Friday Nights, Film Rolls and Elvis

Film Rolls, Darkrooms and a Little Bit of Elvis

Do you remember when we used to take photos with real film?

There was a special kind of excitement in hearing the click as you wound the film, and every shot made a crisp, mechanical snap you could feel in your fingertips. We all felt a bit anxious about how many photos we could take, whether the images would turn out, stay in focus, or even develop properly.

Then came the anticipation of picking up our developed photos, hoping they'd turned out just as we'd imagined.

The Magic of Dad's Darkroom

Thinking back, those days were particularly exciting for me. My dad was a photographer and developed his own film in his darkroom. He always worked in black and white, and I was fascinated by the process, sometimes 'supervising' as he worked.

One of my favorite memories is standing quietly beside him in the darkroom, holding my breath as we placed a blank sheet of photo paper into the developer. Slowly, faint outlines appeared and grew clearer, almost like magic.

I was always excited to watch the image come to life while Dad gently rocked the tray. I loved seeing how it all worked and was forever asking questions.

Looking back, I think those early experiences planted the seed for my own love of photography.

My First Camera

Some years later, for my 15th birthday, I received my very first camera, a 35mm Nikon, along with a few rolls of FujiColor film.

As luck would have it, I had a school camp coming up in the Hunter Valley, and I couldn't wait to take my new camera along and start practicing.

I was very careful with my precious film and took my time with each shot. After a few days away, I was instantly hooked.

My photos weren't the best, but it was definitely a learning process, and I loved every minute of it.

Friday Nights, Film Rolls and Elvis

Fast forward a few years to my early twenties, when I took on a part-time job that kept me busy on weekend nights.

I teamed up with a photographer named Dave and worked alongside him at the Bankstown City Band Club during events. Together, we captured precious moments of couples, families and groups enjoying their night out.

After taking the photographs, we'd hastily return to Dave's lab, conveniently located just five minutes from the club in Bankstown. There, we'd begin developing countless rolls of film in his traditional darkroom.

I remember several chemical baths (I called them 'the tubs'), and we processed the film through different stages that required careful control of temperature, agitation, and time.

Now, here's something I've never forgotten.

Dave timed the developing stages to music from his favorite cassette tape!

At a certain point in a song, he knew exactly when to move the film to the next tub. Gosh, he was always spot on!!

Next came the printing machine, where the photographs came to life. Then came the somewhat tedious job of placing them all into photo folders.

Once everything was ready, we'd hurry back to the club to distribute the photographs for viewing, with the primary goal, of course, of selling these little photographic mementos.

And Then There Was Elvis!

I was always in a hurry to get back to the club because I wanted to see more of the show. However, somehow, we always seemed to arrive just before the grand finale.

And what a finale it was!

An Elvis look-alike performance, and he was really good!

Ever since those nights, I've had a soft spot for the song "Caught in a Trap", which was part of his grand finale. Every time I hear it, I'm instantly transported back to those nights at the club.

Funny how a song can bring back such vivid memories, isn't it?

Our nights would usually finish around 1.00 am, and then we'd head back to the shop to clean everything up before finally driving home. I often didn't get to bed until around 3.00 am.

Even though I was only doing one night a week, those late nights were difficult to sustain, especially with a young child to look after.

After about a year, I decided to give up the part-time job.

But what an experience it was! Those nights were such an exciting time in my life, filled with memories I've never forgotten.

From Darkrooms to Scrapbooking

When I think about it now, photography has been part of my life for as long as I can remember.

From watching Dad develop his black-and-white photographs to taking my first photos with my Nikon, and later spending long nights developing film at the club, it's been a thread running through so many stages of my life.

And perhaps that's why scrapbooking and memory keeping mean so much to me today.

It's never really been just about the photographs, has it?

It's about the people, the places, the little moments and the stories that go with them.

These days, instead of developing photographs in a darkroom, I'm surrounded by pretty papers, embellishments and albums, helping others find creative ways to preserve their memories.

It's funny how something that fascinated me as a little girl has become such a big part of my life all these years later.

Some Things You Just Can't Replace

Looking back, I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to experience photography in those early days.

There was something quite special about working with film. You couldn't simply take fifty photos, delete forty-nine, and try again. You had to think about your shot, make the most of the light and hope you'd captured the moment just right.

And developing photographs was an experience all its own.

Even now, I can still picture myself standing beside Dad in his darkroom, watching those black-and-white images slowly appear on the paper.

These days, we can take hundreds of photos on our phones without giving it a second thought. And while I love the convenience of digital photography, I'm glad I experienced those days of film, darkrooms, and waiting to see what we'd captured.

Because sometimes, it's not just the photograph we treasure, but the memories of how it came to be.

I'd love to know: do you remember your first camera?

Or perhaps the excitement of picking up a freshly developed roll of film, only to discover half your photos were blurry, someone had their eyes closed, or you'd accidentally chopped someone's head off!

I'd love to hear your memories.