Daniel Atkinson and his sisters Sarah (left) and Katie West, with their nana Christine at a wedding 15 years ago in Te Awamutu. The picture has turned up in a camera sold at a Tauranga op shop.
A Tauranga student's $5 op shop purchase has turned into a treasure trove of reconnections.
Two months ago, Georgia Browne walked into a Tauranga op shop and bought an old Samsung Vega 170 for $5.
The camera still had film inside it and Georgia thought she'd scored a real bargain.
It wasn't until she received her first set of prints she realised exactly how priceless the camera was.
"There were all these old wedding photos on the roll.
"I thought they must belong to someone."
Georgia posted a selection of the photos on Facebook, explaining where she had found the images.
"Please message me if you know the people in the pictures and I will send you the rest of the reel," she wrote.
Georgia was hoping she would find the people in the pictures, but not really expecting to.
She definitely hadn't expected the number of reactions the photos received.
"So many people shared [the post]. Everyone was really helping me to find out who the photos belonged to."
Daniel Atkinson was on holiday with his wife Kodie in Rarotonga when he turned on his mobile phone data and received a confusing surprise.
"I got a message from a mate who I hadn't seen in ages.
"She was like, 'Isn't this you?' "
Then Daniel found Georgia's Facebook post.
Daniel said it was "random as hell" to see himself as a 13-year-old groomsman 15 years ago.
"These people are me and my family," Daniel commented on the post.
"I have no idea how it managed to get into an op shop."
Also in the photos are his sisters Katie and Sarah West, who were flower girls at the family wedding.
The children grew up in Ōhaupō where the family still operate a beekeeping business.
Daniel, now a 28-year-old apprentice electrician, "vaguely" remembers that wedding day.
"It was my uncle's wedding.
"I remember getting ready for [the wedding] and standing around a lot.
"My uncle laughed when I told him about the photos. He said it was real hard case."
Daniel asked Georgia to mail the reel to his sister Katie who is in Te Awamutu, where the wedding had taken place.
She knew straight away where the wedding had taken place – 15 years ago it was Taylor's Restaurant but now it is the office of accounting firm Findex Te Awamutu where she works.
Daniel is keeping electronic copies of the images, but said the experience had been great for reconnecting with old friends.
"I got a lot of messages from people I haven't talked to for a while."
Georgia was amazed by how far the little Samsung camera had travelled.
"The wedding happened in Te Awamutu. I bought the camera in Tauranga and Daniel lives in Taupō.
"I guess the world really is a small place."
• If you took the photos of the wedding or have information about the camera's original owner please email dean.taylor@nzme.co.nz
As the year draws to a close, Waikato Herald is taking stock of 2024.