(Email readers, please view online… too many photos for the email limit).

I recently boxed up all the cheap film cameras I've been buying from charity shops on eBay, most purchased for less than £30/€36/$40, to sell to my local camera shop,the brilliant https://www.soperphotographic.co.uk/ in Plymouth, Devon, UK.

I've been trying different budget SLRs, rangefinders and point and shoots to see what I enjoyed using. I've narrowed it down to keeping a Minolta x-500 (SLR), a Fuji D300 (point and shoot with flash) and a konika auto S3 (rangefinder). But when I came to box up my other little rangefinder, a Ricoh 500G, I noticed that the shot counter said 26. It's sale would have to wait. So a spare 40mins in London this week offered up an opportunity to finish the roll.

Until I received the scans back from https://www.filmprocessing.co.uk/ yesterday, I had no idea how long that roll was in the camera it what was on it. It turns out the roll began on the 1st August 2006 and finished this week 22nd October 2026.

Therefore there is no series, no project, no rhythm or reason to these photos, beyond what caught my attention at the time and place.

I've included the underexposed, the overthought and the utterly uninspiring. I have posted of edited selection on the gram:

As for the camera, the Ricoh 500G? I think I will keep it for now. I will change the light seals. Some of these shots are actually sharp. It's small, pocketable but an absolute bastard to focus.

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Kodak Gold200 135

As always, I'd love to read your thoughts.

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Always a great event, especially for photography. Nudge Community volunteer to build to build spaces and revise empty buildings on Union Street, Plymouth to make places for all. Every September, an army of volunteers work to put on the Union Street Party “It’s a day full of music, activities, food, performances, and local makers selling their wares!”.

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P.A.R.T…Y?

For me, it's a brilliant day to switch off from the world and see people of all shapes and sizes enjoying an afternoon to randomness. I love photographing it. Here’s a post with some of my photos from last year

This year, I ventured into the world of medium format, with a 645 for a whacking 15 shots per roll. I have a lot of lean and and still throwing away precious photo space of the film roll so this was the perfect place to practice

It's bloody sharp

These are from my newly purchased Mamiya 645 pro, with the 80mm lens for those that care (I do). It's sharp, if you can focus. Im using it with a waist level view finder, which I struggling to get used to the reversed image, and seeing the focus screen it bright light is taking some getting used to. But I love using it.

Tried a couple of street portraits, but need a wider lens for the type I like to take. Hope to have a 28mm equivalent soon.

I post a few photos here, would love to read what you think.

Would really love a share it you can, thankyou!

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I post alot on the socials (too much, not good for my sanity). Like most, I only post what I want others to see. Curated, often with careful thought into the sequencing they appear and which one I use to share. (I know, your now thinking that those of mine youve seen that thought behind them? They're his best? Good grief).

I'm not alone with this. Most of us know it but many of us don't embrace it. If you're just starting out, it's vital to understand.

Of course it's obvious, but it's important to state that most of my photos don't see the light of day. Underexposed, cut off heads/feet, blown highlights, and the ‘what on earth was I thinking?! You know full well how bloody expensive film is and yet you pressed click for that??!! Bloody hell!!’ photos.

There's gold in them there shite

So here’s another bloody obvious statement. These are important photos, they have value. They're an important part of what I do. I get to practice, fail and learn. I often enjoy the process despite the bitter disappointment when I get my scans back. Do yourself a favour, pause and remind yourself of this.

When I started to take my photography a bit more seriously, I was chasing perfection. I wrote before about coming from the landscape world to street photography. Landscape has alot of perfection, often too perfect, too formulaic.

Fuck Perfection

Escaping perfection was one of the reasons I was attracted to street photography, despite not yet knowing that street photography was a thing. However, I carried over with me the desire to be perfect. Perfect light, shadows, strong colours, no digital noise, the largest sensor and lenses I could afford. Dreaming over those I couldn't. While all the time looking at amazing photographs on screens and in books.

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It took me far too long to learn to embrace uncertainty. Film photography with it's many quirks helped with this. I learned to look more at the moments, the stories in my frames. What I thought was perfect, what I was chasing was just technical aspects. They added nothing to the feelings you get from looking at the images.

