analogue – Irish Analog Adventures

My wife surprised me with a birthday gift of a weekend city-break to Seville, Spain. It’s a city that I’ve never visited before, and so I was genuinely excited to see what this southern city of Spain had in store 🇪🇸

Making A Rough To-Do List …

What I’ve learnt from previous road trips and visits abroad is how important it is to have a basic idea of what to see & do – otherwise you’re simply rambling aimlessly, potentially missing wonderful experiences and sights, quite literally around the corner from you.

To that end, it became very clear that Seville had a lot to offer: sights, cuisine, history, and art. Soon a quick hit-list emerged.

Plaza de Espana	Las Setas de Sevilla	Catedral de Sevilla
Giralda tower	Royal Alcázar	Casa de Pilotas
Torre del Oro	Triana area	Santa Cruz area

Places to see !

And of course … plenty of unique experiences !

Try as much local tapas food as possible !
Ramble the narrow streets & alleyways old Jewish quarter of Santa Cruz
Climb to top of the Giralda bell tower
Visit some of the local bars and simply take in the atmosphere
See flamenco dancing and wandering street performers playing Spanish guitar

Looking at the weather ahead, it was to be mild / warm temperatures (16°C / 60° F) but cold in the evening, requiring a light coat.

Bringing A Film Camera …

The big debate I had internally was would ISO 200 film really be suitable – on one hand, it’s Spain so there ought to be plenty of bright sunlight during the day, but on the other hand, the cathedral quarter of Seville is a rabbit warren of shady streets & alleyways.

Also, I was conscious that I didn’t want the flow of this enjoyable weekend experience to be spoilt with film photography unnaturally slowly down proceedings, so autofocus was a must.

In the end, I decided upon the following:

Camera	Canon EOS 300V The predecessor to Canons very last consumer film SLR, the 300X. An amazing super compact, super lightweight interchangeable 35mm SLR released in 2002. It has an accurate 35 zone metering system, and 7 snappy autofocus points. Perfect for hassle-free quick snaps and easy to carry around.
Lens	Canon EF 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 Amazing, inexpensive lens – tack sharp in the center from 24mm through to 80mm, only needs f8 for sharp edge-to-edge images
Film	2 x Kodak Gold 200 Has nice grain, reasonably good dynamic range, and an overall warm orange tone that would match the anticipated light of Seville

35mm Film equipment choices …

As I write about the film equipment choices here, let me give a big shout-out to my friends at www.printpoint.ie for the incredible dev & scan service. The detail and tonality captured from my negatives was superb, as always 💯🏆

Orange Trees & Alleyways …

A walk through the cathedral area proved to be absolutely breath-taking – large swathes of orange, yellow and red walls everywhere, gorgeous leafy orange tree alcoves, hidden fountains and quaint churches.

What made it all the more enjoyable was the fact that there were lovely cafes & tapas bars dotted at almost every intersection ☕️ With the cusine being excellent in most of places.

Before you ask, yes, there really are oranges on the trees, despite it still being technically winter 🍊

Looking back at the images, I was really happy about my equipment choices : a) the modern film SLR allowed me to focus on creating compelling images instead of being distracted by the equipment & process, b) the flexibility & sharpness of the Canon EF 24-85mm lens was truly excellent, and c) the metering accuracy of the Canon EOS 300V was shockingly good. Some of these shots could have been easily fooled with a 60-70’s center-weighted metering system, if you weren’t skilled enough to override it, but my 2002 cheap & cheerful Canon 300V rocked it !

Plaza de Espana

Getting to visit some of the iconic architecture of Seville was a real treat, but of course, number one on the list has to be the iconic Plaza de Espana. Built in 1928 for the World Fair exhibition of 1929, it was designed to showcase the latest in Spanish technology and industry at the time.

A quick look at Google Maps the night before revealed that the Plaza was only a 10 minute walk from where we were staying – great. However, when we woke up the skies were grey, it was cold, and other than the wonderful street art we encountered, it wasn’t looking all that inspiring as we headed over. However no sooner had we arrived did the sky above the Plaza start to clear 🌤

We spent hours walking through the Plaza, admiring the styling, design, colours, the intricate tiled mosaics … simply jaw-dropping ! It was all cleverly divided into the 4 ancient kingdoms of Spain, while each of the ornate alcoves representing the different provinces …

What made the visit here all the more memorable was the impromptu Flamenco dancing to traditional Spanish guitar music we got to experience.

