We had a yarn to Dan, an old school Dipton breather. Now based in Christchurch, he's started studying graphic design. He’s "trying to learn as much as possible about life and people and all the rest". A naturally curious dude, there is no shortage of fun for him skating, skiing, mountain biking, going to gigs, and currently working on some projects during isolation. Around two years ago after spending a bunch of time with a photographer who opened his eyes up to the art, and then being gifted a Pentax film camera by his mate Angus Mossman, his journey to capture moments began. By taking heaps of photos both good and bad, his love for film grew.

Something that drew Dan to film is the feeling he gets when a roll comes back – giving one the chance to re-experience all of these little snapshots of time. "Sometimes amongst these rolls are photos that make your jaw drop, that turned out exactly how you wanted them to! That part feels cool."

Capturing a solid image is hard, of course. As is the technical side of things such as exposure and getting the focus bang on. But when you get the setting right, what makes a good photo and what are people drawn to?

For Dan, it's capturing a memory; something that you want to see again. "Seeing something that I like, or that makes me feel a certain way, and trying to capture it, I suppose." In Dan's view, people are a big part, capturing people having a grand time, doing things they enjoy, and their emotions – it’s even better when it's through the filter of a Porta 400.

All there is left now to do is feast your eyes on Dan's magical images and the stories behind these shots.

This is Josh, who's damn good at riding a bike. And it's in Winton, which is the closest skatepark to Dipton! I find it really hard to focus on an exact spot when looking into the sun, and especially when what you're to focus on isn't in the shot at the time. So, this was a case of taking three shots of the same thing and hoping one of them is decent!!

Ahhhhh god damn I love this photo way too much, it's strange. Stu, Tavis, Taylor and I had just got back to Dunedin after a 21st in Tokanui – deeeep south – and they still had the drive to Christchurch to go! There's so much, yet so little expression on Stu's face. So much vulnerability – it was Sunday after all. And the brutally ripped left leg of his jeans, an occurrence from the evening been (ask him for the full story haha). And Tavis in the darkness getting a small nicotine fix. I love it all.

This is one from the day before the trip mentioned above to Tokanui! In Fairfield, just south of Dunedin, there's a park that has a community hall, a playground, and for some weird reason, three of the nicest ramps in the area! I somehow snagged a nicely timed, nicely focused shot of Harry doing a floaty frontside air on the mini – and it was on b&w film which makes me happy also!

Tea Party last year. Which was the day after Garden Party, so it was tough. I went with a film camera as a non-UC student to get some photos of Run77 (THANK YOU!). And after Run77 had played, I kept the Pentax with me (for the most part) and ended up snapping some really good mates having a really good time – seen here is two of those really good mates - Rhys & Liam. All of these photos had an extra layer of surprise factor because when that hectic weekend had finished, the memory of what photos I'd taken didn't exist. And seeing this image on a depressive Tuesday was a nice feeling.

The Juicy Hot Donnas at RnV. I like these boys a lot and asked them if I could take some photos of their set – because I like that a lot too. There were at least two rolls used this day as well, and I loved most of them – mainly because it was a super fun time, a super nice day, a super nice band, and a super nice stage setup! And here we have all of those ingredients captured to create a well-prepared memory. Then I left my camera in Mitch's tent, which was a mare to get back the following day … sorry boys.

I stayed with Stu and Tavis in Hawkes Bay for two weeks after New Year's which was simply epic! This is their home beach, and about 15 minutes prior to this image, Stu snapped Tav's board (it was really funny). And so I gave Stu Tav's OTHER board that I was using and grabbed my camera. And as soon as the wetsuit was half off I turned around to this – so still, so glassy, so sunny. And if the tractor & boat trailer on the beach wasn't already aesthetic, there's a super lucky (unknown) human, who by the looks of this I would guess is really enjoying their morning mission.

Oh, my gracious Nest Fest was a time! A day you walk away from with more energy than you went with… weird, maybe that was just me. Anyway, Mr Pettit was so damn genius as to have 2,000 pieces of stone fruit available for the people to chew on while dancing in the Hawkes Bay sun – can you beat that?! And here's Taylor enjoying one of those pieces while waiting in line to get a colourful wrist band with BirdsNest written on it. And also wearing some super funky glasses that don't actually belong to him or I. Ahh what a day!

I like this tree a lot. Liam, Holly, Taylor, and I were waiting for the bus to arrive on Sunday after 121 Festival. It was about an hour late at the time (ended up 2), and there wasn't a lot of enthusiasm going around. My mind was blank and so out of focus, then all at once, I realised there was actually an incredible sunset, and it was shining on this massive tree. So, I sat on my own beside a fence, took this photo, smiled, and waited another hour before sleeping on a bus.

Here's a photo of Nat, Minnie, and Angus from There's a Tuesday, playing sweet sounds in the sun at twominds launch party… what a crazy time that ended up being (for varying reasons)! It was so special during the day – getting to enjoy the environment we had created out of couches, the OpSoc stage and curtains… heaps of curtains actually! And getting serenaded by the voices of Nat & Minnie made that even more special!

Pictured here are four Land Rovers parked at Te Oka Bay, on the Peninsula. My toes had gotten cold, so I got out of the water and got dry, sat in the grass beside the road and took some photos. When I walked back to the car park, there were about 40 Land Rovers parked there – and I was so confused! 'Why has this happened? But I'm stoked it has' sorta feeling. Here are four real classic ones!

Dan Stewart capturing feeling with film