New Year’s Resolutions

As with most people, my resolutions this year are about the same as they were last year. But at least my resolutions were intended to be ongoing things rather than changes in behavior.

My resolution for 2011: simplify things down, shoot more of the same film/cameras more often, and maintain the two rolls per month pace.

How did I do in 2011? A mixed bag of results.

I used five cameras rather than seven but I only shot eighteen rolls of film. I’m also still using a lot of different film types.*

*Kodak Tri-X 400, Kodak T-Max 400, Kodak T-Max 100, Kodak Plus-X 125, Fuji Pro 160S, Fuji Pro 160C, Ilford Delta 400, and Ilford XP2 Pro.

The good news: I’ve found some additional camera/film combinations that I really like a lot.

Kodak Plus-X 125 in the Kodak Pony 135C

Kodak Tri-X 400 in the Kodak Retina IIa

The bad news: I’m not shooting nearly enough in general and haven’t shot at all with some of the cameras I like—specifically the Brownie Hawkeye Flash.

So for 2012. Same resolution, but with more specificity. I have a good sense for five film cameras* and the film I’m comfortable using in each of them.** I resolve to shoot an average of at least two rolls per month using those combinations.

*Nikomat FTn, Retina IIa, Pony 135C, Brownie Hawkeye Flash, and Yashicamat 124G

**So far all black and white. I do use color film every once in a while but I hate scanning it. That said, I should probably figure out what color film I really like in 135 and 120. To-date it’s been whatever is cheapest.