Moorish Influences

For almost 800 years the Moors ruled Andalucia, and their North African influence is both unmistakable and mesmerising.

I was pretty excited to be visiting Real Alczar, a Spanish palace which is still in use today – with its beautiful ornate gardens, elaborate mosaics, stunningly tiled walls, and wonderful water features.

Added to that, was a visit to Catedral de Seville with it’s 104m high Giralda bell tower. Apparently the cathedral is one of the largest churches in the world … and the views from the top of Giralda tower across the city were breath-taking.

I thought that nothing could top Real Alcazar and the Cathedral, but the 15 min ramble through the confusing, narrow alleyways to Casa de Pilotas was the biggest surprise of them all. This unassuming building had some of the most incredible architecture and artistry I’ve ever seen !! I quite literally had to sit down at one stage, as there’s so much to take in !

Waffles – Mushrooms

Before leaving Seville, we took a leisurely walk up to the north of the city, through the commercial shopping area, to see Las Setas – an amazing 25m high wooden structure completed in 2011, that you can walk above.

This was a photographers paradise – with me thanking my lucky stars I had a focal length of 24mm to capture what was on hand, as it was quite unlike anything I’ve ever experienced !

My roll of Kodak Gold 200 was simply loving the cyan-blue Seville skies, the warm colour laden shadows, and the bright light reflected off the structure.

Epilogue

Well, what a surprise – I never thought a city could offer so much, especially from a photography point-of-view. The colour, the textures, the light, the shadows and the variation !

Whether you’re shooting analog or digital, if you want a city break that’s both relaxing and full of sights, make sure you put Seville on your to-do list.

In the meantime, keep shooting film !

Instagram :: #irishanalogadventures

I like to think that over the last 4-6 months I’ve got a pretty good handle on my film photography technique, but that’s only because I must have made EVERY MISTAKE in the book over the last 3-4 years !! 🤪

So allow me to share some of these mistakes with you, so you don’t have to experience the same amount of wasted money & occasional anguish !

This is a LONG read with plenty of my film camera disasters for you to gasp at, however I’ve tried my best to make it speed-readable … so please bookmark this page, dip in & out of it, and come back to it at later stages in your film journey.

New Equipment = New Tests

One thing I’ve slowly discovered with film photography, is that buying more expensive gear doesn’t necessarily produce images any better than cheaper ‘plastic’ versions, in fact, some of my more expensive ‘collector’ items have failed more when least expected and require more maintenance !

So I’ve learnt the hard way, that whenever I get a ‘new’ camera (or lens) the 1st film roll MUST be used for sanity checks … the ‘wasted’ money in doing this exercise, is better than the emotional hurt & pain of defective / blank photos of a beautiful landscape !

Leave the lens cap on, go outside where it’s bright, and take 2 photographs with the shutter set to 1 sec and the aperture to f5.6 – one held horizontal the other held vertical. This will test for light leaks – the foam seals around the shutter box being defective, causing aurora style red/yellow swooshes to appear on your developed film)
Focus on a object in your kitchen, leave the aperture at f5.6 and take photos at 1/30, 1/15, 1/8, 1/4, and 1/2 – your developed film should show 5 photographs getting progressively brighter by the same amount, i.e. the shutter timing is reliable
To test your exposure meter, take 2 test shots of : a) something bright white, ensuring you get your exposure needle/meter in the middle, and b) something dark black, again with your exposure needle/meter in the middle. If you get back two developed photos with the brightness quite dull & boring, it means your exposure meter is working, as it’s pushing you to middle-grey.
The above 9 photographs will inadvertently prove that the film advance mechanism is actually working too … and that you’re not shooting photographs on the same single frame over & over
If you’ve got a ‘new’ lens, then test your lens – take test photos of a close-up object with the aperture wide open (e.g. f1.8) to closed down (e.g f22) through all it’s full f-stops (f2.8, f4, f5.6, f8, f11, f16 and f22). This is to help you see where the lens is soft in the corners vs. when it’s finally sharp edge-to-edge. It will also highlight whether you’ve got a wonderful film camera with a badly defective lens, which is very soft all along one side of the frame … been there. done that, not a very nice experience !! 🥺
Finally, if you’re using a flash-gun, take 4 test shots indoors at f5.6 with: a) the flash on manual 1/2 power, b) the flash on TTL mode, c) flash with the shutter speed at 1/60, and d) flash with the shutter speed at 1/250. This will test that the hot-shoe is actually working, the shutter plane movement, and whether your camera needs more manual assistance with TTL vs it being fully automated.