We hear this alot, because it really does matter. Do not judge your photos against others. It's not easy, subconsciously we all will. Instead look to learn from others. The greats are great for a reason but took many, many mediocre (when viewed in isolation). Looking at contract sheets can be eye opening. Although annoyingly, I recently saw some of Martin Parr's contact sheets for his The Last Resort book. All the photos were great. The hard part was selecting one image from the many good. But that's a rarity. Look at contract sheets, Zines, meet up with other photographers if you can. You'll learn what makes them click (literally) and that their good photo comes from a package of trail and error.

You Do You

Nowadays, i'm moving towards series of photos, rather than single images. Seeing a series can add to the story and often reveals more about why the photographer was there taking photos than an isolated frame. Without taking away some of the mystery of a great photo. I don't see revealing the magic tricks secret as detrimental. For me, seeing the process adds to the wonder.

So, in the words, barked at us every day at the Submarine school “go forth and enlighten yourself”. Get out there and click. Stop worrying at your work. If the technical aspects in photography matter to you, great. Remind yourself that your favourite photographer's perfect photos are dots amongst a sea of mediocre and technical failures. So you're photos of that person, isolated in a beam of light, walking past a wall lacks emotion? So what. That series there's a great story told in that frame against that wall, is coming.

You do you.

I'd love to see your thoughts.

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Gold?

You may have spotted something unusual about the above photo. The eagle eyed amongst you would have noticed the lack of warmth, traditionally delivered with the stock mentioned in the caption, Kodak Gold200. You know, that very well known colour negative film.

Well, how about this one.

That easily recognisable, due to the halation, tungsten-balanced colour negative film. But there's that word again: colour

I can feel the disgust from the purists already. At least from those who's heart hasn't just suddenly cracked. So what the frig is going on.

Film snobbery

I moved to film to slow down, to feel more, to think before snapping. I always enjoyed being out on the streets. Observing moments, hunting moments and capturing moments. The instant kick when you think you caught something unique. A quick glance at the rear screen would bring me straight back down to earth, no problem, back out I go. Then home to Lightroom. That digital image has so much potential, so much to play and experiment with. I loved post-processing. But it was all lacking, I just didn't notice until I grabbed a film camera.

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Film is pretty much the same. The wondering, the looking, the joys, the blanks, the mis-fires. A bit of a delay before the photosare received, then to Lightroom. But the process of using a film camera adds so much. This isn't new or un-surprising, I know. I have since tried digital, but it meant little to me. The magic was missing. What did suprise me was how much was gone.

Un-pure

We all know about film vs digital, we’ve heard people like me bang on about it time and time and time again, whatever, you do you. I only repeat it now, as I wanted to stress that Im not primary shooting film for the negatives, the retro vibes, the tones, although, they are bloody good. It's the process that excites me. I'm already conditioned to the crushing disappointment from seeing my photos, it's just more costly now. Both result in me looking at a digital image, that has so much potential, so much to play and experiment with. So I do.

You Do You

I long stopped trying to please others with my photos. If I'm out, I'm looking for the unique, the emotions, people enjoying life. When Im home, I looking at post photos with new eyes. Playing, testing, over cooking and converting to black and white. I love it all.

So why not shoot black and white? I do. Not often. I've trained myself to see scenes in colour. I really struggle to do this at the time, to see in black and white, to know what works (I see many that do not).

It's only after the fact, when taking my time, can I see what does work in mono, well at least to my taste. I imagine with enough practice, I will convert less in post, and shoot more live at the time.

But for now, I'll continue to do what I love, whether exposing film, or clicking in Lightroom. If you're curious, give it a go. Lower those highlights, if you wish, raising ethose shadows, why not. Go from colour to black and white? Fuck it.

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Banish me from film if you wish, just as long as you do you.

Laters.

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I try to keep my photography opinions to myself, unless you buy me a pint. They can be off putting to others, a little gate keepingary. For example, I don't like labels but I understand the importance of them. I don't like reading ‘hot takes’ on Threads, but I sometimes agree with them. Understanding others opinions can be helpful. Hopefully this one might be.

