The Scary Room and the Zeiss Ikon

One of my summer goals has been to tackle the “scary” room in our basement – the catchall space for things too sentimental or overwhelming to deal with. Here we are in August, and it doesn’t look like I’ve made much of a dent.

Last week, I opened a dusty box of cameras that belonged to my grandfather. Old leather cases, expired film, light meters, flashbulbs and cameras from brands like Zeiss, Kodak, Schneider-Kreuznach and Olympus. I used ChatGPT to help identify each one and even created a spreadsheet to sort it all. With some help, I finally opened one of the cases I’d never been able to – a nearly century-old Zeiss Ikon Box Camera with undeveloped film inside!

It’s a cool feeling to hold the same cameras that once sparked my grandfather’s curiosity and creativity. And to think about the amount of time we used to spend taking a photo and then waiting to see if we were able to capture what we hoped. 

TBD on which one of these cameras I’ll get working again and if it’s even possible to develop this ancient film, but slowing down, paying attention and allowing myself to wonder about my grandfather’s curiosity made for a fun and rich evening. 

This has inspired my theme for August: Slow down and pay attention. And I might need a few more summers to tackle the scary room!