Film Photo Essays

The Fear of Success and Judgement of Your Photography [Ilford HP5 Plus 400]

I wrote a post before about whether success was – or could be – scarier than failure. I genuinely believed it was. And then I heard a statement that instantly turned that opinion on its head. It killed my belief in it.

Having a perceived fear of success could be holding you back, and it’s going to be harder to get over it if that’s not even what the real problem is.

Come read to learn what I now believe a ‘fear of success’ actually is and see whether this can help you if it’s holding you back creatively. What have you got to lose?

A Shot in the Park [Kentmere 400]

Kentmere 400 isn’t my favourite film in the world, but I could only learn that for myself and know it for sure by shooting some. Part of the roll was shot in a park – hence the title.

Come see how it turned out and why I’m very happy I tried Kentmere 400, even though I generally prefer the results I’ve gotten from other films so far.

Two Simple Black and White Film Photography Tips [JCH Street Pan 400]

Wherever you are with your photography, there will always be people who can learn something from you. There will also always be people who can teach you something new.

The two simple tips in this article might not be new to you, especially if you’re further along than me. But they can be useful if you’re just starting out and want to make your monochrome work better.

Whichever camp you’re in, there’s also some shots taken with the lovely JCH Street Pan 400 to look at here. So come and do that, if nothing else.

Parks and Recreation [Kodak Gold 200]

For a city so built up, you’re never short of a park to spend some time at in Shanghai, and these parks are never short of people using them for recreation.

That makes them decent places to shoot some film photography, as I did and then wrote about here in this little blog post. Their recreation became a subject for mine.

Kodak Gold 200’s bright colours make it a good film for sunny days like this, as these shots from the Yashica Electro 35 give a glimpse of. Come see.

Two Fishing Villages in Shitang, Wenling [JCH Street Pan 400]

shitang wenling

You’re never short of places to visit in a country as big as China, as towns like Shitang are constantly proving. To me, anyway.

Most people have probably never heard of the place but I can tell you it’s near the city of Wenling, which is also a place most people have probably never heard of.

Regardless, I went there and shot some JCH Street Pan 400 in a couple of the fishing villages. Come see how that turned out.

Jing’an Sculpture Park, Shanghai [Oriental Seagull 100]

jing'an sculpture park shanghai

Jing’an Sculpture Park offers nice respite from the city outside its boundaries and good artwork to check out once inside them. It’s artwork that’s constantly changing too as new pieces regularly replace existing ones.

I loaded the Yashica Electro 35 with some Oriental Seagull 100 and went to make some photographs of the sculptures there when I was, along with some shots of the people who were too.

This is the write-up of those shots, and it features a sculpture that’s actually kinda famous in certain circles. European sculpture circles, I think. Come see what that is and everything more in this piece on the Jing’an Sculpture Park.

Small City Street Photography [Kentmere Pan 400]

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.

Rushin’ Around the Cotswolds [Silberra Pan 200]

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.

Say Hello and Wave Goodbye [Agfa Vista Plus 200]

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.

Longhua Martyrs’ Memorial Park, Shanghai [Agfa Vista Plus 200]

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.

Edinburgh Street Photography on Russian Film [Silberra Pan 200]

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.

Fishing for Eyes in the Good Light [Kodak ColorPlus 200]

Not the clearest article title there, is it? But it does describe what you’re about to read pretty well if you give it a chance. And that is a 3-step process for shooting the kind of images I like to shoot.

It’s not a hard thing to get your head around and you don’t need to do street photography for it to help you. It can be useful whatever you shoot.

Want to know what the process is? Then come take a read as we go through it from its logical beginning to end, and all illustrated with a bunch of street photographs shot on film using it.

The First Roll from the Yashica Electro 35 GSN [Fujicolor Industrial 100]

Rangefinder film cameras aren’t always the easiest to get to grips with when you’ve never used one before. As you can see from the title, I’d never used one before I shot this roll in my Yashica Electro.

If you’re wondering how it went, you’re not too far away from what I was thinking while shooting. I had no idea how it was going either.

The short version is it finished better than it began, which is understandable as you get used to a camera. The long version is inside. Come read it.

Chasing Light in Qibao Old Town [Fujicolor Industrial 100]

qibao temple pagoda

Sitting out to the west of the city centre but still absolutely in Shanghai, Qibao old town makes a lovely day away from the shiny skyscrapers of China’s biggest metropolis.

If you’re going to go there, try to pick a day with fewer people. So neither a weekend nor a national holiday. Try also to pick a sunny day. Then you can take advantage of the light and get better photographs.

Trust me. I shot parts of Qibao – on Fujicolor Industrial 100 film – on both bright and overcast days. Come see the difference good light makes to your photography here.

A Few from the m50 Art District, Shanghai [Fujicolor Industrial 100]

m50, at Moganshan Road in Shanghai, is one of the city’s most iconic art districts. It’s also one of the only places in town you’ll find genuine street art.

I went there with the old Olympus Supertrip and a roll of Fuijfilm Industrial 100 to get a few shots, which you can see in this short essay.

Come take a look, find out how the m50 art district came about, and how you can get there if you’re in Shanghai and want to check it out too.

Shooting for the First Shitty Camera Challenge [Rollei Retro 400S]

shitty camera challenge

The Shitty Camera Challenge was pretty much as the name suggested. That was… to shoot with a shitty camera. You could use any film you wanted and then were to post the results to Twitter.

There was a suitably bad first prize, which I don’t know who won right now but I hope it wasn’t me, and lots of fun to be had on the #shittycamerachallenge hashtag.

For me, it was an excuse to get out again with the Canon Sure Shot AF-7 and try some Rollei Retro 400S for the first time. This is how it went. Come take a look.

A Failed Photography Trip to Nanxun Water Town [Fujicolor Industrial 100]

Nanxun water town sits not too far from Shanghai, which makes it a good getaway from the city. It’s also a pretty photogenic place, if that’s what you’re into.

And if you are, you won’t want to make the same mistake I did which led to coming back with just four photographs – shot on Fujicolor Industrial 100 – to show for it.

Come read what happened, see how to avoid the same happening to you and why, in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t really a failed trip at all.