I was kind of in the mood for a film camera - nothing too taxing. I have a Nikon FE that sits on the shelf but that seemed too much of a camera. I wanted something I could forget or not. I saw a video about the Olympus XA2 and the camera attracted me because it is small and because the person who was talking about it thought it was good. So I bought one.
Years ago I would have developed the film and printed it at home. That was when I had a darkroom. And if I had the space to set up a permanent darkroom I might do it even now. Digital is so much easier, and film is getting more expensive every year. But still - the roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd.
Someone once said that with digital cameras the technology is in the camera but with film the technology is in the film itself.
I remember picking up my Nikon FE film camera a while ago, opening it and thinking how Victorian it looked with the sprockets and steel rails, the pressure plate and the shutter blades.
But this roll is from the XA2 - a roll of Kentmere that is years and years old. It is rated at ISO 100, but I shot at 50 ISO to compensate.
I sent the exposed film to ‘develop and scan’ at Analogue Wonderland. They are a UK based company and they take the order online and provide the postage label to send the film for processing to them via Royal Mail.
They don’t send scans back by mail. They provide a link to an account area to download the digital files from there.
I thought I would receive digital negatives, but in fact Analogue Wonderland reversed them. So I have printable prints.
Here are a couple of shots and a photo of the camera itself.
I really enjoyed shooting the roll. With no expectations and in foreign territory, I had some of that ‘beginner’s mind’ that we strive for - to ‘do’ without the invasion of knowledge.
I like the shot of the man holding his head as he runs off the punt. I wonder what he was actually doing? It looks like he hit his head on a pole but I don’t recall any drama like that.