An Expired Film Experiment in Pacific City, OR

The Olympus Pen was first half frame 35mm film camera introduced to the Japanese camera market, making its debut in 1959. Designed by Yoshihisa Maitani, the camera was compact enough to be carried on a daily basis, like a pen, hence the name. I acquired mine in Japan last winter. And as intended, it’s traveled the world with me since. So, as mine is from the 70’s, and shoots 72 frames per roll, I started Project 72, a new concept where I’ll a selection of my favorite images from each roll.

For the first photo batch, I selected 16 photos from a road trip I took with some friends this past summer to the Oregon coast—specifically the legendary sand dunes of Pacific City. As if the decades old cameras wasn’t enough of a gamble, I shot this particular trip on a roll of expired Agfa film. The fading stability of the film's fixer chemical created some unexpected anomalies—floating dots—that are far and away more interesting than I’d hoped. That’s the beauty of shooting expired film, you never know what you’ll get.