Given that I’m not on the water so much these days and I’m not one to let the grass grow under my feet, I’ve gone back to another of my passions, photography.
I dabbled with digital for a decade. There’s no denying the fun I’ve had and I have definitely learned a lot about taking pictures – I dread to think how many thousand shots I’ve taken over the last ten years. However, I cut my photographic teeth taking pictures on film so that’s where I’m going to play. I recently became the proud owner of a Leica R4 SLR camera with the most gorgeous Leica 50mm lens on the front. I also, having immediately put a few rolls through the Leica and been totally bitten by the bug, lashed out the princely sum of £24 to buy a vintage Voigtlander Vito CLR (made in the early ’60s). The light meter doesn’t work but then the roll of film I put through a friends Russian FED2 from a similar vintage was exposed using luck, the Sunny 16 Rule and an iPhone light meter app – I haven’t processed that film yet…
Without further ado, here’s a small selection of the shots from those first few rolls:
I’m really pleased with how these have come out, especially as it’s been such a long time since I picked up a film camera.
For years now, articles online, debates in magazines, and insistent fellow photographers have all been telling me that there is something indescribably lovely about pictures taken on film. It’s true, just look at the warmth and depth in the picture of the sheep above. I can’t put my finger on it but there is a difference.
This has been the first episode of ‘Travels with my Camera’ and I expect there will be many more to come (I’ve got two rolls of exposed film ready to be processed right now)! Happy snapping and if you are a fan of analogue photography and have something to say, speak up, I’m listening.
