Hey everyone! I’ve decided to post my recent roll of Cinestill 800t. For starters, I’ve taken a break from film since I’ve first moved to Colorado in 2022. It wasn’t until I had spark for shooting more photos that I decided to rummage through my camera bag, find my 2 double-a (AA) rechargeable batteries, and fish out my Nikon One Touch 100 Point and Shoot 35mm Film Camera. I had the camera but all I needed was film.

I haven’t researched much about film developing labs around Denver, Colorado but I knew that Mike’s Camera had a physical store. Almost more than a year ago, I went to visit Mike’s Camera and bought a pack of Gold 200, a roll of Psychedelic Street 400, and a roll of Cinestill 800t. Since I moved from California, I’ve been relying on The Darkroom Labs to develop and scan my film. I secured a deal on The Darkroom Labs where you buy a $100 gift card and receive free merch that included a calendar, a pack of stickers, a pack of pins, and a tote… A TOTE! Well, I used up my funds on Darkroom to develop my film so I decided to give the film developing at Mike’s Camera a try. To be clear, this is not a review on Mike’s Camera but I will comment on one thing: if you look closely, there are light leak-type imperfections in the images and I’m not sure if was my doing or Mike’s Camera’s doing. I never really cared for it now but with the convenience and the quality of The Darkroom Labs, I’m going to have to stick with their services!

When I got my scans back, I realized that my photos felt different. My photos felt more appealing to me which is something I haven’t felt in a while. It was a pretty satisfying feeling and I attributed it to my approach. Everything just seemed to be clicking when I was snapping away and being more aware of my composition. Ultimately, I think these are rather worth sharing and I hope y’all enjoy this new series called “FILM DUMP”. It’ll be like photo dumps on Instagram but with more writing and photos… This roll specifically captures random things that caught my eye or I felt like snapping in January and February by the way.

Straight out of the box and thrown into the back of my camera, I shot the first exposure of the roll!

Wifey and I had a special opportunity to spend a night at the Gaylord Rockies Resort. We had a view of the Rocky Mountains so I had to capture it. We were celebrating our 4 year anniversary since I asked her to be my girl in January 2021. It’s been a long journey and there’s still a lot more life ahead of us. I can’t wait to capture what comes next.

Speaking of which, here’s wifey! The elevator had mirrors all around so I wasn’t sure how this photo was gonna turn out. Now that I can see it, it didn’t turn out bad at all haha.

The Christmas decorations were still up by the time we visited. The resort was gigantic. To decorate this place must require a lot of effort because these wreaths were massive. Ironically, it’s these little things that I notice.

We were heading downstairs to check out the restaurants in the resort and we spotted the decorated staircase railings.

After getting a bit lost around the resort, we ended up outside. I’ve never seen a window that huge before. Is that window still even considered a window anymore? It was like a glass wall. Right in front of the glass wall was a fire pit where we chilled some more as we sipped on our cocktails that eventually gave us a slight buzz right before dinner.

Here’s Patz with her drink, standing beside the fire pit.

Here’s me with my drank. The sun was hitting just right before it settled behind the mountains moments later.

I took this photo and thought about how far humanity has came in terms of engineering massive resorts like the Gaylord Rockies and advancements in airplanes… It’s a super random thought but it makes you think how capable humans are to create such things.

After having a literal feast for dinner, we decided to walk around the front before heading upstairs and calling it a night. I saw this giant snowflake fixture and knowing that I had a roll of Cinestill in my camera, I had to snap a photo. For those not familiar with Cinestill 800t, the dark of night and decorative lights like Christmas lights, neon lights, and signs are a perfect combination to shoot on that film.

Here’s a GMC Vandura 2500. This era of GM vans was my favorite. My family used to own a Chevy G20 Sportvan that would haul us around for family trips in my latter years of my childhood. Originally, it was our Toyota Sienna but we’ve outgrown that minivan. During COVID, we finally got a proper van that’s suitable for 2 power wheelchair users. We sold the Chevy van to a guy around his late-20s because it was around the time when rent prices were going up and it wasn’t uncommon to hear about people living out of their cars.

