camping at tims ford state park

I’ve been camping (officially) twice now in my life. Once was in 2005 when my family took us to Sleeping Bear Dunes up in Michigan and once last weekend with a friend at Tims Ford State Park in Tennessee. Although I’d hardly call myself an outdoorsy person, I’m surrounded by people like my dad, a Geographer who loves National Parks, and apparently my recent friend Julia who loves wildlife and nature. Julia insisted she take me camping and I have to admit, we had a pretty perfect two days out in the woods.

We’d blocked off this weekend a few weeks ago, and rolled the dice on whether it would rain or be too cold or even end up being a nice weekend. And in the end, it went flawlessly. The leaves in particular were stunning — we saw almost every possible fall color and the entire forest was breathtaking. More than once I remember looking around, taking everything in, and feeling a certain kind of peace in my soul.

When we set out, I made the decision to limit myself and only take photos on my film cameras. I have a Minolta Freedom (a point and shoot) and an old Olympus (SLR) with some Kodak 35mm film and that’s all I allowed myself to take. I’ve been using this year to slowly figure out my own routine for everyday documentation on film, and I think in taking this trip I finally feel confident in documenting my life that way.

These photos are so special to me not only because I’m obsessed with the colors, but also because they will forever remind me of this time of my life. I’m 26 and I do things and I have friends and sometimes, when I get lucky, my life feels like a movie. It’s looking in creeks for salamanders and roasting brats over the fire and waking up in 35º weather bundled up tight in a sleeping bag. I’ve always wanted to be someone who documented their life on film, especially since me and my parents used to do so when I was growing up, but now after a whole pandemic it feels even more sacred somehow. Like life deserves to be captured on something more special than my phone.

Film developed by Boutique Film Lab in Mt Juliet, TN + edited with Negative Film Lab Pro