The battery in my Canon AE-1 died twice before I finished this roll of film. Time moves so fast; I had no idea these images have been locked in that little 35mm canister for so long.

In October 2012, my parents drove to visit me at college, meet my new boyfriend, and take us out to lunch to celebrate my birthday. They gifted me the Canon SLR and a few rolls of film — this particular Ilford Delta 100 being one of them.

I shot two rolls and had them sent off for development. I liked this camera, but I was still very headstrong in the world of digital being king. So I didn’t shoot it much after that.

Jared and I eventually celebrated our first dating anniversary, and this camera joined us on our mission of chasing the sunset.

Here and there, I would pick it up and snap a few shots. (I didn’t overthink about the settings… I just made it up as I went.)

Eight years later, I developed the roll and unleashed the captured moments in time.

This is the roll… well… this is the shots that are not drastically over or underexposed.

In the last 8 months I have learned more about film than I had in those 8 years… so my photos are much better and more successful than just a little luck.