A new adjustment to me was the amount of ACE Hardware locations in Colorado. I’m sure they existed in California but I’ve never set foot in one until now. It was a foggy day on Colfax and the vibes felt right. The air felt crisp and my nose was thankful for the humidity.

To my surprise, I wasn’t sure if people in Denver liked anime that much so seeing that “Otaku Clan” mural was crazy to me. It’s been a while since I’ve watched anime but I’m glad there’s a community out there for people who appreciate anime and boba.

Colfax is a notorious street in the Denver-Aurora area. Simply put: crime happens here and it gets wild. It gave me even more reason to capture this “Wild Things” billboard on the roof of the attached liquor store.

Another chilly day in Colorado but in the warmth of my home.

Cloudy sunsets are my favorite type of sunsets.

Stella, our youngest cat we adopted, always has front row seats to the TV. There’s been a handful of times where she tried to walk on the narrow top of our flat screen TV…

“Kachow” like Lightning McQueen from the movie “Cars” on this 3rd Generation Chevrolet Colorado.

3 wheelin’ but in a less desired manner…

Tiger Kim Martial Arts Academy. I like the neon light of the sparring men in the far left window. Those orange streaks in the photo were apparent and started to make me question the quality of the scans …

Late 70’s Toyota Land Cruiser. This thing made the shop smell like fuel because I was struggling with a malfunctioning power steering rack and super high engaging clutch. It also had a short wheelbase so it was difficult to get this car positioned to be able to be properly lifted in the air with the 2-post lift.

Stella has this cute obsession with our extra large tote bag. I caught her laying down in the tote beside the box of canned wet food.

KOTD, or kicks of the day. I decided to wear my not-so-comfy pair of 2016 Jordan 11 Space Jams. I also thought to include the kicks, or Advan RG2’s, on my Honda Civic SI.

In mid-February, we had a staycation in an AirBnB by Manitou Springs. It’s about 1 hour and 30 minutes away from Denver. The trek consisted of us driving south from Denver with road conditions being icy and slushy. We had a small mishap with the ice unfortunately. We took a restroom detour that somehow ended up with me rear ending a Tesla after slipping about 20ft on ice as we attempted to come to a stop… Luckily everyone was safe. After arriving safely at the AirBnB and slipping on an icy driveway, we enjoyed the nice views of the mountains, the snow-covered trees (before the snow melted), and the warmth of the sun.

Currently, life has been treating me well. There were a handful of challenges and adjustments coming into the new year. My professional life consists of me getting more certifications, knowledge, and experience. My personal life consists of me becoming a better partner to my wife, keeping up on maintenance of my car, and taking my hobbies more seriously. Although times feel shaky in this day of age with politics and inflation, I’m still appreciative of being able to be present each day and go with the flow.

What’s been keeping me going is the content I’ve been consuming like music and videos. My current rotation of music consists of Kendrick Lamar’s GNX (2024) album, Leon Thomas’ MUTT (2024) album, Doechii’s ALLIGATOR BITES NEVER HEAL (2024) mixtape, and Tyler, the Creator’s CHROMOKOPIA (2024) album (Spotify). I’ve also been taking inspiration from Josh Bonzo’s YouTube videos – be sure to check him out if you need those feel-good vibes with dope visuals.

I met Josh in elementary school and I remember the first time I met him, we were partnered up to spell words given to us by our 1st grade teacher, Ms. Byrne. The word we were instructed to spell out with SCRABBLE letter tiles was “butterfly”. This story makes me crack up because we were 6-7 years old and after shuffling a few tiles around, we ended up with “butt”. As you can expect, we were laughing quietly to ourselves just repeating “butt”. I don’t even think we completed the rest of the word butterfly before being instructed to spell the next word…

Anyways, thanks for reading until the end of this blog post! I hope you enjoyed this new “FILM DUMP” series! If you’re feeling unsure, anxious, or lost, I’d say get up from your chair, stretch your limbs, bathe in the warm sun, play your favorite tunes, go for a drive, read a book, dance in the mirror, learn something fascinating, reach out to a friend or family member, and/or play with your pets. If I can offer any words of wisdom, remember that you’re unique and you have a special light. Protect that light, that energy, and you’ll feel more whole. You got a whole lot to offer so keep doing what you’re doing!

‘Till next time,

JVZY OUT!