Right before New Year’s, I got a second hand film camera, a little Canon range finder, and it’s been one of my favorite parts of my new hobby.

The small size is great for carrying around, and it’s not so expensive that I’m constantly worrying about losing it. My favorite part of the camera is the built in 40mm lens, with it’s short focus pull, it’s great for quickly documenting a scene without losing the subject in a busy backdrop. Actually, I’d really like to have a similar lens for my X-T30.

Just today, I got back my first roll of film from the lab, most of the images came back quite blurry, but there are a few photos I’m happy with. There’s some light leaks too, but I’m hoping that’s fixed now (and that I haven’t made it worse).

This is one of my favorite photos on the reel, I can remember what this coffee tasted like just looking at it. The lens created a great sun star of the glass that really complements the way the light bends through the coffee. The Fujicolor Superia 400 film has some great colors, if a little green, and the images are quite sharp when I’m actually holding still. I have to say the real film grain looks much better than the film simulations from the X-T30 or Lightroom.

Both digital and analog photograhy have been fun for different reasons. With a digital camera, you can keep capturing until you get the exact moment you want, and you have a lot of freedom in post to create the your artistic expression. Sometimes, that can distract from just experiencing the moment, but an analog camera can do the opposite. You aren’t always holding the camera to you face, but you’re still paying attention for the perfect shot, and the camera is ready only when you are.