Vintage Lenses | Film Cameras | Street Photography
Sometimes you have to get away from the sprawling metropolis and head for the small city. Especially when it’s Chinese New Year and you have people to visit.
While you’re there you may as well get in some street photography. That’s what I did, and on Kentmere 400 film no less. A stock I hadn’t shot before now.
Want to see how it turned out? Because you can. Come see the small city street photography, the thoughts surrounding it, and one simple way some of the shots could have been better IMO.
The Cotwolds aren’t the kind of place you’d typically rush around, and I wouldn’t recommend you do so. Not when you have all that scenery to stop and take in.
It’s scenery that deserves your best photography, which is something I didn’t give it. For me it was more of a testing ground for a roll of Silberra Pan 200 – a Russian film I got as a crowdfunding campaign reward.
That explains the daft pun in the title, but it doesn’t tell you how the shots came out. To know that, you’re going to have to click inside and come see for yourself.
Ilford is one of the biggest names in film photography and produce some of the most iconic and beloved stocks on the market today.
Ilford Pan 400 is not one of them. Instead, it’s a budget offering that’s only available in selected markets around the world. Selected markets that don’t include the US and the UK.
So depending on where you are, you might not get this in your local film shop. Should you still track some down and shoot it though? Come find out in this review.
Zone focus and hyperfocal distance are two timeless techniques that can help you improve your street photography once you’ve learnt how to use them.
Don’t be put off by the fancy sounding names, either. All it takes is a comprehensive yet easy-to-follow tutorial, which is what we have here, and some practice, which is what you’ll need to do after reading it.
Also included is a section on pre-focus, which is another closely related way of going beyond auto-focus and taking your street photography to the next level. Come read. You know you want to.
Sometimes you sit down with a bunch of photographs to share and no idea of what to write about to go with them. It’s not often I do that, but this piece is one of those occasions.
That title comes from a Soft Cell song. It was later covered by David Gray. It also covers a few themes detailed in this post. The passage of time is one. As is a discontinued film. Also a new way to even write stuff for this website.
Come see what we’re saying hello and waving goodbye to, why, and whether these are good or bad things. Hint: I think they’re mainly good.
Agfa Vista Plus 200, perennial favourite of many a budget-conscious film shooter, is no more. Production has ended and stocks are dwindling.
So if you find some, should you hoard it while you still can? With its famous low cost, you may think the answer to that is a no-brainer. Not so fast, though.
As supplies run low, prices rise, and the question of whether it’s still worth buying is not so clear cut. I can’t tell you what to do, but I can give some thoughts in this review. Come read.
Longhua Martyrs’ Memorial Park offers a few things the rest of Shanghai doesn’t. Soviet-style communist sculptures and peace and quiet being the main ones.
It makes for a decent trip out of the city centre – especially when you consider Longhua temple is right next door too. Take your camera and perhaps even a picnic.
These are some shots I got from Longhua on Agfa Vista Plus 200 in the Yashica Electro 35. Come take a look and come learn more about the place before you visit.
After about a decade away, I returned to one of my very favourite cities in the UK. So of course I had to take the Yashica Electro 35 GSN and a roll of film with me.
That film was Silberra Pan 400 – a Russian stock that ran a Kickstarter campaign in 2017. This roll was one of the rewards I got for backing that.
The last time I went to Scotland’s capital, I wasn’t really into photography that much. So it was nice to go there and come back with some shots of some landmarks and, of course, some Edinburgh street photography.
Kodak ColorPlus 200 is one of the cheapest colour films you can buy today. That alone should make it an interesting proposition to a lot of shooters – but only if it’s any good, of course.
I can tell you that it is. In relation to its cost, anyway. I can also tell you what results you can expect, why I like it for street photography, and its history and past incarnations.
But that’s all too long for this intro so you’ll have to come read the review to get that. Come on. Come learn.
