It has been forever since I uploaded film here. I used to do it so frequently but the film prices skyrocketed and the pandemic happened, and I just slowly fell out of the routine, albeit much of this was also replaced by my falling in love with aerial photography and focusing more on running around the English countryside back then, capturing everything I possibly could while having a blast. Slowly, I have been getting back into shooting film. It remains incredibly expensive despite the manufactures increasing the production to meet demand, but that also includes increases in general. Not to forget the expensive cost of development, especially when developing at home isn't an option. These shots were taken during summer, not too long after I arrived in the city of Tbilisi. Back then it was such a unique experience to be here. Roaming through Old Tbilisi and feeling like the city was a mysterious environment to explore and capture. I still somewhat feel that with the drone, though the chaos of this city reduced some of the more peaceful photography from the side of the road. Film stock here seems a bit thin, with few options beyond unique brands and the usual Fujifilm options. This stock was Phoenix, though it was a film stock I had never heard of before, and I had no idea as to what to expect from it.
As is the case with all film stocks, they each have their time and place. There's no such thing as a bad film stock, just perhaps the wrong environment for it. So a lot of these images were largely experimental. No idea how they would turn out, whether the strong warm sun in Georgia was the right environment for the film, or whether it would perform under stronger shadows as the buildings tower above. This is the side of shooting film I love though, that lack of knowing what to expect. Each roll of film will inevitably lead to some surprises and disappointments. What you thought would turn out beautifully ends up being a bit boring, and what you thought might be a bit boring ends up as a great photography you didn't expect. So much time had passed since this roll had been shot that I completely forgot what was on it, having only got the film developed just last week. I think it came out quite good though, with a few images I barely remember taking, but ones I feel really happy about. Hopefully this can lead to shooting more film and sharing it here as the inspiration flows again; and thus my backpack will continue to be full of three heavy cameras, batteries, and of course the drone on my regular outings! At least that should be a bit of exercise while I'm running around outside. Gotta shake off some of the Armenian food and bread addiction somehow.
The film stock is Harman Phoenix 200, 35mm with my Canon AE-1 on the Canon FD 50mm F1.8 lens. I do want to get a wider focal length vintage lens for the camera at some point. Back in England I have a wider zoom lens that's somewhat broken but still functions normally. Though preferably I'd rather get a new one or get that one fixed up before running around with it as pieces come falling off. The 50mm focal length is fun, but for portraits and general architecture shots in tighter environments, that wider focal length would perform beautifully. Also, I just got given a Soviet era 8mm cine camera. I'm incredibly excited to check that out.