Camera Calamities

Even when you have a fully-functioning film camera, there’s plenty of things that can catch you out, and leaving you cursing at your newly developed film frames !

Opening the back accidentally (left), rewinding the film too forcefully (right)

Here’s some of the horrible mistakes things I’ve experienced:

Winding on Film	Older non-motorised film advancing cameras, require you to physically wind the film forward after releasing the shutter. This is where things can go horribly wrong … the dreaded blank film frames ! I once missed an entire sequence of wonderful shots at sun-set because my film wasn’t actually advancing at all … the film had slipped off the spool … entirely my fault ! 😩 TIP #1 : Do yourself a big favour and watch a YouTube video of how to insert the leader of the film roll correctly onto the spool of your camera. Some cameras require ninja-style loop-backs through narrow slots. You’ll be surprised how a quick 10 sec instructional video clears things up. TIP #2 : Don’t be fooled by the shutter counter increasing as you wind the film … pay close attention to the take-up dial on the other side of your camera, and ensure it’s rotating too. You should always feel tension in the film advance lever too. TIP #3 : Make sure that you haven’t left the multi-exposure mode on … sometimes I’ve forgotten I had this mode on, or sometimes forgotten how to actually switch it off ! Urrrgh
Set the ISO correctly	Some old cameras don’t automatically read the film speed (the DX code) … I’ve been caught out, to my horror, taking out a roll of ISO 800 film, hastily switching in a roll of ISO 200 film, and not changing the ISO speed ! Urrrrggggh = frames which are a dark, muddy mess ! 😖 TIP #4 : Remember the phrase *“before changing lanes, check your speed”* … 😉 Get into the habit of checking your film speed setting no matter when you insert a new roll of film.
Make sure your shutter box is clean	I once had an entire roll of film get developed and scanned, only to show a thin horizontal streak/scratch across every single frame in the roll ! TIP #5 : Get yourself a small rubber air blower, and regularly turn your camera upside down, and gently blow upwards into the shutter box (do NOT touch the delicate shutter blades). This will help ensure no debris trapped inside, which can scratch your film.
Batteries	Older 60-70’s film cameras may use LR44 watch cell batteries, while cameras from the 80-90’s may use CR123 & CR2 batteries. However, I’ve been sabotaged by an old battery suddenly dropping voltage in cold weather, causing my cameras’ exposure meter to behave erratically, and not only that but on a separate occasion, cause the lens aperture to become inoperable. TIP #6 : Always, always bring 2 sets of spare batteries in your camera bag / pouch (keep one set warm in your pocket if you’re out in the cold). TIP #7 : Always take the batteries out of the camera if you’re not going to use it for a few days, as sometimes they drain away slowly.
Removing Film	Sometimes your camera, if it’s automatic film advance, may have speed options for film rewind … sometimes the ‘fast’ mode can damage the film ! I once had a roll of film show strange vertical lines on the last 3 frames, these are film ‘stretch marks’ which appear when too much tension is being applied to film when rewinding 😳 TIP #8 : Rewind your film back slowly where possible, especially with certain higher ISO films TIP #9 : I once received a roll that was 90% blank frames from the film lab …. why ? Because I accidentally opened the back of the film camera, without checking if there was film already in the camera first ! Remember the phrase: *“Before opening the oven, check if there’s already a cake in there”*

Camera Calamities

Technique Tackles

The amount of time I’ve made stupid mistakes, wasting film frames, because I wasn’t taking photographs properly … you’ll see what I mean below:

