I took the weird little lo-fi Kodak Charmera camera out to a reservoir where I used to go as a kid. It was what I thought of when someone said “The Beach”. A small-ish reservoir in a state park in a rural county in Ohio. For a kid in first grade who’d never been on a vacation, that was pretty much the best it got. And I loved it.

We have a lot of pictures from back then. They were all taken with one of those 110 cameras that had film cartridges that we’d get developed at Revco or the local Phot Hut Place. They were grainy. A bit out of focus. The colors were all over the place. The lack of depth of field and the mushy edges made them impressionistic compared to what can be done with the cheapest, oldest smartphone around.

Mixing that place with this device produces a strong hit of nostalgia. The beauty is captured in the lack of detail.

The reservoir and a bit of the land under a blue sky and dramatic clouds.
The reservoir and a bit of the land under a blue sky and dramatic clouds.
A park bench near the water that provides the best view around.
A park bench near the water that provides the best view around.
Rocks along the shore that opens wide the definition of the word beach.
Rocks along the shore that opens wide the definition of the word beach.
Full white clouds in a blue sky over the water kicked up by a strong wind.
Full white clouds in a blue sky over the water kicked up by a strong wind.
That bleached out effect that too much sun gives at just the right angle over the trees. It still exposes the blue sky and clouds.
That bleached out effect that too much sun gives at just the right angle over the trees. It still exposes the blue sky and clouds.