Landscape and street photography

Before street stuff grabbed me, I used to point my camera at landscapes. But it was always humans or the evidence of human emotions and life that hooked me. I began starting to try and get people in the frame. At first for a sense of scale, then to capture people looking and enjoying the landscapes. Maybe a red phone box, maybe an old building. Eventually less grass and more tarmac, sometimes sand.

Embrace Uncertainty

Photographing landscapes became boring. Being out and about was great. But it became repetitive, always chasing the same elements. Leading lines, s shapes, foreground, mid and background elements, adding a radial gradient to the sun, only going out in the mornings or late to catch the dying sun. It became clinical, nothing stood out. Always chasing perfection.

There are some amazing landscape photographers that do something unique, adding their own style but they are few. I’m not shitting on the rest. People capturing beautiful scenery of our amazing world is great. More often wonderful then not. But it's not for me to do. Maybe because i wasn’t any good at it.

Now, street is hard, very, very fucking hard. Something else I’m not any good at. But I love it and I will keep going at it.

It’s endless, you could go years without getting a great street photo, if at all. I’m not saying landscape is easy, I certainly wasn’t any good but a nice pretty scene will make a nice pretty photo. Maybe not a special one, but nice either way.

But street is a whole other league above. Gear often matters for landscape photography, not for street. Anything old, new, battered, vintage, digital, film, instant, on your phone. Itt doesn't matter.

Its the most assessable of all photographers. And the most freeing part? Fuck perfection, embrace uncertainty.

Does that make street photographers better? Of course not. Many posting their opinions are pricks. Plenty of old, white male gatekeepers. I hate that. It is changing, slowly. I’m old, white and male, but what I enjoy the most is seeing the world through the eyes of others, I work to encourage this, not restrict it. That means steeping up to help others who don’t have a free pass into this photo world. If you look around, especially outside of your circles and you'll find many wonderful people of all shapes, colours, cultures sharing their world with us all. I bloody love that.

It’s that, that makes street street.

Is the composition skills from landscapes transferable to street? I think so. Layering, light, grouping things in threes, or fives. Not having subjects overlap each other.

But these are all secondary to the human side of things. It’s that, that makes street street. The compositionial elements elevate the photo but without any emotions, without capturing the extraordinary from the ordinary, it’s just a pretty picture. Im ok at pretty pictures, I have yet to get a good street photo. Despite trying for five years. I’ll give it another twenty then will reassess.

If you made it this far, thankyou. It turns out that I didn't have much to say after all but it's refreshing to write it down.

Any thoughts?

Anyway, I added some landscapes to this post, taken at midday in May 2022 in Chile. Converted to BnW in post. The last one (colour version) had a double page spread in The Guardian, that was nice.

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Not alot to say today. I’ve been continuing my 35mm experimenting. This time with Kodak Ektar 100.

I think I have a new contender for my favourite colour 35mm stock, currently Gold200.

Can you suggest anything greater than Kodak's offerings? (It's definitely not Lucky200, that can go in the bin).

Enjoy

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Beer is drank, crisps are munched, bets are placed, ducks are tipped into the village stream.

The stream runs through the quiet Devon Village of Milton Combe, in the edge of Dartmoor, close to the city of Plymouth.

The ducks frequently get stuck, with a brave volunteer walking the stream to help them on their way.

The race must have lasted an hour, no idea who won.

Great beer, great food, great pub, great people, great village, a great day out,

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I'm still finding my way through the costly world of film photography, with all it's pitfalls and rewards. Playing with only 35mm for now, I've started looking for oddities for unique shots. Hoping to learn when and when not to use them.

So far this year I've been using flash in daylight on my little rangefinder. A compact point and shoot, a black and white low contrast phase. And recently, pure bizarre.

Lomography Purple

Kodak Aerochrome has had my attention recently. The images some have captured with it are wonderful. A 35mm roll today would cost you a kidney, so I've been looking around at other options. One of which being Lomography Purple with an orange filter.

The scans came back flat from the lab, which I usually prefer, but in this case, I was conscious that while correcting the colour channel curves, I could completely obscure the true colours captured on the emulsion. Not easy to get right when you can't compare with your memory of the scene.

Also note the marks on each photo. They are not dust. Whatever they are, they're present on the negatives, including on the edge by the sprocket holes. I'm not too fussed as they add to the vibes.

