Shooting film February 2016
Shooting at an overpass at TST in Hong Kong.
I still love shooting film, and I try to shoot a little each month, but getting film developed in China is really difficult. I am almost at the point of buying all the equipment and starting to develop the film myself.
Not really sure I like the Ferris wheel in Hong Kong, I think it ruins the Kong Kong skyline.
Big Buddha in Hong Kong
Black and white is still my first choice when shooting film. Its unique look still cannot be replicated by any digital camera out there right now. The strange thing about film is that when I show my shots to some photographers who have never shot film before, the first thing they always comment on is the noise. “Wow, it is so noisy!” I have heard this so many times now.
Bruce Lee, the most popular statue in Hong Kong, the most popular statue near the bay. So many Chinese tourists come to take a photo here.
The Star ferry, my favorite way to travel in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is such a pretty and colorful city, and it is easy to be overwhelmed by all the colors that assault your eyes. Shooting in black and white just gives the city that classical look that I love to see. For me, it is a personal thing; this is how I see the city in my mind.
The iconic bridge in Hangzhou
The Nanjing skyline as seen from the train station
The Nanjing city wall
Mobile phones are the new vanity mirrors for most girls in China.
I only shot one roll of Xpan 100 through my Nikon FM. I wasn’t sure if the camera was in good working condition, as I had not used it in a long, long time. I was surprised, though—the camera was still in perfect condition. I had no problems with the metering, and the only issue I had was manual focusing. I missed focus on a lot of shots. Manual focusing takes practice to get it right. I plan to try and shoot at least one roll of film a week with the camera for fun. It is fun to shoot with a film camera again; you have to shoot slower, take your time with composition, and make sure your exposure is correct. There’s no chimping—the only thing I can do is shoot and hope I got it right.
I also picked up another film camera recently to ease some of my boredom with digital cameras. I bought a Yashica Mat 124G and ran a roll of film through the camera as well.
First shot I had even taken with a TLR camera. I had never used a camera like this before, so trying to make a composition with this camera was really weird but so exciting. The image in the viewfinder is mirrored so it is strange at the beginning. If you want to shift the composition to the left, then you got to move the camera to the right.
Back shooting at Jinshan Lake, this is where I come to test all my cameras and lenses. The biggest problem I had was that the film was ISO 400, and it was a very bright, sunny day. So, I had to shoot with the lens completely stopped down and at the fastest possible shutter speed to try and get a correct exposure. I wish I had chosen a slower film to test with.
Getting composition right with a square format is difficult. I am really not sure what would be a good photo with this format right now. But exploring with different things is the fun part.
Last shot on the roll, focusing with the Yashica is easier than any film slr that I have used but it is slow. This is not a camera to shoot quickly with. You have to take your time with this camera.
I put through one roll of film to test the Yashica at my favorite testing ground in China to put the camera through its paces, and it seems like it worked. Shooting with this camera was a pleasure, but it is such an attention grabber. I consistently got stopped by people asking me about the camera. This could be a good thing, but it was annoying when I was trying to shoot some test shots quickly. However, I think this camera would be a great icebreaker when shooting on the street. Just like the Nikon, I will be trying to shoot at least one roll of film with it each week as well.
Shaun.