Hey guys, how it's going?

I'm writing this post to share with you my recent experience shooting with analog film.

My first analog camera - Olympus trip 35 - I bought in Lisbon, at Feira da Ladra, an antiques fair. I paid about 45€ and the salesman gave me a really, really old film (I can't remember the name). I started shooting immediately.

I was very curious to see my results on this first attempt. It took me 1 month to spend the 24 clicks I had.

The film was much older than I expected, like, it’s not even sold nowadays. From what I can gather from the color tone, the film must have been stored for about 20 years. When I first saw the results, I confess that I was very surprised and disappointed. But then I started to appreciate it more, trying to see what I could save of it. In my opinion it got a little creepy, but it was worth the experience of the first analog roll.

After that first film, I stopped shooting with this camera (it was in dire need of a proper overhaul). I went to a photography event and bought a Kodak point and shoot, for 15€. It's super light and it was really cheap. I also use my boyfriend's camera, an Olympus XA2, which is a really good one. What I like about it is that I can decide if I want the flash to go off or not, it has a timer and it’s very compact.

The interesting thing about shooting with film is the moment of capture. It helped me to discover shooting in a different way, paying much more attention to the process. The framing, the movement, the light. With a set limited amount of pictures in a film, you take extra care and really focus to get the best of that scene.

I started photographing my personal life with these cameras, since digital cameras tend to be heavy, the analog ones end up being very practical when I am on the move and I don't miss a scene (sometimes I do and I take the photo only in my head).

Tips:

When buying an analog camera always confirm that it is in good condition, clean and with everything working. There are many differences between these cameras. With some you can configure the aperture, shutter speed and focus, some are super easy to use and you don't need to do anything, just shoot (called point and shoot). Some have flash, others don't. It depends a lot on what you want it for, so check these factors out before choosing yours. Camera brands that I recommend: Pentax, Leica, Olympus, Minolta, Mamiya, Fujifilm, Kodak, Canon.

Films I have used and liked: Kodak Ultramax 400, Cinestill 800 (great for night pics), Kodak Gold 200, Kodak Portra 400 (a little more expensive) and there are also several black and white films that are worth experimenting with.

This number in the film's name corresponds to the ISO value, which depending on the camera, you need to adjust the same value on it. If you want to shoot in darker environments, pick a higher ISO.

Another tip: to see how the film and camera looks, search Instagram's hashtags with the name of the film/camera, so you can have an ideia.

Where to buy and develop?

In Lisbon, I recommend this store to buy cameras: Loja Obtura
To develop and scan your film (they have the best price in Lisbon): Fotocolor (R. Áurea 291)

In Berlin, I recommend Foto Kotti and Rossmann to buy films.

In Brazil, there's Camera Analogica store.

Any questions? Ask me in the comments!

Check more film photos by me here :)

I hope you liked the post!

Kisses,