Surprised

It's not anywhere near infrared or Kodak's Aerochrome but those reds are gorgeous! I don't know where or when, but I will be using this combo again for a red scene.

What I failed to do however, was to test without a filter. Next time… maybe.

Harman Switch AZURE

While purpling grass, Harman surprised us with Switch AZURE.

Great timing. For this I tried to grab different colours and scenes, while aware that the film smurfs people’s skin. So I kept smurfs to a minimum.

While fun, I can't see myself returning to this stock anytime soon but isn't it great to have new colour film released in 2026.

Over to you. I love to read and share your thoughts.

Have you tried any of these yourself, any tips?

Anyother bizarreness you can recommend?

As always, that you so much for viewing.

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PiPiP… Hooray!

This idea has been sitting in the back of mind for two years. It took that long for me to get off my arse and to put something together. I'm convinced that many of us who venture outside with a camera in hand are introverts, avoiding social get togethers with strangers as much as possible.

I was one of those but I bit the bullet a while back and went along to some photo walks. While not getting any good photos, the experience of seeing how others view and capture the streets and making some great friends along the way, stuck with me.

Why

Photos on social media last seconds. Viewed once then gone on tiny screens. More often than not, they have disappeared forever. Not deliberately, not from rejection, it's just the nature of the beast. This cannot be good for any of us.

So let's print. Get those photos off our screens and into frame, books, zines, photo albums. If I could get some to print some photos, they may go onto making more photo stuff in print. Photos to be held, views, absorbed in their own time.

How

I'm not a fan of camera clubs. I'm sure that there are some good ones around but little I have seen are clicky, full of rules and ultimately, gatekeepers.

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So I set out to make sure that PiPiP (yes, I am milking that abbreviation), to be as relaxed, informal, free of rules and as welcoming to as many as possible. I want to meet and see the world through the eyes of others, not just a bunch of middle aged white guys like myself. I found that community places lack atmosphere, just not fun, cafes are good but small, where as the pub is a tried and tested place for over a thousand years. That'll do for me.

Where

Pub it is, but which and where?

A few of us in South Devon have been slowly meeting up now and again in Plymouth and Exeter, often looking for new places in-between. So Exeter would make a great city to begin. After some great pub ideas where put forward on WhatsApp, Topsham Brewery was chosen. Big tables, good beer and a pizza van outside that delivers to the pub tables.

Late afternoon was good for avoiding the lunch time families and the evening rush.

However, my choice to be as informal as possible meant, I had no idea how many might turn up. So no tables were booked, pub not informed.

In my mind, it would be just me sat on a table in the corner with a pint and some photos, happy to welcome anyone who wanted to come and say hello.

So I put the word out, created the Instagram @photographyinprintinthepub (PiPiP was taken!) Daniel Ridge ( @idridge) can driven alot of th south Devon get togethers and created the growing @PhotoClubDevon group on Instagram. Greg Johnson (@gregj.jpeg) who has done some great work while volunteering at Fotonow in Plymouth had set up @PlymPhotoSocials . Both groups shared the PiPiP event. I did the odd post here on Substack, as well as Instagram and Threads.

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I did sneak in one request, to select and bring five of your favourite photos from 2025 in 6x4 prints. Prints are cheap and easy to obtain nowadays and having to choose only five makes you really think. Gets you to see your photos with fresh eyes. This wasn't a requirement of course, bring what you can.

There was alo more interest than expected. Exeter locals were dispatched to arrive early to secure tables.

Luckily, we grabbed the two long tables. I counted over 22 people.

It was great. I got the feeling that everyone had a great time. Many meeting each other for the first time. Especially great to see some women photographers there. I always try to break down the stupid barriers put up (mostly unwittingly) by us guys. Like I said, I want to see the world through other peoples eyes, not just those similar to me.

What next

A massive thankyou to everyone they came along to the pub and made it is a fun afternoon/evening. Thankyou to Daniel and Greg for getting word out and to Topsham Brewery and Portal Pizza for looking after us.

Plymouth is next up. Mainly so that I can use PiPiPiP.

Likely in June/July, avoiding the World Cup (pubs will be rammed). Pub, date and time to be confirmed in the next few months.

