January on Film

Welcome to Roll Call, a series where I revisit film rolls I’ve shot over the years and reflect on what they taught me. Some are gems, some are disasters, and plenty fall somewhere in between.

One of my goals for the new year is to shoot and develop one roll of film per month. I’ve loved shooting film for a few years now, but I’ve realized that if I don’t set myself some guardrails with it, I can go months without getting scans back. So, welcome to the January camera roll.

As always, the year and month begin with my birthday, which I spent running around Manhattan with Judy. We started off at Fast Times coffee shop in Soho, got lunch at Gem Home, and I picked up a few books along the way. Not sure how I didn’t snap any moments from my birthday brunch at Sunday to Sunday but trust, it was delightful. Also spotted this mural on Prince street en route to McNally Jackson.

One of my best hometown friends, Hannah, came to spend the weekend in the city for her birthday. We ate breakfast at a local diner, book shopped, saw a show on Broadway with friends, and drank lots of coffee.

Before our big snowfall of the month, I went to see Del Water Gap in Brooklyn with my friend Jess. (Shameless plug for her Substack, A Novel Idea.) This was my second time in this venue and it wows me every time. It used to be a “grand movie palace” back in the 1920s.

Unless you live under a rock or in some unfairly tropical location, you likely know we got a mountain of snow this month — which is still piled high on the sidewalks as I type this — and for the first few days, it was absolutely glorious.

I love walking through Central Park on a snow day to people watch. I thought this moment of a swing set was particularly whimsical.

After the snow, most of my days were spent cooped up indoors, clinging to the warmth of my heated blanket and space heater. But eventually, I convinced myself to step out for a visit to the Neue Galerie on the Upper East Side. It’s a museum dedicated to Austrian and German art, with a room full of Gustav Klimt’s shimmery portraits. You’re not allowed to take photos inside (though I snuck one quick one on my iPhone on my way out because I had to) but I took these on my journey over.

That’s a wrap on January. Here’s to hoping for warmer weather, less snow, and more reasons to take photos in February.

All photos featured here were taken on my Konica Hexar on Kodak Gold 200 35mm film. Developed by ProImage Photo.