Backdated entry - rough shooting date: November 2023
Diary info: Camera: Pentax MX; Film Stock: Kodak Gold 200 (2 rolls)
Hello, welcome to the first post in my photo diary!
This is a casual and personal diary of photos I take over the years. There is no end goal. It is a way for me to look back over photos I have taken as well as document my life and journey as a photographer.
Right now I’m mostly shooting film and currently for this to mostly be a film blog. It’s become somewhat of a passion and I’d like to use this diary to help develop as a film photographer. I’ll be cataloguing posts loosely on rolls. However, I’m sure I’ll have the odd digital entry now and then.
I’ll also be backdating my photo collection from when I started shooting film in November 2023. I’ll note the rough shooting times for any backdated posts at the top. With that out of the way, I’ll start my diary.
The Beginning
This diary starts with my first film camera purchase: a Pentax MX with a M F1.7 50mm lens. To date, this is still one of my favourite lenses. To my eyes it renders beatiful portraits and I find the bokeh extremely natural and pleasing. I purchased the camera and lens for £50 on eBay after stressfully scouring for one with a working lightmeter. Over 2 years later it’s still going strong, although I’m about to get it CLA’d due to the shutter sticking occasionally in cold weather.
This is the first photo I ever took on film… and it came out ok! A little soft, but I was happy I even got anything back! This was my modular synthesizer at the time. I still have it and have since replaced a few modules. However, the hobby has taken a slight backburner since getting into photography.
Next I started mindlessly taking some photos around my local neighbourhood in Bermondsey.
Trip to Canning Town
Some time later I took a trip down to Canning Town in East London. I used to visit a friend who rented a music studio in Trinity Buoy Wharf (see cover image), a little Arts Center oasis in London. I have many fond memories of this place - although it has started to lose its soul recently.
I took a few photos on the way back from London City Island. I remember finding something beautiful in the iridescent-like light on these bricks.
I also took a small detour to my second favourite place in Canning Town: FOLD. In my eyes, the only club I’ll still trade a nights sleep for in my old age.
Southbank
A couple snaps on a walk around Southbank. I vaguely remember the first one reminding me of a scene out of the ‘Last of Us’ given the greenery encroaching on the warehouse-like building .
Finishing the roll
I often get impatient towards the end of a roll and fire off a few silly shots to finish it. So here are a couple of my plants (still alive to this day!).
Roll 2
A few noteable ones from the second roll I fired off:
I seem to be drawn to silly photographs of animals out and about - so here’s a few that started the trend.
At that time I started taking my camera out and about with me everywhere I went. This was taken at a pub outing with some friends which I traced back to ‘The Tiger’ in Camberwell. I distinctly remember being drawn to this scene, with the stilted lamp and hazy lights coming through the window. I also distinctly remember being annoyed by the poster blocking the window and the rebellious intrusive thought to tear it down.
Lastly, I used to do little night walks around Oxford Circus in a previous job. Photography really started to help me switch off and get out of ‘work mode’ into something more creative, relaxing and engaged with the world around me. This is one of the principal reasons I keep it in my life. Here are a few photos that remind of that time, from the second roll - all shot around Carnaby Street.