All welcome!!!!!!!

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Share Lloyd Hunt

Meet Jilly

The sun decided to appear on the first Saturday of 2026 in Plymouth, England. My photo mate Daniel (@idridge), trained down for a bimble, walking around parts of Plymouth he had yet to see.

I previously posted about my 2025 goal of approaching strangers on the street to request that I take their portrait, and how I only had positive experiences from this.

I still enjoy and try traditional street photography. As in, capturing a scene without an interaction from me. A scene as it was.

After I took the above, I approached to say hello and to ask for a portrait (this sadly did not come out very well). Jilly, as she introduced herself, was a photographer but had sadly not touched a camera for eight years, since her husband had sadly passed away.

Jilly still enjoyed walking and often along this particular coastal walk, so why not take her camera? Well, her digital camera required a computer of some sort which she no longer had. Also, the rules and formalities of ‘camera clubs’ which she used to belong was off putting.

We spoke of how we avoid the ‘rules’ and gatekeeping often associated with camera groups and how we meet up with others for chilled, non judgemental chats and bimbles. Getting out and about.

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What a shame it is, that Jilly would be out in these beautiful places, with taking any photos.

We eventually said our goodbyes, with me and Dan going onto focus on an empty swimming pool, as you do.

Inspired

While lining up the shadows in the pool, exposing for highlights, Jilly came and found us to say that she couldn't stop thinking about what we had discussed, that we had inspired her to pick up her camera again! She knew a friend who had a pc and the know-how to get the photos from a memory card, make quick edits and make ready for printing.

I could not stop smiling.

I'm often surprised when I witness positive reactions from me sticking a camera is peoples faces but they do happen. But this one seemed to have made a real difference to someone, albeit minor.

Thankyou Jilly

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I love street photography, particularly capturing people enjoying the outdoors, be it on a beach, street or a bench.

But as a large hairy, 6’2” guy, I can't simply blend into the street. I have no choice but to own it. Which I don't mind at all. It does make capturing good candid street photography tricky but It also means that I'm not being ‘sneaky’ or ‘underhand’ or god forbid ‘creepy’. I would be horrified If something I did as a hobby made someone feel uncomfortable.

Early this year, deep into my switch to film photography, I made a choice to approach strangers in public and get their portraits. The ideal was that it fitted into my love for capturing live in the streets, ok not candid, but not set up. Their outfits wasn't chosen for a photo shoot, no mirror looked into or hairbrushed use. A true portrait of that person(s) at that moment in their lifes.

Building Resolve

The main reason for approaching strangers however was selfishly, to help me. I wanted to build confidence, not being afraid to have my camera present and ready to bring up to my eye. Build a suit of armour to protect against rejection and suspicion with the hope that these improved tools can be used to capture great street photography. Well, that last part has still yet to happen but I have improved my self belief.

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Rejection!

My confidence has improved, I discovered an ability to strike up conversations with strangers, I bought myself a few extra seconds to compose a frame, dial in the manual focus, test new (to me) technics such as flash photography but most surprisingly, I didn't get to test rejection. I spent the year approaching so many people in all different environments and scenarios but only one single person said no. Which was fine of course!

My other surprise was that immediately after taking a strangers photo, I felt a little joy. I could see that the people who allowed me to interrupt their day, more often than not, had a smile on their faces. I made their day. I expected the suspicion to linger and still be present, maybe it does a little, but knowing that I made their day a little better is great.

Under Pressure

The pressure however, was the most surprising element that I never saw coming.

These people allowed me to interrupt their private moments, their breaks, pause their journeys for me. They listened and then allowed me to capture them onto film without any preparation. So do… not… mess... it... up!!!! Do not let them down!!! Make sure that they are in focus! Remove the bloody lens cap from your rangefinder. And get that roll developed asap so that they can see the photos themselves.

I naively didn't predict that film would add a extra layer of pressure to street portraits of strangers. I can't immediately turn the camera around and show them the display of the photo. I can't immediate recognise that I missed the focus and can then quickly re-focus and retake.

2026

What next? Well I won't stop street portraits. My passion is still for classic street photography but I really enjoy capturing strangers portraits. I will aim to use flash more and more, trying on and off camera shots. I preferred the full body in frame, environmental portraits as opposed to close ups, so will definitely focus on that. Hopefully with a medium format camera.

