The 2 goals that I had set for myself for my trip to Bali were:
- Get behind the camera more and focus less on being in front of it, and
- Allow yourself to be okay with delayed gratification, and take photos with your film camera.
I was really hoping Bali would be some what of a creative reset for me—and in some ways it definitely was.
For one, I was really proud of myself for actually completely a roll of film and not messing the photos up. I’ve heard horror stories of people messing up their first rolls of film and not getting any photos out of them, so that in itself was a big accomplishment already.
I had moments where I was anxious and scared to be just bringing out the film camera. Especially since it was my first time in Bali, I really didn’t want to miss out on any photo moments that I could capture. But that anxiety really pushed me to take better photos I think.
I was also introduced to the hashtag #wasteoffilm, which really pushed me out of my comfort zone and not think so much about how many frames I was going through. I purchased ample rolls of film for this trip, and there was no way I was going to finish them all in the 3 weeks. So realizing that made me a lot less worried about “wasting film” and gave me the confidence to just shoot. Which again, helped me to take better photos.
All of these were taken on a Canon AE-1 with Fuji Film Superia 400 film.
Have you used a film camera before? What’s your favourite aspect of it?
I haven’t used film in AGES but I looooove the quality of film prints – the light leaks, colours, and grain that I sometimes simulate with phone apps.
These photos are beautiful, I really love the streets photos.