Vikings and Odd Sports
These last few weekends this analog film shooter has done quite a bit of digital photography (sacrilege I know!), since I’ve visited a few events where there are more action filled elements and I am not really good at capturing action with my analog cameras…yet.
      
      The 365 Project Mark IV - The Sixth Month Summary
Half the year is now done and I’ve amassed 181 pictures in my project. Just 184 to go and this year will be done. “Just” 184 pictures. That does feel like quite a challenge when you put it like that, but I also thought it’d be tricky to put up the first 181. It’s actually been a pretty relaxed project this year so far, mostly because I’ve allowed myself some slack when it comes to what camera to use. No longer restricting myself to just cell phone shots was a good thing for sure! It’ll (probably) be pretty smooth sailing to the finish line I think.
(Although by writing that I’ve no doubt jinxed myself in some weird way…aw well…we’ll see what happens!).
      
      Shooting with a new film stock
Through the 3 years I’ve shot film in earnest I’ve tried a few film stocks, but mostly shot on Fomapan 400, HP5+ or Kodak Tri-X. A little while ago I shot my last roll of Fomapan 400 which meant it was time to get started on the most recent acquisition, my supply of Rollei Retro 400 S, a film stock that I heard about from Ted Vieira when he was a guest on the Negative Positives podcast. I shot a roll of that stock in my medium format camera a while back and enjoyed it so I figured I’d give it a go in my 135 cameras too.
      
      Nerds...so many nerds!
My title for this post may sound like something negative, but it is most definitely not! Quite the contrary in fact! I am myself a photo nerd, so to see so many people enjoy their immense interest in certain movie/game or book characters and dressing up as them was a delight. More nerdery is a good thing!
      
      Yellow Gold
This week’s been very busy at work and I’ve had little time to go out and shoot anything, let alone trawl through the archive, so when my dad suggested we head out there today (Sunday) and shoot a little bit I jumped at the opportunity. Right now the rapeseed fields all around us here in the south are in bloom so there’s so much vibrant yellow that it almost feels surreal to see it…especially combined with a clear blue sky there’s a certain Swedishness to it. ;-)
      
      Out in the streets again
The weather is no longer arctically (is that a word? if not it should be!) frigid outside, so the Swedes suddenly sport all kinds of color in their choice of clothing rather than the dark blue, black or brown we seem to wear during the winter months (yep, I am guilty as well with my black coat), so it seemed like a good idea to head out there again for some street photography. I’ve not done a whole lot of it this winter, and the little I’ve done I haven’t really felt the urge to post on the blog.
      
      The 365 Project Mark IV - The Fourth Month Summary
Another month done, so it is time for a monthly wrap-up post. This makes for my fourth such post, making this a third of the year done already. It doesn’t feel like I’ve done 120 days of this project, but when I do look in my 365 folder on the computer there are indeed over 120 images there…so it must be true.
Anyway, spring made its full and complete arrival during the month of April, and there were even hints of summer temperatures right around Easter, which made for an enjoyable couple of days right around that holiday.
      
      Sakura in the rain
For many years it’s been a tradition for me to go across the ocean to Denmark’s capital Copenhagen at the tail end of April to photograph at the Sakura (or Cherry Tree in Japanese) Festival. It’s usually quite the colorful experience with lots of people in kimonos, martial arts outfits (for the displays) or various anime and manga outfits. I’ve covered it with my digital gear many times…so this time I figured I’d have a go at it with my 1970s Canon TLb and Fomapan 400 film. It is also the one camera in my gear bag that I am not very careful with…so if the projected downpour would have a disastrous go at it…well…I have other cameras I can use.
      
      An outing to the "Troll Woods"
For the longest time I’ve had a roll of Fomapan 200 loaded into an old Zeiss Ikon Nettar folding camera and since I now shoot my medium format stuff mostly with my “small” Kiev 60 camera that roll has been there for quite some time. Just to not let it get too old I brought it along when my dad and I went out to the beech forest near a small village called Torna Hällestad. That is a place where some of the beech trees have a strange tendency to contort themselves while they grow, turning them into quite surrealistic shapes in some cases.
      
      Creating more analog photographers
This weekend I had the privilege of teaching the first part (of three) of this semester’s analog photography course at my photo club. It’s the second time I am in charge of this course (I took it myself back in 2016) and it is definitely a lot of fun! I do enjoy bringing the knowledge of this aspect of photography to more club members, and it’s encouraging to know that we’re attracting more new members, both to the club as well as to analog photography as a whole.