What about you? Are you trying anything new on the streets? You don't have to of course. Continuing the neverending goal of capturing a truly great street photography is tricky enough and could take decades. So the important thing is that you do you.

For me, street portraits have greatly benefited me but will no downsides, you have nothing to lose. If you can, give it a go. Ones fears are not easy to overcome, I understand if you choose to not approach strangers.

Top Tip!

If are on the fence or unsure on how to go about approaching strangers, start with dogs. Us dog owners love to show off our little and large furballs. Go to the owner and mention and good, cute, pretty, fun, amazing their dog looks. Maybe ask them what breed it is? Then follow up with asking to take a photo of the dog. Take it, then step back a little and recompose to include the owner in the frame. That will it mine at all.

You get to meet a dog, approach a stranger without issue, and get a photo.

I would love to hear your thoughts and see your photos!

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Well, instead of staying in and going through old photos (or worst: Instagram!) and complaining, a great motivational tactic is to get off your arse and visit your local events! Just don't forget your camera.

Local events, community shows, parties, dog shows, local village fetes, derbys, rodeos, burning effigies of Catholics on bonfires (see UK 5th November celebrations) all have something to offer: fresh air, motivation, photos, often food, sometimes beer and plenty of oddities. Importantly, uniqueness! Only available to those of you there at that time.

Those of you with a camera in hand, who like capturing street moments will get opportunities to get some truly unique photographs. People will be putting themselves outhere in public, most will welcome being photographed. If you have been considering but holding back on approaching people for their portraits, just smile and ask those taken part and performing. You get a great photo and will often make the subjects day.

Lack of motivation

Im confused about my photography and my feelings towards it. It is something that I really enjoy. Particularly being out there and searching, observing and hoping capturing something special. Of course, the disappointment often appears with the developed negatives appear throwing away a load of money, but that doesn't take away from the joy photography gives me. It is genuinely therapeutic.

So then, why is it often a struggle to get out and about?

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I get moments where I completely lack motivation for photography, often lasting months. This isn't new, it's something ive had for many, many years.

But I have learned to focus on three scenarios to combat the lack of motivation and get snapping:

1, go on holiday… relaxed, no work, somewhere new, all good but not always possible

2, meet up with other photographers and go for a bumble, hopefully a pint. I believe most of us street (I hate the label but it does a job) photographers are introverts. So meeting and shooting with others can be off putting but trust me, it's worth trying. Seeing how they approach scenes, discussing techniques, sharing experiences, seeing the world through the eyes of others really helps.

3, The point of this post… local events!

Not only photos unique to you but you get to show the world the event through your eyes.

Get them in your calendar, set reminders.

Let me know your thoughts and share your stuff below 👇 if you have already captured an event.

I'll leave you with some more photos from this year's Union Street Community Party, which took place in Plymouth, UK on the 21st September 2025.

It's actually the 16th Union Street Party. I've been a few times, but the last one I actually photographed was back in 2022. I wrote about the event here as I managed to get some of my favourite photos. I need to follow my advice and get to next year’s.

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Laters.

There are dates in history when everything changed. Where the period before and the time that followed are distinct. Days when one of many genies were let out of the bottle.

For photography, there are many of these for which we can consider as definite:

• 2nd August 1839: Louis Daguerrea demonstrated the daguerreotype process.

• 5th November 1955: Dr. Emmett Brown bumped his head and had a vision of the flux capacitor.

• 19th February 1990: Photoshop 1.0 is released.

• 29th August 1997: Skynet gained sentienced.

• xx xx 202x?: Photo realistic image generation

Well, we have recently passed another date. A day which we can point at and know that any photos taken before that date were pre-AI.

A day for which before we can trust that every photo came from a camera lens of some sort but have to question their method of generation after?

Will the time before AI be viewed with fondness? A time we know we can never return to. A time kids will become fed up of us hearing us constantly reminisce about, as I now do with pre-mobile phones.

Or am I looking back through sepia tinted lens filters and being over dramatic. Maybe.

