Grand Teton National Park

A childhood Memory come to life

On the way back from a family trip to Yellowstone many years ago, a young teenage version of me just beginning to develop a passion for photography was looking out the car window as we crested a hill into a clearing in the trees. Behind that clearing was a view I would never forget - the cloud-covered Teton range basked in early afternoon light. Its a memory I’ve never forgotten - and one I’ve itched to photograph for nearly a decade.

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Back then, I didn’t have the skills, equipment, nor the time to properly capture the sunning scene in front of me, but the memory has haunted me this entire time. I yearned for an opportunity to relive a core memory - and I finally got the chance.

During a rainy memorial day weekend, I got the chance to camp in the park, bringing with me a slew of professional camera gear designed to capture the beauty of the Tetons in all the resolution modern cameras could offer. But amongst my kit was another camera - a 40+ year old Nikon EM film camera filled with Kodak Gold 400.

Over the course of the weekend, even though I brought enough photo and filmmaking equipment to make a feature length indie documentary, I found myself reaching for the antique Nikon.

It wasn’t part of the plan to shoot mostly on film, but every time I looked through the viewfinder on my Nikon EM I found myself savoring the moment more. There was a weight to each frame I shot on this camera, which made me ponder the moment more. With each frame, that distant memory as a teenager morphed into a brand new one - one of a years-long dream finally fulfilled.