Moments of Wonder on Film: A 2025 Retrospective
2025 was my first full year of shooting film since the Millennium. Moving away from the instant gratification of digital allowed me to embrace the "beautiful mistakes" and the anticipation of the unknown while waiting for the scans to arrive. This project became a way of documenting our adventures and travels—capturing the shifting textures of the landscape, from the mist and mountains of spring to the salt-soaked light of the coast. Here is the full look back at the gear and the grain that defined my year.
This project was a true exploration of formats. I shot everything from instant film and half-frame cameras to vintage "toy" cameras and medium format beauty.
Looking back at this list, the diversity of the gear stands out just as much as the images themselves. February with the Argus 75 was a lesson in patience and vintage charm, while the RETO Ultra Wide & Slim in August brought a playful, plastic perspective to the end of summer.
Of course, not every month went as planned. My May roll—shot on a borrowed Minolta with expired film—came back entirely black. It was a "bust" in terms of images, but a success in terms of the project’s goal: to learn, to fail, and to keep shooting anyway. It only made the successful frames from the Yashica Mat 124 G and the sharp clarity of the Contax T2 feel more rewarding.
I found myself returning to Kodak Gold repeatedly this year; its warmth and reliability made it the perfect companion for everything from the Outer Banks to the Swiss Alps. As I move into 2026, I’m excited to keep this project rolling. My main goal for this next year is to push beyond my "reliable" favorites and experiment with a wider variety of film stocks. There are still quite a few cameras in my collection that haven't been dedicated to this project yet, and I can't wait to see what they're capable of as I continue this journey into 2026.
The 2025 Film Log
January: Polaroid i-2 | Polaroid Color i-Type Film
February: Argus 75 | Kodak Gold 200 (120)
March: Yashica Mat 124 G | Kodak Gold 200 (120)
April: Polaroid SX-70 | Polaroid SX-70 Color Film
May: Yashica Mat 124 G | Kodak Gold 200 (120)
June: Pentax 17 | Kodak Gold 200
July: Contax T2 | Kodak Gold 200
August: RETO Ultra Wide & Slim | Kodak Ultramax 400
September: Kodak Duaflex | Kodak Gold 200 (120)
October: Minolta X-7a | Fujifilm 400
November: Holga 120GNP | Ilford HP5 (B&W)
December: Contax T2 | Kodak Gold 200
