I paid $20 for this picture of my Grandpa’s cat

A few years ago, I was helping my family clean out my Grandpa’s old workshop. It was filled with old tools, half-completed projects and more than a few nostalgic artifacts. Among them, I found an old 110 film camera and, surprisingly, a partially exposed cartridge. It sat in my desk drawer for years until just a few weeks ago, when I decided to send it to TheDarkroom for developing.



What mysteries could be trapped on Grandpa Jack’s old roll of film? Old Christmas pictures, perhaps? Snapshots of my childhood, or maybe a look at my grandparent’s home in the 1980s and 90s? I couldn’t wait to find out, and emailed the developer shortly after I sent the roll in for a preview.

“Your film has been developed and is waiting to be scanned. It appears there are about 7 frames that were exposed, mostly of a cat.”

$20 for 7 pictures, mostly of a cat. Sounds like Grandpa.



In all, there are five cat pictures on the old roll of film, all of them nearly identical. I’m not even sure which of Grandpa’s cats it is, either.



Oh, the other two? One poorly lit picture of me, smiling like a doof, and another of my brother – both taken when we found the camera.

When I found the camera, I thought the roll was finished. I guess I should have taken more pictures.