a roll in a day – a day in a roll
Life is a series of small moments. And it’s so easy to forget about them by the time the sun goes down. The heavenly cream in the donut, the smile of a stranger, the chat with the shop keeper, the cup of tea, the way the light changes from dawn to dusk.
I rarely shoot an entire roll of film in a day. Generally, weeks pass before I finish a roll and I’m left with a series of random moments selected for the quality of the light or the composition of a sandwich on a plate. Moments not necessarily representative of my days as a whole. Which is why I was so excited to take part in this Flickr project: “One day. One roll. A window into your world through film. 24, 36, 10 or 12 shots – whatever your poison or location. A date is chosen and you take a full roll of film for the chosen day. The rule is that ALL pics must be taken on the same day and ALL must be posted, duds an’ all.”
My April 21st looked something like this:
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Occasion: Clearing the barn and car boot sale*
Camera: Pentax K1000
Film: Expired Fuji 400 found in a drawer in the kitchen
I came home from the weekend smelling like 3-day old dust. The details are already fading to the back of my memory. Soon, all that will be left of it are 33 shots and the plates we salvaged from the barn. I know it’s impossible to remember every single detail of each my days but this project was a wonderful exercise in paying attention to the small moments. Because really, is there anything else?
You can view the rest of the set here.
*For you North Americans, a car boot sale is the equivalent of a garage/yard sale on wheels. You go to a lot, open your trunk and bring your junk to the people as opposed to them coming to your front lawn. And when you arrive at 7am, the professionals gather around your car like some weird zombie invasion. I shit you not. They swarm around you in masses and you can practically hear the moan of the zombie as they breathe down your neck. But it is not flesh they want. It is a bargain. They paw at the windows and reach in through any means they can to see you if have treasures just waiting to be sold for a pound. It is… surreal, to say the least.
wonderingsandwanderings.com 
This is a fascinating way to record your day. I like all of your photos and find your description of what happened at the boot sale to be hilarious/disturbing.
[I might try something like this one day. I’m not a great photographer so I might change the rules just a tad to accommodate my need to shoot every scene multiple times to get one photo worth looking at!]
love this!
What a fun project! I might have to do something similar some day. About the only time I complete a whole role of film in a day is when I’m being hired out for a wedding or portrait session. It would be fun to document a regular day in my life…
I soooo wish we had car boot sales here! (California) I went yard sale-ing over the weekend and it’s such a pain to try to find everyone and it wastes a lot of gas.
P.S. I LOVE that train photo. The fog is beautiful.
How fun. And I love Anthony’s boots. 🙂
Your photos are beautiful. The way you capture the light… it’s magical. Thanks for sharing your day!
What a great idea! That way everyone finds you, nobody is at YOUR house, and if you have stuff left over you can drive it directly to donation or the dump!
Your photos are magic, as always. I love this idea of documenting your day. I have documented my morning walk. But I had SO MANY pictures. I would have MILLIONS if I had to do a whole day…HOW do you choose your moments??
This is such a great idea! I think I will have to challenge myself with this sometime soon. 🙂 Your photos are all wonderful, I love each of them.
nice trip!
such a great way to capture one day! love the idea and I love your pictures! wonderful shots!