What is AI as we understand it today? The term AI is thrown around very loosely, mostly incorrectly, including here in my thoughts. But I'm particularly referring to photo realistic generationed images.

So when was this day, the day for which we can trust every photo taken before but have to question their method of generation after?

ChatGPT was released 30th November 2022. Examples of text to image generation appeared around 2015, AI was producing artistic work in the 1960s. Generative models using deep learning appeared in the 2010s.

The exact date may be impossible to pinpoint but the era of publically assessable, realistic photographic images is now. And it's growing fast, very, very fast. I would say the day was post covid.

Where is it going and how rough will the ride be, we have no idea. I still think we are in the very early days of figuring out how to best harness the world wide web in our everyday lives. How do we even begin to return to a place where we can trust photos again?

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Silly shower thoughts I know.

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Credit to Álvaro Alberto who's recent brilliant post on The problem with film photography inspired me to write about my complaints here.

Last week I took a well needed break in the arse end of Cornwall, England. This was for my wife and I to rest and enjoy the coast, with that in mind, I totally forgot to grab my blank film rolls from the fridge. Bugger.

That left me with about 8 shots remaining on the gold 200 in my little Konika and my old favourite, my Fujifilm X-T30.

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Where's the on button?

I used to love my Fuji, it went everywhere with me, allowed me to embrace my love for colour and let me push those into the slightly surreal in Lightroom.

A year ago i tried a return to film after a couple of decades break, i have barely charged my digital camera at all. I took it with me on a Family break in Sweden over Christmas due to their neverending nights, but barely used it. I took it with my on a couple of photo walks this year, but it never left my bag.

And I packed it for this trip to Cornwall. 8 clicks into my trip, out it came.

After faffing around with different ISO settings, accidental button presses, focusing the viewfinder, it slowly came back to me. I did enjoy using 1/1000th shutter speeds and faster (electronic shutter), and I'll admit, it was a joy once again to have fast autofocus. You may have read my previous posts on my struggle with focusing on my little Konika rangefinder.

But thats about it.

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I like the results, some of which are posted here but not the experience.

I felt no connection to the photos. I wasn't bothered if i got anything good ot not. No wonderment as to what i would see later on my monitor. It was like using a tool for a job, not a camera for fun.

Film photography snobs can be insufferable and I've now joined the club. Damnit.

I'll be back to posting about my film experiences as its what i enjoy. I use Substack for enjoyment, at my own pace, on my own time. I did enjoy the digital results,.so am sharing them here.

Let me know your thoughts.

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Laters

I jumped on the analogue band wagon, along with many others, around a year ago. I can't recall exactly when, and I can't really look at the meta data, only the date when I first received an email containing a link to download my first ever scans.

I do remember being more nervous than i expected, will any be in focus? Did i expose correctly? Did i really pay that much?

Exposure

I started photography as a kid in the 80s but never learned the basics of using light. But looking back at the holiday snaps i took, there was something in the composure.

Last year after years of digital snapping, I was confident in my knowledge of exposure settings. What to do if I wanted to freeze movement but keep the whole scene in focus, how to reduce digital noise or to just embrace it, when at a gig for example.

But I never really tested my camera ‘skills’ until I shot on film once again. This time, not with point and shoots or disposable cameras (not that there is anything wrong with using these) but with a fully manual SLR.

As I started to download my first scans, I genuinely felt the pressure I had put onto myself for no reason, stupid I know. But you know what? I did ok.

But what really surprised me the most after shooting only on film for a year…. It doesn't matter. Fuck perfection.

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Embrace Uncertainty

I've posted before with my un-original thoughts on how film forces you to slow down, the fun from the analogue experience, the cost etc. You will have heard this all hundreds of times.

But it is the imperfections and quirks that I most enjoy. It took a few rolls and plenty of mistakes before I learned to accept this. Now I embrace the out of focus dogs rushing towards my lens. The light leaks I tried and failed to patch. Even the time I popped open the rear of my camera, only to suddenly realise that I hadn't rewinding the bloody film!

It's all part of the fun. I'm not shooting for a company, I'm not shooting for anyone else, only me. I like the results.

So, get out there and fuck up. Develop, scan and smile. Embrace Uncertainty.

So what's next? Medium format: more expensive cameras, less shots, let's roll!

