Olympus Muji ii wedding photography Kodak Gold Film & ILFORD HP5
Now, I need to become a film expert! and no film camera expert at all, but I really wanted to share some of the film photography experiments I've been enjoying this wedding season!
Way back in uni (longer ago than I care to admit), I did the film photography elective while on my Graphic design degree, this involved using the dark room and developing the film ourselves. To me, this was tedious but interesting, and while good to understand, it was just another step in my mind between the good bits! Shooting & receiving the images.
The joy for me is in the surprise, taking the images, forgetting about them and then being almost shocked when they return from what feels like another planet! Taking away all the pressure of curation and editing and leaving just the fun stuff. I love the nostalgia feel of film, and engaging in this process reminded me of taking film photos as a student. I had so many Lomography and old toy cameras that were enjoyable to make mistakes with. It was all play.
So with film making a comeback (I know, I know, it never really went away) and listening to a few photographers discuss it at conferences etc, the desire was bubbling away inside me. Then one day while in Manchester with my friend Paul at Ginger Beard Weddings (So thanks Paul) , I saw him purchase the tiniest point-and-shoot I'd ever seen, and my interest was fully peaked. I wanted that camera, and I thought to myself, "Hey, maybe I can take it to my own wedding to take a few relaxed images with."
That camera is the Olympus Muji ii; I managed to find a reasonably priced one (I think I paid £250). I'm no review site, but I'll give you the low down and my opinions. The camera itself is tiny! So cute and has a great little 35mm f2.8 lens and a bunch of other specs that Google may be better at telling you. The screens are apparently temperamental, as are most old LCD screens, but when it works, it's great. The flash is great, which is good because its camera is super flash happy; every time you close the door, it resets to be on, which doesn't sound like a big deal, but the fear of accidentally not noticing and having a flash 'go off' in a wedding when you're trying to be discreet, has been filling me with a little fear! However, when evening falls and the dancefloor fills, it's a different story and the flash makes everything look awesome. Lastly, the autofocus is a little hit-and-miss on my one, not that it matters because the fun is in that imperfection!
ILFORD HP5 and the Double exposed roll
I think this black and white set from the Olympus is my favourite, I thought I had shot a roll of film, and it hadn't wound on at all, a misread of the camera but I was a bit disheartened at the time. Deciding to repurpose the film for a wedding in Edinburgh. It turned out that it had worked the first time, and it left me with some pretty cool double exposures.
KODAK GOLD
The images below are a mix of a pre-wedding party on Lake Windermere; the image right below is what felt like Greece, and the others are from a wedding I attended as a guest, so it was much easier to commit to shooting film only. So much fun to shoot, and it's brought some extra play back into my life!
Film photography at weddings
Currently, this is a personal project/something I'm doing for fun. I'm not charging or adding on film packages to my weddings as I can't make the guarantees. However, if it's something you'd like me to experiment with a little at your wedding just let me know and I'll try and fill a roll where possible.
