Rome on Film

Angel Zheng — Fri, 20 Dec 2019 05:47:57 +0000

R ome has been high on my bucketlist for so long now, that it was actually quite unbelievable for me to finally be there. It seemed super unreal. I was tired from our rushing out of Florence and to the train station to make our train to Rome that it didn’t even hit me that we were there until we settled in at our Airbnb, decided to go get food and walked right by the Collosseum.

And boy, was that a shock.

It was the most insane thing to just walk down a street and practically bump into the Collosseum. The Colloseum you guys. I couldn’t believe how close our Airbnb was and just how accessible it all was. To see one of seven wonders of the world was as breathtaking as you’d imagine it to be.

Although the rest of Italy was equally as beautiful and amazing, Rome just hit differently. I’d describe it as this insane mix of what you’d imagine a European big city to feel like, while also being the home of some of the most amazing and insane historical monuments that still exist.

Beyond all the insane sights in Rome, the food was also out of this world. Joel kept saying to me “and that’s why they say all roads lead to Rome”, and boy did that hit home once I was actually there. Rome has everything you could possibly need. And maybe I’m saying that because I’m partial towards Italian cuisine (Amatriciana, specifically), but I honestly half considered just moving there for a bit.

The only thing that stopped me was the lack of fast WiFi. To which you’re probably thinking, you’re in ROME and you’re thinking about WiFi?! Well no, not exactly. But it’s definitely a requirement for somewhere I’d want to live!

We paid for a tour of the Colloseum and the Roman Forum and we both thought it was super worth it. Tours in Rome aren’t cheap.

Definitely something to keep in mind when you’re budgeting for your trip. But without a tour guide we would’ve been at a lost in the Roman Forum. Which pile of ruins was which building back in the day? It would’ve been a lot harder to understand and navigate the place it wasn’t for our tour.

My least favourite part of my visit? The Vatican City. Purely just based on the sheer amount of people that were trying to visit, it was enough to turn me off for a long time. I think I built this idea in my head that the Vatican City would be such a holy, mystical place. But even standing in the Sistine Chapel, staring up at Michelangelo’s work, all I could hear and see were people bumping into each other, standing shoulder to shoulder, trying to sneakily take photos of artwork you weren’t suppoed to. My experience was definitely clouded by crowds, which is why I personally would not visit it again.

It felt like no matter where I pointed my camera in Rome, I was bound to capture something beautiful.

Some photos definitely turned out better than others. It was my first time really using the Canon AF35M and a lot of photos turned out hazier than I expected. I definitely still prefer my Canon AE1 for all of it’s manually settings, but carrying around during vacations is a little much. I bought the AF35M for it’s portability, not realizing that the auto settings aren’t going to alway give me the best results.

Most of the time I don’t have a subject in my photos, which I feel like is actually quite boring. I captured this shot of Joel and the Pantheon which I loved so I’m going to experiment shooting more people and movement the next time I decide to whip my film camera out.

Do you shoot film? What camera do you use? What film do you like the most? These photos are all taken on my Canon AF35M on Kodak Portra 400 film.

Experimenting With 35 mm Film—My 8 Favourite Shots From My First Roll Of Film

Angel Zheng — Wed, 12 Dec 2018 16:00:10 +0000

In the past year, I’ve really discovered that a lot of the time, I actually enjoy being behind the camera more than being in front of it. I almost feel like it’s such a shame that I’ve spent so much time trying to capture the perfect IG photo rather than capturing the places that I’m visited. But alas, at the time I felt fulfilled doing what I was doing, so I’m not going to look back and wish it was different now just because my mindset has changed.

I purchased a Canon ae-1 as my first film camera about a month ago. I wanted to buy a film camera for my trip to Asia so that it gives me the opportunity to not only try something new, but also start my journey in trying to become someone who is less focused on instant gratifications and more on what’s right in front of me.

After picking up my camera from the nice craigslist man I met up, I went straight to London Drugs to pick up a roll of film so that I can start practicing. I chose the Ilford HP5 Plus 400 without realizing that it was black & white film. It was definitely a little intimidating to start out my film journey with black and white. Operating the film camera and carefully visualizing the lighting and shot was already going to be a challenge so adding the b&w factor definitely made me a little weary. But I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? I ruin a roll of film? At least I can get that learning curve out of the way while I’m practicing and not when it actually matters (during my trip).

So here are my 8 favourite shots from my first roll of film!

If you’re on the edge about trying film photography, I hope this inspires you to go and try it out. Because honestly, if I can do it, you can too ?. For those of you looking for black and white film, I really enjoyed playing with the Ilford HP5 Plus 400. Not quite at the level yet where I can give you an insightful review but I will say that it wasn’t too difficult working with this film. Plus the light grain really makes me feel like a pro vintage photographer hehe.

Have you played around with Film photography? What’s your favourite film to work with?

Photography – SPEAKOFTHEANGEL

Rome on Film

Experimenting With 35 mm Film—My 8 Favourite Shots From My First Roll Of Film