Photography: Random film prints

I love finding a random roll of film that I forgot to get developed in the bottom of my bag, not remembering when I finished the roll and what on earth is actually on it. I finally got round to getting this roll developed today, all photos taken with my Holga over the past year, most of which I had totally forgotten that I had taken. I love the striking colours the Holga tends to produce in bright sunlight, as well as the softness, or slight blur, that appears in most prints. My favourites are definitely the ones taken by the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco last year, mainly because the blues are so dense and pretty, and also because it is one of my favourite places to be in the world. I must make it one of my goals to use my Holga and Canon AE-1 more often this year - and then wait a while to develop the films so that I get more nice surprises.
Link to the full set below.

Film 2013, a set on Flickr.

Photography: Randomly in Spring

 

I finally have that FujiFilm XE-1 camera that I have wanted for so long... Bit the bullet and spent the money on it and I can't say that I am disappointed at all! It really is like using an old manual SLR (a lot like the Canon AE-1 film SLR that I have been using over the past few years), with all of the additional DSLR settings that you could wish for, including a "film simulation" setting, which produces photos that look like they have been taken with a film SLR. It's kind of like the best of both worlds for me, who still prefers to shoot film rather than digital, but don't have the time to develop rolls of film anymore. Or even the space really to store all of the prints I have.

The only issue I found was that I randomly got a "lens control error" the other day and couldn't take any photos anymore. I let the camera sit for a day, removed the lens and put it back on, flipped all the switches and dials, turned it into the fully manual mode, and the error message disappeared. It appears that this is a regular issue with this model, which is a little disappointing, but if you can't fix it yourself Fuji will service it pretty fast for you. I am just glad I took out an extra warranty on the camera, especially as it's not as sturdy as the Canon Rebel.

Anyway... Here are some of the first pictures I have taken on my new camera (see set below). I need to take it out more and play around with it, and find the perfect settings, but for now I am pretty happy with what it can do. I am still wondering if I should bring it with me on my trip this weekend, or just take the Canon. I am worried that I will get another lens error and be stuck taking photos on my iPhone all weekend. I may just go with the trusty older camera and leave the new one for other adventures.

Randomly in Spring, a set on Flickr.

Real winter in orange and yellow

Film - Orange/Yellow, a set on Flickr.

I've been working so hard on my novel and working hard at my jobs, so I haven't really had too much time to post on my blog this week. I was perusing some old photo albums on my Flickr and found this one from January 2011... We've had such a mild winter this year that looking back at these makes me realise how lucky we have been!

These were all taken with my Canon AE-1, using a 35mm ISO 100 Lomo negative film without flash. Most in Mastic Beach on Long Island before my mum moved back to California, but some in NYC. I miss using my AE-1 and playing with the settings to get interesting photos, but I can't really afford to spend too much on film and developing film right now.

I kind of also miss the beauty of winter right now too... Maybe we will get one blizzard this year, but it's already the end of February and it doesn't really look like it...