35mm winter

Olympus OM-10

M.Zuiko 50mm 1.8

Kodak Portra 400

This post is literally years in the making. I have talked about wanting to shoot film multiple times on this blog, and after seeing post after post from Kayleigh, Carrie, Lizzie and Anna, I finally decided to stop talking about it and actually be about it. So, I bought an analog camera, which was a process.

Around the time I graduated high school, I had my heart set on a Pentax K1000. They were going for like $100 on eBay at the time, but I knew nothing about bidding on eBay, and even after my mom gave me the okay to use her credit card, I punked out, for fear of being duped or sent a faulty camera.

Fast forward to November of 2014, I spotted a Canon AE-1 Program on Etsy. Everyone is using these cameras lately, and I was almost early to the party, but I had alot going on at the time (including the passing of my father), so I ultimately abandoned this Etsy conversation.

Fast forward, again, to December 2017. I was back on the eBay hunt. All my research serendipitously brought me back to the Pentax K1000, the ultimate analog camera to grow your photography skills. The fully-manual design forces you to learn the rules of exposure, unlike the Canon AE-1 Program, which essentially chooses the exposure for you. I wanted more control than offered by the AE-1, but not as much freedom as the K1000 would give. This is where Olympus came to the rescue.

I found a local camera shop that specializes in analog photography, so I bought the OM-10 from there. They showed me how to load the film (my first roll was free!) and even threw in some accessories to get me started. The camera also came with a 7-day money back guarantee, so I knew I was not being duped or sold a faulty camera. The only thing I wish they would have shown me was how to nail down the manual focus. Out of 36 exposures, only about 10 of them were properly in focus. Clearly, I have some learning to do, but I look forward to it.

What I do not look forward to is the cost to have each roll developed. I picked up my first set of prints last weekend and was in such sticker shock that I had to vent about it to Saniyah at brunch (thanks for listening, girl!). This may turn into a seasonal thing, especially since Dunwoody Photo (the only place around town that still develops film and returns your negatives) is out of the way for me.

We shall see.