Forty and Film

A Year Later, Still Worth Writing About

I've been sitting on this story for over a year now, and it's about time I finally wrote it down. When I turned 40, my girlfriend surprised me with a trip to Catalina Island, and I knew exactly what I needed to bring: my film cameras. Because if you're going to document a milestone birthday, you might as well do it on film, right?

We had to get up early to catch the 9 o'clock ferry, but it was worth it. The weather was absolutely beautiful, and I was ready with my Canon EOS 3 loaded with a 24-70mm f/2.8 for versatility and my 100-400mm zoom just in case.

The Ferry Ride and Wildlife Encounters

I brought 14 rolls of film with me, plus whatever was left in the Minolta I gave my girlfriend to use. She wanted the date stamp feature, so at least we'd have some photographs with the actual date of my 40th birthday on them. By the end of the day, I'd shot through everything.

My Love Affair with the Canon EF

Besides the EOS 3, I also brought my Canon EF, and I have to tell you about this camera. I'm planning to hoard a bunch of them because I love it that much. It's essentially Canon's answer to the Nikon FE, and it's the only Canon camera ever made with a Copal shutter.

This thing has a beautiful, fully mechanical shutter that works from a 1/2 second to 1/1000th of a second without any batteries. Add two small batteries and you get metering and longer exposures. The build quality is incredible. It's solid brass, dense and luxurious, like a Canon F-1 without all the bells and whistles of motor drives and interchangeable prisms.

What makes it even better is the short flange distance. You can mount so many different lenses on this body. One of my favorites is this M42 mount Vivitar 135mm f/2.8. The colors are stunning, almost modern in their rendering, and it's sharp as a tack. I even use it for bird photography. The shutter mechanism is so smooth. Just railing through frames on this camera is pure joy.

That telephoto lens proved its worth almost immediately. During the ferry ride, we spotted a pod of dolphins playing in the water. There were also pelicans, herons, and seagulls everywhere. I was firing away with the EOS 3's autofocus, trying to time my shots perfectly. That motor drive is insane. It goes through film so fast that I had to keep checking my frame count.

Exploring Catalina

Walking around Catalina Island was a treat. Everything there is expensive and bougie, but it's beautiful. We had lunch, took in the sights, and rented a golf cart to tour around town. It was one of those perfect days where everything just clicks.

At the time, I had no idea how the photos turned out (yes, I know, I should have written this sooner), but the experience of shooting film was fantastic. The film got developed eventually at Paul's Photo in Torrance, CA, where I gave my trusty film lab one more shot before starting to send everything to The Darkroom.

Final Thoughts

Turning 40 with a beautiful day, a thoughtful girlfriend, my favorite cameras, and a Dilly Bar? That's a birthday worth remembering. Even if it took me over a year to finally write about it, the memories are still vivid, and the photos (many more of which exist) captured the perfect day.

Stay frosty, everyone.

The Journey Home and a Sweet Surprise

On the drive back, I refused to use GPS because I knew I could find my way home. I was on PCH when I spotted something I hadn't seen in years: a Dairy Queen. I crossed three lanes of traffic to get into that drive-through because I needed a Dilly Bar.

I can't tell you how many years it had been since I'd had one. And sitting there eating it, I remembered the Buster Bar. I'd completely forgotten about those! I definitely went back for one later.

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