As shown on some contact sheets
Photography used to be a negative business. Or, rather, a business of negatives. Every picture involved one, which the skilled photographer turned into a positive, in a dark room. Or a darkroom. Anyhow, cataloging negatives involved production of contact sheets. Many of my memories are physically reduced in size, and I keep them stored in a box.
This afternoon, I returned to the time of sheet #001. My first “real” outing as a photographer, to cover a football game over in Sackville. I remember the trip (my older cousin was also in the stands, and that was cool). The photos were technically VERY amateur, but that rink roof with a nasty handpainted slogan is still legible after all these decades.
This afternoon, I returned to the same stadium, in a virtual manner. The Rouge et Or were down to confront the Mounties on their home turf – real turf, not that artificial stuff that has gained in popularity elsewhere. Of course, the Laval squad won, but that is incidental. I was able to recognize the campus, although the rink is now gone, and the memories of their silly cafeteria where food was brought to the table on trays remain fresh. You see, you took your plates off the trays, returned the trays, and then carried your dirty dishes back in an armpile. Also incidental. It’s fun to time travel like that.
My assurance of a win was without fail. While the game played in the background, I assembled a small electronic project that has been waiting for some hot solder. Also “old school”. In a world where a camera has a memory card and electronics are never assembled, or repaired, my assembly effort is an attempt to capture the old days. Good, in my eyes.
