My first photos from Valencia above, with a little mishap on the first shot

Unlike many other photographers born in the ’90s, ’80s, or even earlier, who learned photography on film before switching to digital, my story of picking up my first analog camera and film roll is a bit different.

I remember the summer of 2018 very vividly. I was on a solo trip to Valencia, Spain, and while wandering through the old city center, I randomly stepped into a second-hand camera shop. On a whim, I bought my first analog camera, thinking I wanted to experiment with film and start practicing photography more mindfully. I probably shot two or three rolls with some decent results, and then… somehow forgot about my ’70s Pentax. It started collecting dust, and I couldn’t find the motivation to go out and shoot or to spend extra money on development and scanning.

Fast-forward to the end of 2023: the pandemic years were behind us, my personal life had shifted, and suddenly, new travel plans were taking shape. With destinations like Mexico on the horizon, I felt the challenge of carrying a heavy, expensive digital camera while wanting to travel light and carefree. That’s when I decided to dust off my old Pentax ME Super and bring it instead of my digital Canon, knowing that if I lost it, it wouldn’t break the bank, maybe just my heart for a bit.

Around that time, I also discovered that some of my creative friends were experimenting with film too. I figured it was time to run some tests before taking the Pentax on this big, soul-healing trip. I wanted to make sure it still worked well. Everything seemed fine, and I even developed some black & white rolls in a friend’s DIY home darkroom (read: bathroom). Then I embarked on my Mexican journey, hoping to finally uncover the joy of analog photography.

And boy, I did! Despite mishaps like improperly loading film, losing film rolls at the airport, or getting some low-quality scans in Merida, I gradually learned the ins and outs of my Pentax. I continued shooting during my travels and back home in Amsterdam whenever I felt like traveling light.

Upon returning home, during spring 2024, I joined some analog photography communities in Amsterdam, going on photo walks around different neighborhoods, visiting darkrooms, and talking endlessly about film stocks. Feeling like I belonged in a new creative circle, and especially the one Lily Heaton started with Femmes & Thems Film Club was exactly the push I needed to keep shooting film more often.

Starting September 1st, 2025, I’ll be beginning my own “100-day challenge”, inspired by a project in The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life by Suleika Jaouad (a writer and human I deeply admire). I will document that on one or more posts throughout the upcoming months.

Summer 2025 shots