summer finds us here

summer finds us here
Originally uploaded by rjrphoto

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my daughter and i were out on an expedition, chasing the end of the sun. the light on the water caught my eye and we made our way over. we'd heard faraway voices, and found the source...a group of boys jumping from the pier.

i had my sx-70 out and we walked towards them...as we passed, one of the boys turned his head and said "hey, doesn't the film come out the front of that?" he called the others over, and it turned into a frenzy of excitement, all asking questions and wanting a picture taken. another said "it's not like digital, you can't see the picture straight away", and i explained how i actually liked waiting, how it was exciting to watch what was going to happen, not like digital cameras. yet another boy, who hadn't said much, gave a quick nod towards the sx-70 and said, "sure, that's better."

i asked if they wanted a picture (after a quick nod of acknowledgment from a nearby parent), got them together and took one. i gave it to one of them to hold...they were careful, "don't bend it", "don't get it wet"...and they watched their group picture appear...

i walked over to the parents, gave them the photo and had a nice chat...people remembering old family photos and polaroid cameras. i took a few more shots and gave them away. this one i kept...