One of the reasons I got into film photography is because I like the unexpected. I like not knowing how the pictures will come out until weeks later. I like having total control over every aspect of the camera without having any autofocus or anything like that.
When I went to Budapest a few months ago I had every intention of buying a Soviet relic such as a FED or Zorki (I still want one!). Instead, I came out with an eighties Minolta X700 SLR, which isn’t what I thought I would want. Indeed, for a while I felt like I had betrayed myself by buying a camera that has a lightmeter and features such as aperture priority mode.
I realise that this is ridiculous seeing as the camera itself probably now qualifies as an antique rather than a hi-tech piece of kit!
Anyway, I feel like I’ve made my peace with the Minolta now. It’s a nice compromise between having a fully manual camera (and you can ignore or turn off all of the help), and something that goes some way to helping you a little.
I haven’t had a chance to take many pictures recently as I’ve been writing a book and doing lots of GCSE exam marking, so I’ve strung this roll of film out for a long time. Sometimes you can get some nice surprises back when this happens.
Here’s some pictures I took in the depths of the Tate Modern a few months back. The room was very dark so it was nice to have the help of the light meter, which advised the slowest shutter speed possible. I’m pretty pleased with the results. It’s probably a cool picture more due to it being a cool artwork than because anything I’ve done, but still, I like them.
As we walked away from the Tate Modern, we stopped at the normal tourist trap on the South Bank where the youngsters gather to show off their skateboard and BMX skills. I wanted to try and capture a sense of motion with a slow shutter speed. I’m pleased with the first one of the person on the BMX – I thought the background might come out blurred given the slow shutter speed and my shaky hands but that hasn’t happened..
The Wrong Exposure 