Beginner Film Photography | Our first rolls of film! Kodak Gold 200 + Ilford HP5
My first rolls of film! I felt nervous pulling the trigger for each image. Learning on a digital camera has been so easy with endless redos and being able to see what the image looks like right away. I immediately fell in love with the thought process of film photography — carefully setting up for each shot, checking light, background objects, and getting that one or maybe two chances to get it right before moving on. And then the waiting…. waiting days/weeks to get it developed and hoping that even just one image turned out. Ugh the anticipation: it made photography so much more exciting to me.
This roll started off in Playa Del Rey (our home), and then the majority of the film was shot in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica. We always travel with our photography gear and I felt so proud that several images on my first rolls or film actually turned out! It is a little pricey (buying film, developing it, getting it scanned for online usage, and the whole waiting process takes patience) and that’s really what has made this learning process slow. It’s also why I chose to shoot on a cheaper film, Kodak Gold 200 for my first go at film photography, shot on my used 35mm Canon AE-1. But I’m happy with how the images turned out- so whatever! My next roll will be on Portra 400, which I’ve seen and heard is a favorite for a lot of photographers because of the buttery coloring. I’ll be sure to share how those turn out. But for now, I give you Kodak Gold 200, in all its film beginner glory.
Our boutique hotel kitchen, joined by bedrooms on either side : Hotel Horizon
And the second roll of film: shot on Ilford 35mm ISO 400. If I’m being honest, the BNW film was really my favorite so far. Black and white film was a little more forgiving when it comes to exposure. AND, it has such a timeless feel. It’s hard to beat in my opinion.
Main dirt road running through Santa Teresa
honey buns
