Return to Analogue
Something exciting started in September. I rediscovered analogue film photography and I think it could help my photography get better. It is something I have been thinking about doing for a while now. I still have an old Minolta Riva AF35 point and shoot camera that I bought 30 years ago. I was curious and wanted to see if it still worked. I went looking for a roll of film I could use and discovered how much more 35mm film is these days. I settled on a roll of Kodak Gold 200. I shot the roll of film on a nice sunny day at the weekend and then posted it off for developing. I sent it to a place called Analogue Wonderland which seems to be a very popular place for 35mm film enthusiasts. I had to wait patiently for about a week for the film to be developed and scanned before I could see the results. I got them back and was pretty impressed how the photos looked. They were not tac sharp but they looked pretty cool indeed. I’m pleased the old Minolta still worked after all these years!
My interest grew from this… and I decide to buy a more serious 35mm camera from eBay, a used one. Looking on eBay for a suitable camera was a good idea. There are many options to pick, a great choice of cameras available. I decided to purchase a Canon AE-1 which was produced in the early 80’s. I received the camera and was immediately impressed with its quality. It had certainly been treated well over the years. It came with a 50mm lens which was equally in good condition. I loaded a roll of Kentmere 400 black and white film and went for a walk with my dog looking for suitable subjects to test the camera. Right now I am waiting for the film roll to be developed and I am really excited to see what they turn out like! I am keen to try different types of film too as there are many that have there own quirks.
I am also going to try developing rolls of 35mm film at home to save time and expense. I bought a kit that has everything you need to start doing this. Black and White film is the easiest and cheapest to do yourself. This is also something I have wanted to do as my father would do this often himself and he told me it was very rewarding to see your photos develop.
Hopefully next time I will have some photos worth showing you taken with my eBay Canon AE-1