06 May 2005

The Mind's Eye

There's a photograph I feel compelled to take in my backyard of the trees leafing out. I have the corresponding shots of them at summer and winter, and possibly fall. The compulsion is driven by an image of the four shots matted in a row to make a complete seasonal set. Part of my brain thinks it would be cool, another part thinks I'll never actually frame the shots or I'll choose to frame something else, something better. I don't have the spare cash nor the space to hang such a thing, so is it worth taking the picture when the set already exists in my mind?

At this moment, I have ten rolls of unexposed film sitting on a shelf in my room. It started with five rolls this past winter. I'm particular with my prints and have been pleased with the efforts of Photoworks for years. Though they are more expensive than a local drugstore, their print quality is higher. Periodically they offer discount coupons, and it is in waiting for a particular one that I shot five more rolls. I hate feeling that as soon as I give in and mail the film, the $10 off processing coupon will arrive by email, but since they are promoting other new products right now, it could be a very long wait, and that's not good for the film.

Beyond the expense, I wonder if they're worth developing at all, not because they'll be bad shots, but because I already have thousands of photos which do nothing but sit in diligently labeled envelopes. Many of the shots deserve more than that; otherwise, they may as well remain my personal mental snaps.

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