Kati Dimoff

By Lizzy Acker

A few years ago, Portland photographer Kati Dimoff, 38, developed an unusual hobby: checking the old film cameras at Goodwill for undeveloped rolls of film.

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Courtesy of Kati Dimoff

“The first roll of undeveloped film I ever found had a photo of the Portland International Raceway in maybe the ‘70s or the ‘80s,” Dimoff said Tuesday. “That inspired me to keep looking for old film in Goodwill cameras.”

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Kati Dimoff

In late May, Dimoff picked up what she thinks is an Argus C2, made in 1938, for $20 at the Goodwill on SE Grand Ave.

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The film was "very damaged from age" Dimoff said, so wasn't sure how well the images would turn out, but she took the film to Blue Moon Camera and Machine to get it developed anyway.

“Blue Moon Camera in St. Johns is one of the only labs left in the country that uses some of the old chemical processes,” Dimoff said. “I take all my found film there.”

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Courtesy of Kati Dimoff

When she picked up the film on Monday, Dimoff realized she had found something special: photos of the eruption of Mount St. Helens.

Update: While we originally thought these images were from May 18, 1980, several readers wrote in with compelling evidence that these pictures could be from later plumes on July 22, 1980.

“It looks like whoever took them shot a few from Highway 30 near the Longview Bridge,” she said, “and then they must have moved over to a neighborhood view when the ash cloud was really large.”

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Courtesy of Kati Dimoff

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Courtesy of Kati Dimoff

Dimoff shared the photos with us, along with another photo on the roll, of people in a backyard, with the idea that someone might recognize them and be able to identify who took the photos.

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Courtesy of Kati Dimoff

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Update: Find out more about the family in this photo.

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The eruption photos aren’t Dimoff’s only treasures.

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Courtesy of Kati Dimoff

She’s discovered photos of a Monte Carlo speaker.

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Courtesy of Kati Dimoff

She has a trove of color pictures from England.

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Courtesy of Kati Dimoff

Some from a zoo.

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Courtesy of Kati Dimoff

One of a gazebo surrounded by striped chairs

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Courtesy of Kati Dimoff

Another features an unknown woman in front of an old stone building.

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Courtesy of Kati Dimoff

The photos she finds are scenes from a mysterious story, like this dark photo of three unknown women on a couch -- out of context and abandoned for some reason she does not know.

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Do you know who any of the people in these found photos are? Send us an email at trending@oregonian.com.

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Read the stories behind more of these images here.