Dust has collected all over me. But before I go completely blind, I can still see the family who has taken me into their household. My sight is blurry but if I am right, it seems that their appearances has changed. Along the transformation of their faces and heights, their preference for a camera also changed. I remember the day this young handsome man passed by me at the mall, took a second look and ran towards the window before me. His face was lit up. I have captured a lot of human emotions through the years and I am sure this was the face of excitement, and a few weeks after when he returned to the store and gave money to the store owner in exchange of him taking me out my stand, I saw happiness.
That was over 20 years ago. My new owner purchased 24 rounds of films at the same shop he took me from. There were so many opportunities to capture great photos. He held me up to his face, and looked through my viewfinder so many times. I wait for him to click my button for me to keep those moments for him but he would put me back down. He would always carry me everywhere he goes. I have seen his office, his apartment, and those favorite places he loves to walk around to. There were still 24 films in my cartridge. I was growing anxious about when would he ever took the first photo. He has a good eye for things. He is great with angles, and colors, lighting, shadows, balance, and components. I do not know what he was waiting for. Until one day while he carried me around the park, he pointed me towards the scenic landscape, with the beautiful afternoon sun peeking through a few trees, and a woman sitting by the bench. Before I could analyze more what he was looking at, the shutter just went clicking. I kept reviewing the film that day as to why he took that. Eventually I realized that he wanted to capture a story. The woman, I realized later, was looking at a book as if she was reading but she was actually dozing off.
Days, months, and years went on and I continued to capture the story – their story. What began to be a photo of a single women became a photo of a couple, then a wedding ceremony, a childbirth, birthday parties, graduations, and vacations. My owner kept utilizing my functions until one day he could not find a store that sells films like the ones I need. He put me aside for a while until he could find it. One day his daughter, all grown up, unlike the first time I met her as a baby, gave her dad a DSLR camera that does not require films. She taught him how to use it. And it seems that he has grown fond of his new camera. Everyone else in the house are using phone to capture photos. I just watch them take multiple photos of one subject without second thoughts unlike how I am managed.
I do not think I will be forgotten though. The very day my owner had a new camera, he went to wipe the dust off me and took a picture of me. His daughter have done the same. Her son who was amazed of my uniqueness has also taken a lot of photos of me on his phone.
