One of the things about using film cameras is that you don’t always finish the roll in a timely manner. My Elan II had the same roll of film in it for quite a while, which brought up a few surprises once I finally had the film processed.
This roll was processed a couple of months after Ginji had left this world. I was a bit surprised when I got my negatives back and saw this image. I had taken several photos of him during his decline from cancer because I wanted to remember him. The photos showed him getting gradually thinner from lack of eating, and they were honestly very hard to view. Even now, his absence makes my heart heavy.
This photo, however, shows him in his prime and in his favorite place to sleep when I would be away at work. The camera blur was a bit unfortunate, but not unexpected. I was crouched on the stairs trying to take a handheld shot like some sort of goofball. When I look at this photo now, it does remind me that I do miss him terribly, for he was truly one of a kind. But more importantly, the photo shows someone I love and reminds me that there was more than sickness to remember in our brief two years as friends. The blur almost gives him an ethereal quality. Yes, I’m trying to justify a mistake I made, but the image definitely made me look at him in a different way.
I can only wonder how the photo would impact me had it been sharper, but it remains one of my favorite photos of him before he had to go.
Fotografia 