Exposure metering	When I got my very first film camera, it was 95% mechanical – only the little light meter required power from a little A76 watch-battery. However, I must have had half of my first 4 rolls wasted because I didn’t fully grasp how to meter light correctly. Old film cameras don’t auto-magically nail exposure like digital cameras ! 💻 TIP #10 : If you’ve got an old-school camera, learn the Sunny 16 rule … it’s a great yardstick for understanding whether you’re in the right ball-park with your aperture choice when shooting outdoors TIP #11 : Please read my blog post “Getting Centered” it will give you lots of helpful advice, tips and examples on how use 60-80’s center-weighted metering with confidence.
Film loves light	Surprise surprise, film is the opposite of digital – film loves lots of light, easily handles over-exposure and hates being under-exposed (caveat: expect for slide film) ! The minute you start seeing developed frames that are murky, muddy, indistinct … that’s usually a sign of your shutter speed being too fast / your aperture not open wide enough TIP #12 : if in doubt, point the center of your camera to the area in your photo which has shadows, and lock your exposure on that !
Getting focus	A lot of the older cameras will either have no auto-focus, or maybe 1-3 auto-focus points if you’re lucky. The amount of photographs I took which were blurry at the wrong place, drove me nuts, especially at longer focal lengths ! TIP #13 : Practice manual focus technique, rocking the focus forwards, back and then splitting the difference to land somewhere in between. Don’t forget f4 – f8 is your friend !

Technique Tackles

Film Foibles

The final area where I made silly mistakes was not fully appreciating that not every film stock is made equal, that they behave differently.

Know your film stock	There’s essentially 3 film types: slide, c41 colour and black & white. For anybody getting into film photography, just stick to c41 colour and black & white, as they’re more forgiving of technique errors. Secondly film comes in different sizes … be careful !! If you’ve got a 35mm film camera you need to order film that is ‘135’ / ’35mm’. I’ve had birthday presents that had to be send back to the shop as I received 2 rolls of medium-format 120 film instead of smaller 135 film 🎁
Get to know your film	The next surprise with film photography is that different film stock can make dramatic differences to the end result … smooth, low contrast vs highly detailed and punchy. TIP #14 : When you’re first starting out, just try two rolls of Kodak Gold initially – get to know how it behaves, on cold overcast days, warm sunny days, inside your kitchen using flash, and at night. That will help you build up experience, before you try more expensive specialised stock.
Get your negatives back	As I mentioned in my blog post “Negative Experience” the rolls of film are your RAW files, if you ever want to get the highest quality print or scan, you must have the negative frame to work with … TIP #15 : Always pay the extra little bit of money, to get your negatives sent back to you. You’ll be thankful in the future.
Use a trusted film lab	Please, please, please send your film to be developed & scanned at a reliable & trustworthy film lab. How do you know you can trust them ? Here’s a few quick check-list items to help you decide: 1. Can you get your film negatives back via registered post / courier ? 2. Can they can push / pull film ? 3. Are different scanning sizes on offer, and do they have samples for you to download and inspect ? 4. Will the scans they provide get stored on a proper cloud service, so you can still get access to scans from last year or the year prior if your laptop decides to quit ! 5. Finally, do they provide some form of online customer chat channel, where you can contact them, ask questions, and they can offer answers & advice ? I’m not getting paid for saying this, so I’ll just say it, I’ve been hitting printpoint.ie with rolls of film almost every two months for the last 2-3 years, and they tick ‘yes’ to everything I listed above. The quality of their film dev & scan work is simply jaw-dropping at times ! 🏆 Yes, I know there are other film labs out there too, but I’m just saying – get a lab you can trust 👍

Film Foibles

Conclusion

The journey into film can be both joyous and frustrating at times, however ultimately it’s enriching & rewarding, gaining you hard-won fundamental skills that digital photography can’t offer to the same extent.

As I say, I know this was a long post, crammed with a lot of content, but I do hope it helps you on your film journey 😀 Bookmark it, and revisit it time and again, when you’re getting strange issues, or if you’re about to put new film into a new camera ! 😉

Until next time, keep shooting film !

Paul

Instagram :: #irishanalogadventures

Tag Archives: analogue

The Orange City – Seville

Making A Rough To-Do List …

Bringing A Film Camera …

Orange Trees & Alleyways …

Plaza de Espana

Moorish Influences

Waffles – Mushrooms

Epilogue

Don’t Make These Mistakes

New Equipment = New Tests

Camera Calamities

Technique Tackles

Film Foibles

Conclusion