When I recently scanned some photos from a 2003 trip to Oahu, I couldn’t find any prints from my visit to the USS Arizona Memorial. I was pretty sure I took photos, but they weren’t in with the other prints. Later I realized I took the images on black-and-white 35mm film (Ilford Delta 400) and developed the roll myself, so the negatives were in with my other old darkroom work. I scanned a few of the negatives so I could see what I shot – easier than looking at the contact sheet thumbnails. While I had fun learning how to develop film, I wasn’t awesome at it, so a lot of the negatives are grainier than they should be. Or maybe we’ll just call that a purposeful creative decision. Yes, that’s it!
If you’re on Oahu, it’s certainly worth a visit to the memorial. I rented a car while on the island so that I could explore while Chris was working during the day. The drive to Pearl Harbor was easy, and only about 30 minutes from Waikiki beach where we were staying. I went during the middle of the week in the morning without a reservation, and I don’t remember having to wait for admission, so depending on the day/time of your visit you might be able to do a walk-in without advance tickets. We watched a documentary film before heading over to the memorial site via boat, which was a beautiful opportunity for photos. My visit took around 1.5 hours, and I remember being most impressed by the manner in which other visitors conducted themselves – everyone was appropriately solemn and respectful. It’s a place of great honor, so I was glad to see it being treated as such.
Morning seemed like a decent time to beat the crowds and get good lighting for photos. I wish I had shot at least a few color images, but I only brought one camera loaded with b&w film. Maybe the mood of the b&w is fitting anyway. Here are a few of those scans.
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