A few years ago, my mother-in-law Cynthia gave me an awesome Christmas present: her old SLR, along with her enlarger and development tanks. I originally learned photography from my dad, using his old SR-T 201, and when I got back into it and started shooting film again, I inherited that camera. I also bought my own Minolta SLR: an XD11. Serendipitously, my mother-in-law’s camera was the same brand and mount, an XG1 with a 45mm f/2 lens. I played with the camera a little when I got it, made sure it all still worked, and then carefully put it away into my vault. While I do still enjoy taking pictures on film, most of my work is on digital. I tend to only pull out my analog cameras when I have a specific craving to do something. That’s also why I only have manual focus film cameras; if I want something thinking for me, I have other options for that.

Every now and then I go into the archive and peruse my collection, making sure everything is clean and functional and that I haven’t left a battery in anything anywhere waiting to explode. When I pulled out the XG1’s camera bag in 2024, I found something I hadn’t noticed before: a roll of Kodak Gold 200 tucked away in a side pocket, where Cynthia had left it. It couldn’t have been any less than 25 years old, and certainly not stored in the best conditions. But…it was unexposed. Technically, it could still be usable. I wondered what I could get out of it.

On Christmas Eve 2024 I decided to see. I hauled out the XG1 and decided to put it into full late 1980s mode. Nothing artistic here; I wasn’t sure the images would even come out, after all. Cindy had also given me an Auto Flash 200X, so I strapped that on the camera. I decided to try shooting the film at ISO 50, pushing it a full two stops, and I set the flash accordingly. The 45mm lens I kept between F2.8 and F4 depending on what I was looking at. That seemed ambitious to me at ISO 50, but the flash said it could technically handle it, and the camera’s manual agreed, so off I went.

And then I waited a year to develop the film, which is why I’m writing about it now, after Christmas 2025.

What came out of the roll of film was honestly amazing, at least to me. I hadn’t shot Kodak Gold in decades, and despite being expired for decades, what came out looked like…Kodak Gold. Choosing to shoot with the flash on full blast just like we did in the late 80s gives these pictures a look out of time. Other than clothing, hairstyles, and some smart phones, these could easily have been taken in 1988. As soon as I saw the first scan I couldn’t believe what the greens looked like. Nothing in reality has ever had the same shade of green that exists only in Kodak land. Staring at my Christmas tree on these prints, it looks just like the trees we had as a child. Does it match reality at all? Hell no, but that’s the fun of film sometimes, isn’t it? It’s art.

Also, the 45mm lens is amazing. I may have to use it more often than the 50mm f/1.4 I generally use as my walk-around with these cameras. Something about how these look is pleasing to me in a way I can’t find words for. What a nice surprise.

Take a look for yourselves.