one year of analog.

Sunday 3 August 2014


Sadly, as you can say, I am not taking part in this year's August Break, but head over to Katie's or Evelyn's to follow their August journeys. If you're taking part in this challenge and I don't know about you yet, please comment below and tell me! I would love to follow your posts.

Photography has grown on me, and there is no better time for low iso photographing than summer. It's a curious case of how after a year's time I am still more than happy with what I am shooting with. For those of you who never took any interest in that, I am an owner of Praktica MTL 3, which was an exceptionally cheap find on Ebay last summer. At first, I of course opted for Zenit, but had some unpleasant experience with it, so I gave up.  Over the year I looked for different options, considering a Canonet, Olympus Trip, and many other. 

I had a quick fling with Zenit ET, which broke down as well, and due to econominal reasons (repair being far more pricey than the camera itself) it just collects dust at this point. Maybe it's because of lack of Flea Markets that I could attend and find something analog for myself. I also bought a second hand Lomo Fisheye No 2. I only shot two rolls with it so far, but I guess it's fun and this year I am giving it to my sister, when she goes on her honeymoon, so she can show you a little of that trip and I don't need to worry that she will break it or something like that.

I own only two lenses and most of the time I find that one is enough. I am completely in love with my 58mm Helios 44-2. Its bokeh is to die for, it's perfect for my guilty pleasure of shooting food and I believe you cannot go wrong with that lens. With some good light, it produces high quality, sharp images. 





During winter I bought a 28mm Helios lens. I went with Helios because I was very happy with the results 44-2 gave me, and I found that it was a pretty cheap choice. I don't plan to go professional with photography, therefore I don't want to spend hundreds of $ buying equipment. 28mm is alright, nothing which stole my heart though. It makes you feel like you have stepped out a little bit, and for once in awhile it's really refreshing to own such perspective.



Some time after that, around March, I looked for a more macro lens, but once again, not wanting to spend too much money, I gave in and decided to try an alternative - macro rings. I got three. And for now I am only shooting with the smallest close up :)



People still find it hard to photograph me in focus, and I cannot blame them. Focusing is the hardest thing they have to approach when using a manual camera. But over the year I stumbled upon bigger problems than wrong focusing. It was discouraging at first, and I found myself wondering whether analog photography was for me, but I never gave up and now I feel like it was the right thing to do. Analog brings me incredible fun. 



I have tried a variety of films, but my journey has just began. My most loved ones are Fuji Superia 200 (so mainstream, I know), Fuji X-tra 400, Agfa Vista, Kodak Ultramax, but I have many others that I highly doubt I could give up on. Only recently I made more brave choices when buying film. I finally bought a Ferrania Solaris, and as a gift I received Fujicolor Pro 400H, which I saved up for Budapest and I cannot wait to finally use! You can check out the films I have tried already in the sidebar :)

What are your analog choices? What film/camera do you crave at this point? Let me know :)

27 comments:

  1. It's been a long time since the last time i used film, but my fav camera from all times is my minolta xg-m with my 50mm lenses. but it takes so much time to develop and scan the film i'm just too lazy to use it! I wish I was more eager to shoot film because results are wonderful. I love your film pictures, they are so special

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  2. Love the bokeh and the colours in the first one!

    My camera choice is Minolta X-300. And at the moment my favourite films are AgfaVista 400 and Rossmann 400. I recommend the latter. It's great :) I found an old roll of Kodak ProFoto 100 at my grandfather's. So I can't wait to try it!

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  3. I use mostly the Nikon F100, because I can use all my lenses! My favorite lens is definitely the 35mm f1.4G. it's pretty good to be close to the subject but doesn't have the same distortion as maybe the 24mm (which I also love and also use sometimes, even for portraits. the results are quite funny, haha), the 50mm f1.4G, good for serious portraits, coffee shots, etc, and the 85mm 1.4G even better for serious and romantic portraits.

    My favorite colored films are all the kodak portras (160, 400 and 800). they have the greatest skin tones. And also the Fuji Pro 400H (which to be honest, I have one in my camera right now, haha). As for BW, you can never go wrong with kodak tri-x and I also love the Ilford Delta 3200, but I often use 1-, it looks more creamy to me. haha.

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  4. Congratulation on one year of analog journey!

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  5. Thanks for the shoutout :D

    My usual cameras are the Canon A1, Nikkormat ftn, and Mamiya Sekor DTL500. I use whatever film I can lay my hands on/ afford, although I have yet find love for iso 800 film.

    The superia 200 is trusty, and I always pack it on a trip!

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  6. My favourite cameras are my Nikon FM, my Hasselblad 500 C/M and lately my Nikomat EL.
    Fuji Pro 400H is a great film and Ilford HP5+ for black and white.

    Take a look at this August Break: http://fortheeasilydistracted.com/

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  7. Admiring your dedication to film photography! I have a La Sardina but only tried one roll with it so far - it just seems to be easier to grab my digital camera.

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  8. These photos look awesome! I use an old (kinda moldy) Fujica ST601 - There are several things that don't function, but in all honesty, it adds fun and unpredictability to the whole film experience!

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  9. niesamowity klimat zdjec!

    www.agabierko.blogspot.com

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  10. I absolutely loved this post Kasia! Helios lenses are my favourite, they produce such a nice effect. I actually love using my 44-M lens on my Canon 60D! :)

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  11. Happy first film anniversary! :) Lovely shots. So glad you pushed through and didn't give up!

    My favorites are Fuji Superia Xtra 400 for every day photography, Kodak Portra 160 when I want portraits, and Kodak Ektar when travelling; I love its vibrance. Lots of films to choose from, and I'm not done trying more, such as Fuji Superia 200. :).

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  12. Yay gor your lovely recollection of the analogue journey, happy first anniversary and never stop growing, never stop evolving!

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  13. I really like this post, I am so clueless when it comes to film photography lenses and such and it's so cool to hear about the macro lenses. The dedication/passion/love you showed in this post is admirable, I think I'm too lazy to use my film camera as often...even though I love it.

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  14. Robisz prześliczne zdjęcia, obserwuję :)

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  15. Films will never ever get old! Love the photos <3

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  16. Congatulations dear:)
    I've been using a Vivitar but recently i purchased a Pentax Me.and i am currently craving for an Agfa.:)

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  17. Uwielbiam takie zdjęcia, mają charakter.. ;)

    www.am-kubicowelove.blogspot.com

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  18. Ah, Zenit is a fun camera. It's hard to believe that My Zenit-E is basically the same as my AE-1P (which I use more because it's much lighter hohoho) because they just work so differently!

    I love this post. You should be proud of your dedication. :)

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  19. wow! what a great informative post! I have a film camera collecting dust on a shelf. This really makes me what to break it out again!

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  20. analog is so so for you dear Kasia :)
    i crave for a Contax t2 and lots of Kodak Portra and Fuji pro h as well :)

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  21. Hi Kasia, your post is really fascinating, I do own a helios 44-2 with a Zenit E and it's a nice experience to use this. I also decided to start a blog so i can organize all my photograph in a memorable way. My favorite camera is Pentax MX due to it's light weight that i can alway carry it around without adding any inconvenience. Recently i also use most of the time FJ superia 200, cause i manage to find a dozen of this expired with a relatively cheap price ;). Congratulation for your journey of photography ;)

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  22. this pictures are so good! analog photography is the best! :)

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  23. And... let me tell you that my favourite camera at the moment is the Pentax MV with a 50mm f1'7 (I'm a bokeh lover). I love to experiment with all kind of expired film, sometimes the colours are so awesome!

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© Dipped in Rococo ~ lifestyle in analog Maira Gall.