We took our film camera with us on our family vacation. Albeit a bit cumbersome to tote it along with our other camera, three kids, and the accessories that go to each of those five things, it was worth the extra burden. We had a goal to get through three full rolls on this trip but fell short of that mark. For some reason it is easier to reach for the Nikon z6 to capture the moment. I’m sure once our arms are less full of babies, they can be more full of cameras 😉

Grateful for the film we did shoot and process to add to the memory book. It’s grainer, it’s grittier, and it feels (more so than digital) etched in time.

Nikon F5 || Portra 800

Our first photos were shot on the Nikon F5 with Portra 800. It’s totally an error in the photo, but I love the light leak in that mountain shot above. How film-y does that feel? I mean, you totally could have just pulled that photo out of your grandpa’s travel book from 1972.

I also love that photo of my dad pointing to the sign and looking at the camera while everyone else mills about. It is very fitting and pretty endearing.

The coloring of Portra just feels right to me. Some of these pictures feel like they could have been taken on my other camera & edited in lightroom with my preset! Not sure if that is the goal, but clearly it means I like the results!

Nikon F5 || Ektar 100

Our second roll was Ektar which Bruce likes a lot. It brings out the reds a lot more which I feel like can be hit or miss on skin tones. I still love these photos and the greens in the back. My favorite photo may be the pulled back group shot of the water we were playing in or the one of Mil doing that funky pose! Haha!

Apparently from this blog post I just found and read, it looks like you have to be careful about overexposing these shots. Also it is better in a colorful place and not just with a bunch of browns. So note to self, don’t overexpose Ektar and try to use it in beautiful, colorful places! We’re learning and you have to start somewhere!