From Te Awamutu to Tauranga: Old wedding photos found in $5 op shop camera

Apprentice electrician Daniel Atkinson (right) said it was random to see his younger self as a groomsman. Photo / Supplied

One 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 Browne 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 Browne bought an old film camera for $5 from an op shop and discovered it already had film inside. Photo / George Novak

Browne 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.

Browne 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 Atkinson found Browne's Facebook post.

Atkinson said it was "random as hell" to see himself as a 13-year-old groomsman 15 years ago.

Apprentice electrician Daniel Atkinson (right) said it was random to see his younger self as a groomsman. Photo / Supplied

"These people are me and my family," Atkinson commented on the post.

"I have no idea how it managed to get into an op shop."

The now 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."

Georgia Browne with her $5 op shop camera. Photo / George Novak

Atkinson asked Browne to mail the reel to his sister in Te Awamutu, where the wedding had taken place.

Atkinson himself 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 awhile."

Browne 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."