Every summer in July we load up the minivan for our family vacation (and that’s when we say, maybe we should get one of those luggage racks) and we head to Island Park, Idaho. As a kid, that’s the place we’d camp on weekends, it’s the place I learned how to fish, it’s the place I learned to drive a pickup truck before I had a license. It’s heaven on earth, that place, and I love that I’m able to take my boys there, too, and give them similar experiences.

I took a lot of pictures with my digital cameras, but for this post, I want to show some of the film images. Most of these were taken with a $39 point and shoot film camera called Ilford Sprite II and I love the old timey look it gives these images. They feel like how a memory might feel. A little bit blurry, not 100% sharp, and some of the information your imagination has to supply on its own. I know this look won’t suit everybody. And this tool wouldn’t suit me for most of the things I photograph. But for a family vacation I think it really hits the spot. The last three images, those that are square, were taken with a twin lens Rolleiflex. Those cost a liiiiittle bit more than $39.