When I first started experimenting with creative photography and film, I bought a Canon Elph on eBay for $5. I chose the Elph because it was super compact and fully automatic. I knew almost nothing about 35mm film or film processing, but I didn’t care. I wanted the feel of film and I wanted to be able to take pictures and forget about them for a while. Something about waiting to see what I saw a few weeks ago makes the picture that much more worth it.

For processing I chose the easiest option, Walmart. It’s cheap with no strings attached, just drop it off and pay for it when you get the film back. Originally, when I’d purchased the Canon Elph I had no idea about APS film. APS film, as I later found out, has been out of production for over a decade, so the only APS film available is way past the expiration date.

These pictures were arranged by me because of special qualities they have. They are not classically “good” photos. They are grainy, low contrast, over/underexposed works that reflect the expired film and the cheap Walmart processing. The reason I have selected these pictures specifically is because they capture a sort of mysterious quality that comes from my inexperience using a camera at that time.