Film memories

I finally had a film developed that had been in my Agfa since July. It always amazes me how it captures details, like the sun reflecting on the lake above. It has come out just how I remember it.



I took a few photos of the side wall of Tate Britain that overlooks my college, whilst waiting around for a tutorial. The craters in the stone are traces of bomb damage during the war.



Cherry picking..



Daisies in my granny's garden, standing tall and proud, holding so much hope for the coming summer months.

Brighton

I collected a batch of photos today and this is one from our trip to Brighton last weekend. I would love to live in one of those little houses one day - each with its own personality. The red house has a bricked up window above the door! I wonder why..

On a side note, I love how film makes me appreciate photos more. To see the end result you need to wait until the whole roll is used up, take it to the shop, then wait a couple more days.. It's so exciting opening the envelope and re-living the experiences in the photos! Not every photo comes out well, which makes me appreciate the good ones even more. I'd forgotten that feeling. I also love having a printed picture that I can prop up on a bookshelf or put in an album. Over the years I've been guilty of storing far too many photos on the PC and printing very few.

Through the window

I took these photos with my Agfa Optima over the past few weeks. I've had a fascination with Battersea Powerstation for a long time: ever since I can remember, I've passed it on the train going into London. I've never seen it up close, only through the train window. I often take photos out of train windows with my mobile, but the quality is poor, and I thought the Agfa would capture the Battersea Powerstation's beauty better.

I love how the chimneys are a pristine white against the blue and grey skies, but a murky cream against the white sky. It's a bit of a game taking these photos, as sometimes another train passes by which blocks my view, so I have to take the shot at just the right moment. And if I leave it too late, the train line curves round and it's no longer in view. People give me funny looks, but it makes my train journeys more enjoyable.

On my last roll of film, the last photo was my favourite. It's really moody and I like the tones of the red brick, green bushes and grey sky. Sadly a lot of the other photos on the roll came out poorly. There's a bit of a framing issue, and I think I'm the problem. It turns out that I haven't been looking through the view finder at the right angle, so when I think I have something centred, it is in fact a quarter of the way to the right. I'm so relieved there's nothing wrong with the camera!

Magical Woods

About a month ago I picked up an Agfa Optima Sensor film camera from a Charity Shop for £2.99. It was a bit of a gamble as I had no idea if it would even work... But it's perfect, and didn't even need a new battery.



Even though I got a new digital camera for Christmas (a Lumix point and shoot) that works perfectly well, I've been quite disappointed with my photos recently. Somehow the atmosphere is never captured, and they seem a bit lifeless. But with my Agfa, the photos seem to come out exactly how I picture the scene in my head. So when I look at these they make me happy, and remind me of a moment in time. These photos are of the same park that I posted about a couple of days ago. The colours have come out so much more naturally on film.



Because there are a limited number of shots per roll, I need to think carefully before taking each photo, which makes them more special to me.



The Agfa has an aperture setting which I've always dreamt of having, and I took the shot above with an f-number of 2.8. It's so much fun! But film is expensive to develop, so I will save this camera for special occasions :)