Gallery: Summer Camp on 35 mm and 120 film

For most of us when we were young, summer signaled the end of a school year and the beginning of a long summer break. The shift in season welcomes longer days of light and promises lushness all summer long. Being around nature, sun-kissed by the sunshine, and engaged in outdoor activities is a choice that cultivates one's curiosity, confidence, and creativity.

So how does one make the most out of their summer holiday? For many of us it involved joining summer camps!

We’ve seen it all in the movies; unbothered time spent in the wilderness, challenging egos, building character, and forging friendships through participating in sporting competitions, talent shows, truths and dares, scouts skills, community campfires, and the like, with fellow campers.

From 1998’s family favorite ‘Parent Trap,’ 2001’s slapstick ‘Wet Hot American Summer,’ 2008’s tween classic ‘Camp Rock,’ 2012’s precocious ‘Moonrise Kingdom,’ 2021’s slasher ‘Fear Street Part Two: 1978,’ and most recently, 2023’s mockumentary comedy ‘Theater Camp,’ a shared experience of being in a new environment amidst one’s self-discovery in their adolescence years is the thread that unites these fictional stories to real life.

This summer camp themed gallery paints portraits of the kind of warmth brought about by community-driven initiatives that simultaneously feed into an individual’s spirit, body, and soul. Set in remote locations and amidst the backdrop of a cool blue sky, the natural spaces where summer camps are held turn into playgrounds for exploration and fields of discovery. Learning life skills, acquiring new habits, and expanding one’s perspective, are all eventual results from camp, and in the process, gain a friend or two (or a whole community!) and a whole load of memories.

These film photographs taken by Lomographers from all over the world perfectly encapsulate the wide range of emotions most campers experience: joy in newfound strength and independence, excitement in the thrill of doing something courageous, pride in engaging in activities you never thought you were capable of doing, and a whole lot more.

A good number of these selected photographs were taken using compact Lomography cameras such as the ActionSampler, Diana F+ Camera, and La Sardina Camera & Flash DIY. Feelings of nostalgia are instantly evoked by way of vignettes and wide-angled frames — framing time at camp as one to be remembered for years to come.

What are your favorite memories from summer camp? Share them with us below along with any of the film photos you've taken at the time.

written by macasaett on 2024-08-11 #gear #culture #places #forest #120 #trees #sun #camping #color-negative #summer-camp #35-mm Share Article