Edinburgh on 35mm film - Olympus OM10 + Kodak Colorplus 200

A few weeks ago, Daz and I came across a camera shop in Edinburgh (Kodak Express) that sold and developed film. One week later, I was out exploring the city and trying to figure out how to use a film camera.

One of my goals for 2019 is to improve my photography. Trying out analog photography seemed like a handy way to improve by forcing me out of my comfort zone and to think more about what I'm doing. I found an Olympus OM10 and a lens on eBay in great condition, picked up a roll of Kodak Colorplus 200 (I chose it purely because it was cheapest) and headed off on a walk around Dean Village with a friend. (We were also trying to spot otters but had no luck.)

I feel like grey days are the best days to take photos of buildings. Blue skies can sometimes be distracting, and a white/grey sky makes details on a building pop.

The rain started coming down so we headed to the Royal Botanic Gardens. This is where I lost a few shots because either it was too dark, or I wasn't in focus - I was trying to get some cool close-ups that didn't work out.

I really liked the way the tones on these two shots came out - I'm getting a nice, relaxed vibe from them, which is exactly how I feel when I'm surrounded by trees and plants.

Shooting on film was a fun challenge. It's so easy to photograph everything and delete later on with a digital camera. With film, you know you can't delete and you've got a limited number of shots. I found myself thinking much harder about composition and lighting. Not only did it feel like a good way to improve my skills, but it made me pay attention to Edinburgh even more.

I love the warm feel the Kodak Colorplus 200 gave my photos. It brought out the detail in the buildings and captured the feel of Edinburgh perfectly. The teal colour it gave the sky is exactly my kind of thing - not a fan of a more purpley-blue sky.

As for how it handled the bright, white/grey sky - I'm seriously impressed. When you're using a digital camera, you have to expose for bright white skies and it's a pain, so I was worried I'd end up with blown out skies and shots that would need a lot of editing to look usable. For £4.50, this is a damn good film - the only editing I did was straightening photos up and I think I darkened the sky a teeny bit on a couple of photos.

Needless to say, you can probably expect to see some more film photos popping up on here and on my instagram. I took the camera on a trip to the west coast of Scotland last week and I'm eagerly waiting for those to be processed.