I bought the Lubitel, my first Soviet-era film camera, back in September/October 2010. I bought some 120 film in the states some months later, loaded some film in there some months later, decided that the camera was busted some months later, took it to get fixed some months later, finished a test roll in August, …
Tag Archives: film photography
a final dip in Issyk Kul
Some photos from my final dip in Kyrgyzstan’s famous “warm” (but actually frigid most of the time, nippy on the best days) lake, Issyk Kul. I’m getting a bit emotional thinking about it. It wasn’t a trip I was most excited to take. It was peak season, we were going without the most solid reservations …
the last camera
I swear, this is the last one I’ll buy in Kyrgyzstan. Dun duh-duh daaaaaaah: But what a great way to end my Soviet camera purchases, with my dream camera: the Sputnik. A friend and I stopped into an antiques shop that I had previously visited searching for the Sputnik. I wasn’t looking for any more …
taking the train to Issyk Kul
This is an experience that seems to make it around the various expat circles. Let’s take the train to Issyk Kul! My first reaction to hearing it was something like, really? You can do that? I just finished reading The Great Railway Bazaar and, influenced by the book, I imagined the train to Issyk Kul …
more fun with film
I’ve been shooting like crazy with my army of Soviet-era film cameras lately, testing to see if they work, getting comfortable with the settings, and taking advantage of cheap prices for developing the film. Here are some of my favorites from the recent rolls, rollover the image to see which camera I used. There are …
painted trolleys
Let’s knock a few points from the Ticket List: Salvador Dali-themed trolleybus, captured with my Smena 35. (The colors are gorgeous! I think I love this little camera) And the Gustav Klimt-themed trolleybus, captured with my Nikon FG (with black and white film, oops). Here’s a better photo of it taken by my friend Miles …
Kyrgyzstan in film
It was another one of those things where in my head, the process was simple and I could get through it with no problems and no misunderstandings despite my continuously depleted Russian vocabulary. In reality, eh, not so much. But in the end, I finally got six rolls of film developed. A few rolls are …