrealistic. In the last week, I’ve had to deal with the following:

• a Polaroid SX-70 camera that only grudgingly spits out images
• a Rolleicord III Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) camera that won’t stop at frame 1
• A Yashica TLR whose shutter/film winder mechanism often takes a lot of begging and pleading to function
• a Polaroid pack camera deciding to jam in the middle of a shoot
• a Polaroid self-timer not working
• Polaroid shoots where negatives (and indeed sometimes even the prints!) get smeared, or dry strangely because of the recent heat. Today’s image is an example of that particular issue.

I still love film cameras, but there are times where it seems like unrequited love (something I’ve experienced more than once, over the course of my life).

I’m not whining, mind you; just the blog equivalent of sighing. I’m fully aware that this is the price I have to pay.