36 frames. That’s all I had.
Palak Gajera
6 Feb 2025
They say the first roll teaches you everything — mostly about what not to do.
Mine began with a desire to slow things down. Not just in photography, but in how I looked at the world around me. I didn’t want to just take pictures anymore — I wanted to craft them. I wanted the stillness before the shutter, the thought before the click. And more than anything, I wanted to stop chasing perfection in real time.
The Push Came from Peter
Peter McKinnon’s videos were the spark. His way of storytelling — light, texture, failure, beauty — made me realise that photography could be more than digital sharpness and instant likes. It could be meditative. Intentional. Imperfect in all the right ways.
So I decided: it was time to try film.
The Hunt, and the Find in Colaba
The journey didn’t start with romance though. It started with a janky Kodak KB10 that had light leaks and a suspicious shutter. And for a while, that stopped me. I hesitated. I overthought.
Until one impulsive afternoon near Regal Cinema, Colaba. I walked into a quiet little camera shop and found a Yashica Electro 35 in working condition. It looked like it had stories to tell — and I wanted to be part of them. I didn’t plan on buying it, but something about that moment just felt right.
So I bought it.
Roll 1: A Reality Check
Loading that first roll of film felt like stepping into a different time zone. No screen. No previews. Just trust.
The process forced me to see. Composition. Light. Colours. Shadows. The very act of pausing changed how I experienced the city. It made me observe, not just shoot.
When I finally got the film developed, reality hit hard.
Out of 36 shots… maybe three were "good". A few had charm. Most were out of focus, overexposed, or just nothing at all. But weirdly, it didn’t hurt. It humbled me. And more than that, it excited me — because it meant I had so much to learn.
The Lesson I Needed
Peter always says: trust the process. That stuck with me. I knew this wouldn’t be easy — it wasn’t meant to be. Good things aren’t always fast. And film, by nature, doesn’t let you rush.
There’s something liberating in knowing that mistakes will happen. That you won’t always get the “best” version of a moment — but you’ll get an honest one.
Here’s to What’s Next
So here we are — Roll 1, done. Lessons learned. Money spent. Ego bruised.
But heart full.
I’m looking forward to the tens — hopefully hundreds — of rolls to come. Sure, my wallet’s already crying, but maybe that’s the price of falling in love with a slower, more thoughtful way of seeing the world.
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