Walking Rome With The Kodak H35
Forgotten film and unforgettable places.
There are many reasons to love shooting stills on 35mm film, but efficiency is not among them. That’s okay because photography doesn’t always need to be efficient, in fact I’d argue it’s more enjoyable when it’s not. Unless of course it’s a paid gig with a deadline. In that case you’ll be glad to be shooting digital stills and delivering them quickly.
This was the case with a quick trip to Sardinia to drive the new Ferrari Roma Spider in September 2023. After a few days work on the stunning island I had an overnight layover in Rome on my way home. I chose a neighborhood I wanted to explore and a few iconic sights I wanted to see and made the most of the 18 hours I had on the ground. In an attempt to keep myself more in the moment during my brief visit to the Eternal City, I left my iPhone in my pocket(for the most part) and a Kodak Ektar H35 at the ready.
When I got home, things got busy and the camera got put in a box when we moved from LA to Nashville a few months later. I didn’t see it again until a week ago and upon finding it I immediately dropped it off to have the film developed. I’d completely forgotten what all was on the roll of Kodak Gold 200 and that the H35 is a half frame camera. Although I didn’t get prints, where you’d get to see the full artistic benefit of shooting on a half frame, I think you’ll see how it impacts the way you shoot when using one, or at least how I think you should shoot anyway.
I’m so glad I found this camera and that the roll of film came out. It has reminded me how great the inefficiency of shooting 35mm is and the joy that comes with finding an old undeveloped roll. Along with the H35, I found and developed rolls from my Canon FTb QL and Olympus Stylus Epic Zoom 80, but I’ll save those for another day.
Enjoy- AM
Beautiful photos !!