Falling back in love with film

I’ve been overthinking - like I do - about why I’ve struggled with film so much recently. One is the weight of equipment physically, I just can’t carry as much for as long anymore thanks to chronic illness (anyone have any tips for light film cameras they looooove?). So I’ve been using my phone and then not sharing photos anywhere (second question - would people mind me sharing digital phone photos here..? Would I mind, I used to… Hmm, I’ll over think on it) But the other thing - the thing I couldn’t figure out wasn’t as obvious until I found the right photo that highlighted the issue and here it is…

Looking at this photo, my first thought was ‘Eeep!! Look at the colours on that!’ and then my second was ‘there is no way I could have got those colours scanning this film myself’. And I realised, that I hadn’t fallen out of love with film photography but instead with all the other ‘stuff’ that goes with it. I got caught up in the ‘internet prestige’ (for lack of a better term) of developing and scanning photos myself… and I didnt realise how much I really chuffing disliked it haha.

There is something so infruitating about scanning colour film that honestly makes me ragey to my gut, everytime something is too green, or too purple, I want to punch a wall. And there is something about dust particles on a scanned film that you’ve wiped a million times with the right kind of cloth and blown on the scanner with the stupid puffer thing that makes me want to scream. Perhaps if I had the time, money and effort to dedicate to a better scanner and scanning programme I would do it better. But then again, probably not… I am a perfectionist and in doing a process and not getting it 100% as I wanted, I just wasn’t enjoying myself anymore.

Thankfully - Take It Easy Lab opened in Leeds around the same time that I had a crack at developing film myself and ended up loosing two films to the chemicals - and suddenly I had a local film business to support that I was more than happy to send my money to! And here we are, I have a photo that I’m absolutely thrilled with, a process that is a lot easier, less stressful and a much happier sense of self for it.

Camera: Olympus OM-10
Film: Fuji Superia 200
Location: Sandilands, Lincolnshire
Developed by: Take it Easy lab (not an ad, just a very grateful nod to them for saving my sanity)

p.s. I hope my prestige isn’t too damaged by this revelation… eep

Trying new films - Dubblefilm Jelly!

Hi all! Its been a while since I’ve been around as I decided to take the Summer off after a crazy grueling couple of months finishing off my first year of University (I got a 1st woop). Luckily I have been beavering away in the back ground, slowly updating all my old blog posts with Flickr links to Squarespace uploads (all film photo posts from 2011-2015 - I’ve done a year and a half so far) and sorting out the photos that I’ve taken this year ready to share with you when I was ready. And today is that day.

I can’t quite believe my luck at being contacted by amazing people at the moment and recently Analogue Wonderland contacted me about trying some new films. I said ‘yes please…’ followed of course by ‘thank you so much’ (being that I’m terribly British) and as well as being so generous, Paul at Analogue Wonderland has been incredibly patient with me knowing all the work I’ve had to do and also forgiving to the fact that I nearly broke one of the films that I was sent (I’m pretty sure its ok, we’ll see - its all part of the fun!)

As I’ve been going through my blog archives (I personally think I peaked in 2011/2012, so thanks for hanging around lol) I realised that I haven’t been that adventurous with film lately - and the first film I chose is so far beyond my current comfort zone that I’m surprised by the extent of how much I LOVE the results! So lets have a look at Dubblefilms Jelly.

Oh my, are you swooning? I’m swooooning at these. Those colours! Just wow! I tried to take a variety of photos to really test this film thoroughly and I love them all - the close details, the further away landscapes, the sneaky photo of a painter. Just LOVE them - I will 100% be buying this film at some point because its just so fun. The film stock has also been upgraded from 24 exposures to 36 which I’m very excited about.

I will also add that this film was super easy to scan too with very consistent results, I barely tweaked them at all. And that folks, is a winner for me. Colour film can be an absolute pain to scan, so brownie points all round for an easy experience.

Before being contacted by Analogue Wonderland I was looking at their store with interest as not only do they have such fun films to try, they also have really reasonable postage prices (both in the UK and around the world, I checked for you) and I also see them actively engaging with the #believeinfilm community on Twitter which is wonderful too.

So, are you usually a fan of such colourful and quirky films now? I will confess that I originally thought they were a bit gimmicky - but now that I’ve tried them, I’m totally converted and with 6 Dubblefilm films to chose from, you can’t go wrong!

Camera: Canon EOS 750
Film: Dubblefilm Jelly (generously gifted to me by Analogue Wonderland - do check them out, they’re fab!)
Location: Various places around Yorkshire (I love living here)

Pretty things I saw but didn't buy...

I've been trying to not as spend as much money lately - so this means, no more buying things I don't need - even if they are super lovely. So on our recent visit to the Art Cafe in Glanford, I took photos of things instead and actually, I think I might have had more fun doing that!

 Although that last scarf nearly broke my resolve, look at those colours! But I'm so pleased that I managed to catch the colours here at least.

Camera: Minolta X-500
Film: Lomo 400 CN
Location: The Art Cafe, Norfolk

Colourful York

One of the things I love about my Yashica Samurai is the zoom, the carousel photo was taken from over the road but you wouldn't be able to tell as I zoomed in!

I also felt super awkward taking the last photo in case the woman behind the flowers saw me (she didn't phew) but look at how lovely the colours of the pansies are! Worth it.

Camera: Yashica Samurai
Film: Agfa Vista 200
Location: York, England