I'll leave you with some of my favourites from my first year, here's to many more.

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I'm still exclusively using film. That's not a flex (it would be a very stupid one), just an description of where I am in this lifelong photographic experiment. But the cost of film and processing has caught up with me, forcing to a) slow down (again) and b) I've began carrying my digital camera (a fuji x-t30) with me for the first time this year.

But i have yet to turn my digital on, besides confirming that its charged.

Trope-y Cliché

I know its a trope, or a cliché? or something? but there really is something about the process of taking a photo with a film camera and viewing the end result.

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Nearly a year on from me wondering if i can focus (still debatable) and correctly expose (film is very forgiving if you over expose) on film. I only intended to dabble and play with analogue but i am still here… and seriously complentating medium format at eight to ten shots per roll, madness. I may never financially recover. Another want to buy any prints?

Arrr me hearties!

This day was alo the beginning of Plymouth’s Pirates Weekend!

I love Pirates Weekend, especially when the sunshines.

See my previous post on this:

https://open.substack.com/pub/lloydy110/p/underhand-unfair-and-damned-un-english

Its becoming more popular by the year which led to me struggling to photograph it this time. Street photography to me (side note: i am not a big fan of labels as i often see them used by middle-aged white guys, like me, to gatekeep. But i recognise that its important to define genres. But we should also let them be organic, grow, change and adapt) is about freezing moments of life often missed by many. Making images of interest from the mundane, and normality of everyday life.

But it was sooo crowded. Finding the gems amongst the chaos was very difficult. Normally at this point it would have been a case of ‘if you can't beat them, join them’ and find a pub. But some good photographer friends had travelled down on the train for a photo walk around Plymouth so we persevered for a bit, before then hitting a pub for a swift pint, then escaping the crowds.

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Top tip!

As good photographers, we kept the sun behind us leading to sunburn on the back of our heads and necks. Use sunscreen peeps!

And a final bonus tip, don't open the rear of your camera before winding the film back into its canister.

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I'm still enjoying my little rangefinder. I've tried and failed to fully patch the light leaks but am happy to accept the little weirdness that sometimes attaches to my photos. The camera is still light, still pocketable. Still super sharp…

…However, I'm not finding the focusing fun. At 1/500, the camera will open up the aperture for you, meaning the chance of me missing the focusing becomes increases. The short throw of the focus lever leaves little room for error.

I'm still surprised at the distance markings of the lens. It turns out that like many men, I'm really poorly at estimating lengths.

Oh, that's definitely 3 metres. Focus, check focus, check markings… 5 meters.

Ok, this is clearly 2 meters. Focus, check focus, check markings… a touch under 5 meters. Bollocks!

Adamant that the lens if somehow ‘off’. I confirmed with a tape measure and a laser measure. It turns out that the camera never lies. Bugger.

I started to long for a bit of autofocus, so I charged my digital camera for the first time since last year and carried it with me alongside my Konika. But I never touched it. I enjoy my little Konika too much.

More time needed.

The following are all from this month, mainly with Gold200. Some with Portra160.

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That Swedish spring in Jämtland was an odd one. Snow was still to be seen as we crossed over the rural border from Norway into Sweden, while 26°C was displayed on the car’s outside thermometer.

This meant gorgeous sunshine, sunglasses and t-shirts, until we visited the outdoor craft fair at the Jamtli museum, when the temp quickly dropped to 5°C plus some added windchill just for fun. Cue many regretting to bring a jacket with them after being fooled by the previous days false summer. Note, a lake swim is very not recommended at that time of year with the mountain snow melting into the water, trust me.

Colour

Jamtli, a history, art and culture museum with a focus on the Jämtland region’s cultural history, host a Spring Fair towards the end of each May.

For me that meant a nice day out, new experiences but most importantly, plenty of people enjoying life, with plenty of colour.

This was before I returned to film, so a Fujifilm X-T30 with a xf23mm it was.

Kolbulle

This stylish lady and the gentlemen at the fire were making Kolbulle, A traditional Nordic dish with pork, cooked directly in a frying pan over an open fire.

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Honestly? I want a fan, still nice to try

Market

Crafts

And finally, ducks on slide

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