Berlin in philm.
Film photography attempt #1
I’ve been messing around with the idea of doing something with film photography for some time now. Why? I just like the vintage look and feel of it, and the process of getting such photos seems intriguing to me. But this required me to actually get my feet wet and give it a try.
Thanks to a very good friend and housemate of mine I was able to borrow his Praktica MTL3 film camera to test it out and see how it goes. I must immediately say, film photography is an expensive hobby and I found out the hard way.
On my first attempt at buying the film, the kind sir at the photography shop helped me set up the camera with the new film roll in it. I stood there like the meme kid in Popeyes as he did his thing thinking I would figure it out. Cause I indeed did my prep by watching a gazillion YouTube videos on how to put the film rolls in the camera and also getting it out. I left the kind sir and went out by shooting random things inside and outside on the streets. Took the film back to the kind sir at the photography shop. The photos came out looking pretty cool.
This was all happening during my summer vacation, and I was also planning a 6 day solo trip to Berlin. I’ve never really been to Germany, I thought fuck it, why not? This is a good opportunity to actually test it out on my own and also hope to take nice film photos from my trip.
So I went back to the kind sir from the photography shop, I bought three Kodak film rolls (two of 24 and one of 36 exposures) , which cost me about 50 euros. The kind sir put in the first roll for me again. and I was on my way.
The day came that I was heading out for my trip to Berlin. I had a direct train to Berlin Hauptbahnhof, got off, checked in to my hostel and directly went off into the city. I started taking shots, and really felt in my element. Berlin has some beautiful architectural buildings and structures, from the TV tower, to the museums on Museum Island, and of course remains of the Berlin wall.
Soon enough I had to switch out film rolls, cause I was shooting! I did it what then seemed to be with ease and continued to shoot photos. Eventually, I got the hang of it and used the third film roll as well. Went to the Reichstag building, saw the Brandenburg Gate, ate at Markthalle Neun, had beer with some other solo travelers and ultimately had a great time with great people in Berlin.
Before you know it, it was time to head back to Rotterdam. I said goodbye to my roommates from the hostel and headed out. After a 7 hour train ride I was back and looking forward to developing the film rolls.
After a few days of rest I headed back to the kind sir from the photography shop to get the rolls developed, which cost me another 40 euros, and within a few days I got a mail that said that two of the film rolls were empty.
Devastated…
But I got something out of it and learned my lesson. On to the next adventure.
Danke Berlin.
