After telling you all about how I fell in love with shooting film this year, of course I need to show you some more film photos. I was lucky enough to have two weeks in the summer to go on a road trip. In early August I drove to Chicago where I met a friend who I actually met 10 years ago at that internship in Prague I mentioned in my last blog post. We had already done a road trip in 2014, through Arizona, Utah and Colorado. This time we decided to start way further north, driving through Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota. Just the emptiness of those states can be breathtaking. Endless fields, roads and just a farm here and there, nothing else.
How to shoot your own vacation as a photographer
While a lot of people shoot most of their photos on vacation, for me it can be a relieve to not bring a camera. Don't get me wrong, I love using all kinds of cameras. But going on vacation with the same tool you use for work can make it feel less like a vacation. So I was debating in my head forever what I should do. Should I just bring my iPhone and capture some photo and video here and there? Maybe a phone gimbal to get more stable video and do time-lapses? But what about the drone? And wouldn't I miss shooting film? For a little bit I was even thinking about only using film for the entire trip.
In the end, I did what I guess you do if you can't make up your mind. I had an entire suitcase full of gear. One film camera for black and white, one for color. A digital camera, all kind of lenses, the drone, a polaroid and a ton of film. There was some fear that this might be overwhelming. But it turned out it would be just perfect. Having all this gear at my disposal made it feel more like toys. I would pick whatever I felt like depending on the situation. Just open the trunk, choose 1-2 cameras and go shoot. The fun I had using all kind of cameras was definitely better than feeling like I was missing something.
I have to admit, I didn't really edit my footage or photos yet. But here is the best part about film. You don't need to edit if you give the film to a lab. So here are my favorite film photos from the trip. One more tip, one of the best things we did was shooting lots of Polaroids. I had a little album we could use to make an album while we were on the trip.
