Hey, there!
If you've been following me on Twitter and my blog here, you'll know that I've constantly struggled to obtain an actual usable roll of film.
I've had numerous rolls come back blank and I have almost gotten to a point where I just felt like giving up.
My Petzval lens review is still on hold and I most certainly hate hearing back from the lab that another roll just didn't have any images on it.
But sometimes, a little patience and a lot of praying pays.
A few months ago, I deployed my university's Nikon FM2 and shot two rolls.
My roll of Portra 160 came back blank (pfft Kodak) but my roll of FUJIFILM Superia 200 survived the onslaught of my film photography endeavour.
Out of 34 frames, including one with at least 3 exposures (I'll share it if you ask for it in the comments below!), these are my favorite shots.
I love this shot of Meow peacefully sleeping because I shot it without relying on the metering in the camera.
I knew that having such an abundant amount of light bathing him from behind would throw the meter way off.
I looked at my settings, focused and began to calculate an approximately better exposure to ensure that not only Meow was correctly exposed, but so that there was also a backlit effect on him.
Once I was confident I had everything right, I clicked the shutter and made this image.
Of course, I could have used a light meter or light metering app; or even take a shot using my DSLR.
But that would mean I would have to depend on other elements instead of myself and my own experience; my own judgement.
I might have lost this shot, but I believed that I had enough experience and know-how to play around with my settings and get it right by myself.
The next two photos were shot during the Iskandar Waterfront Carnival 2015 @ Danga Bay back in March.
The beach, the sun and a line of people waiting from 4.30PM to see Sistar perform at 9.30PM.
I can't pinpoint as to exactly why I love these photos, other than the fact that they have a certain vibe that I like to them.
Also because I nailed the composition.
These last two photos are portraits of my brother and partner in crime, Fariq.
I was extremely happy when these came out perfectly exposed and composed.
The lighting was beautiful that day in KL and the environment at Feeka was beautiful.
Of my 34 shots that came out, almost half of them are portraits and pictures of Fariq; mostly because it's almost always just the two of us exploring new stuff and hopping about to different cafes.
Fariq is a true advocate of film photography, having shooting film on most of his travels and purchased his very own Nikon F100 last year.
Only 16 years old, he's been on all of QZ Photography's major jobs to date.
Check out his Instagram and Tumblr to see his work.
SPOILER ALERT: I will be talking more about Fariq in my next [FEATURE]!
So there you have it.
My top 5 shots from a roll that finally came back okay.
I still wish to do a lot more film photography.
It's a nice getaway from all the digital stuff that I always do.
Big thanks to Bang Bang Geng for the awesome scans!
You can read about 5 lessons that I learned from shooting film in my entry here.
Film photography has taught me a lot and I hope that you try it out, too.
If you've been following me on Twitter and my blog here, you'll know that I've constantly struggled to obtain an actual usable roll of film.
I've had numerous rolls come back blank and I have almost gotten to a point where I just felt like giving up.
My Petzval lens review is still on hold and I most certainly hate hearing back from the lab that another roll just didn't have any images on it.
But sometimes, a little patience and a lot of praying pays.
A few months ago, I deployed my university's Nikon FM2 and shot two rolls.
My roll of Portra 160 came back blank (pfft Kodak) but my roll of FUJIFILM Superia 200 survived the onslaught of my film photography endeavour.
Out of 34 frames, including one with at least 3 exposures (I'll share it if you ask for it in the comments below!), these are my favorite shots.
Sleeping Meow-ty
I love this shot of Meow peacefully sleeping because I shot it without relying on the metering in the camera.
I knew that having such an abundant amount of light bathing him from behind would throw the meter way off.
I looked at my settings, focused and began to calculate an approximately better exposure to ensure that not only Meow was correctly exposed, but so that there was also a backlit effect on him.
Once I was confident I had everything right, I clicked the shutter and made this image.
Of course, I could have used a light meter or light metering app; or even take a shot using my DSLR.
But that would mean I would have to depend on other elements instead of myself and my own experience; my own judgement.
I might have lost this shot, but I believed that I had enough experience and know-how to play around with my settings and get it right by myself.
The next two photos were shot during the Iskandar Waterfront Carnival 2015 @ Danga Bay back in March.
Festival vibes
I can't pinpoint as to exactly why I love these photos, other than the fact that they have a certain vibe that I like to them.
Also because I nailed the composition.
These last two photos are portraits of my brother and partner in crime, Fariq.
Avoid eye contact
The lighting was beautiful that day in KL and the environment at Feeka was beautiful.
Of my 34 shots that came out, almost half of them are portraits and pictures of Fariq; mostly because it's almost always just the two of us exploring new stuff and hopping about to different cafes.
Fariq is a true advocate of film photography, having shooting film on most of his travels and purchased his very own Nikon F100 last year.
Only 16 years old, he's been on all of QZ Photography's major jobs to date.
Check out his Instagram and Tumblr to see his work.
SPOILER ALERT: I will be talking more about Fariq in my next [FEATURE]!
So there you have it.
My top 5 shots from a roll that finally came back okay.
I still wish to do a lot more film photography.
It's a nice getaway from all the digital stuff that I always do.
Big thanks to Bang Bang Geng for the awesome scans!
You can read about 5 lessons that I learned from shooting film in my entry here.
Film photography has taught me a lot and I hope that you try it out, too.
"Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow."
- Imogen Cunningham
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