The Camera Never Dies

My camera broke recently.

It was on the kids' literacy camp last month. I was taking my third roll of still (print) film, when I think the film somehow became crumpled in the camera when the batteries ran out. So I put some new batteries in, but I think that confused the poor thing's programming even more. I think it wouldn't let me take pictures because when I changed the batteries it forgot that I had loaded a film. However at the same time it wouldn't let me open the back because it knew that there was film in there.

So I couldn't roll the film forwards or backwards, or even remove it.

For a while it looked as though I might have to get the sales receipt posted over to me from the UK so that I could get it sent away and fixed under the guarantee here.

Then last Wednesday, while recording some Hope City adverts and voice-overs with Ges, I borrowed a tiny screwdriver and a portable darkroom (a black bag) off him. Having opened the camera's innards up, I still couldn't open the door at the back of the film compartment to get the film out though.

So I went into one of the camera shops across the road on Queen Street and opened the back of a similar model to get a good look at its locking mechanism.

As a result tonight I found myself sitting in the hostel's reception area, where I was at last able to open the film-compartment's catch from inside using my fingernail!

Having reloaded, of course I had to take a few 'test' shots while sitting there...


The reception desk.

Then I turned to my right, and saw...


... that's Lionel.

And later:


Tara and Lukas at the internet café!