127 Blog

This blog is my dedication to the 127 film by showcasing black and white images which were taken on my travels. Ever since I started travelling to other countries, I have taken my vintage Kodak Brownie camera to capture the essence of time by using original 127 roll film.

Since inheriting the camera from my grandmother, I have wanted to try something different to challenge the digital age of photography that we currently live in. As the age of film is now slowly diminishing, it increasingly becomes a commodity to buy and have films developed.

Due to the simple features of the Brownie Camera, you are limited to a single click exposure. The shutter speed of the camera is 1/35-1/50 seconds, which meant that I had to ensure I had a lot of light when taking the pictures. So scroll down and share my experiences!

Budapest

Országház, 2012

This has to be one of the best views of the Országház (Hungarian Parliament Building) from Batthyány Square, which is on the Buda side. When I first arrived in Budapest from the metro, this was the first picture that I took. With the weather providing good light from the sun, I found that I had plenty of time to get the perfect shot as I positioned myself close to the River Danube.

Széchenyi Lánchíd & Budavári Palota, 2012

The Széchenyi Lánchíd (Chain Bridge) which connects Buda and Pest was worth the visit to admire the work of William Tierney Clark. Especially seeing it from the Pest side where you can also get fantastic views of the Budavári Palota (Buda castle). I wanted to get the best of both worlds to have two landmarks in one shot. The biggest challenge was waiting for the busy phases of road traffic to pass by, otherwise the big sightseeing buses and trucks would have spoiled the shot.

Szent István-bazilika, 2012

Szent István-bazilika (St. Stephen's Basilica) in my opinion, is one of the hidden jewels in Budapest, on the Pest side. I felt that the church was enclosed and hidden from surrounding tall buildings, which never appealed to me as a spectacle. Because of the shear scale and size of the basilica, I found that it was challenge to fit it all into the viewfinder, so I had to position myself halfway down the street which was adjacent to the square.

Hősök tere, 2012

I was worried that I wouldn't make it to Hősök tere (Heroes Square) in time before sun set as I knew the weather wasn't going to be great over the next two days of my visit. I had to rush to get the metro in time as it was long journey to reach the square. Luckily the clear skies where still bright during twilight to get this shot.

Brussels

Stadhuis & Grote Markt, 2011

Surprisingly the Grote Markt is smaller than you think in terms of perspective when trying to fit everything into the viewfinder. I had to take two shots and stitch them together after the developing stages to get the result I wanted.

Maison du Roi, 2011

It can prove to be a big challenge when you are limited to taking a single exposure because lots of people can obstruct the camera and to having only eight attempts per film. I had to time this shoot more carefully of the Maison du Roi as I was situated in the busiest area of the Grote Markt.

Munich

Frauenkirche, 2011

With over five hundred steps to climb up the St.Peters Tower, I had catch my breath, to then take breath-taking views over Marienplatz and the rest of the city. I didn't have much time to take this shot of the Frauenkirche church, which was due to the influx of the tourists passing through the narrow gangway of the tower viewpoint. From most cities I have travelled to apart from Venice, most landmarks have to be restored which is understandable. Unfortunately the day before I flew, I was disappointed to find out that one of domes of Frauenkirche was being restored after checking on a city webcam!

Hofbräuhaus, 2011

With all of the history surrounding the Hofbräuhaus, it was rewarding to visit this old beer hall/garden first thing in the morning, as not many people were about at 7am, which meant I had all of the time in the world to take this shot. With most buildings in Munich being quiet high, the difficult challenge was low lighting conditions. If it was a bit lighter inside the building, I would have taken a shot of the band that play inside.

Maximilianeum, 2011

Munich's hidden gem, which is not even mentioned in tourist's guides! Maximilianeum is an old government house situated on the East side of Munich. It was a pleasure to take pictures of this old landmark in the day and night with my DSLR. To get this shot was a bit tricky, I had to look both ways whilst running in between the road and tram route!

Marienplatz, 2011

I was glad to wake up early to get this shot, because this square would be saturated with hundreds of people within two hours of the time I arrived. The weather was fantastic in the morning. So, to ensure that I had enough light from the sun, I had to stand out of the shadows of the high rise buildings to get this shot.

Deutsches Museum, 2011

Being the world's largest science and technology museum, also hosting Galileo's work, I think that the Deutsches Museum does not get the recognition it deserves. It was a tough day to take good pictures with the camera, as the weather was a combination of dark grey cloud, sun and rain! So that meant I had to do a lot of work on this image after the developing stages.

Rhodes

Acropolis of Lindos, 2011

I had to wait thirty minutes to get this shot, due to fifty or so moving tourists in front of this ancient temple. It was funny that three other photographers had the same idea as me to take the same shot once the sea of tourists had parted!

The Street of the Knights, 2011

Due to the conveyor belt of guided tourists that saturated this very old medieval street, I had to pick my moment wisely as the sun was starting to set. As soon as one party of tourists left, I placed myself on the sunny side of the street to get this shot.

The Grand Master's Palace, 2011

Shortly after I took the picture of St Catherine's Gate I had to rush to the palace as the sun was setting rapidly as seen in this shot. I was lucky to get an exposure as the palace square was enclosed with high walls limiting the amount of light. I had another dilemma because it was my last exposure on the reel so I had to make this one count!

Temple of Apollo Pythios, 2011

I had only five minutes to take this shot as I traveled with a guided tour group on a coach. So I took two exposures of this ancient temple to make sure I got the perfect shot. I was sceptical on whether to take this shot as It was a strange day weather wise being hazy and muggy.

St Catherine's Gate, 2011

This was a tricky shot to fit all of the gate into the viewfinder so I had to stand back on the other side of the road. It was pretty difficult to time this exposure as there was so much passing traffic into the main city.

Venice

Rialto Bridge, 2011

It was a challenge on my second day in Venice due to the low level lighting conditions to take pictures on the Grand Canal. I had to time this shot just right whilst traveling on the vaporetto!

Amsterdam

Mint tower, 2010

Unfortunately this was the only picture I took in Amsterdam, due to the limited time I had whilst spending time with friends. However I was lucky this shot came out well as the lighting was terrible throughout my stay in the city. I will remember my stay in Amsterdam because of the amount of rainfall in three days!

Snowdonia, Wales

Cader Idris, 2010

After taking the alternative trail to walk up Snowdonia, I had to compose myself to take this shot. It was a wonderful sight overlooking the lake just before you reach the summit. I had to be quick as low clouds were moving over!

Paris

Arc de Triomphe, 2009

I had to wait my turn to get this shot at the pedestrian crossing because there were many tourists trying to do the same. I think it was important to time how fast the road traffic was as I could of had lots of cars in this shot!

Notre Dame, 2009

For the first time, I had to protect the camera from rain as the heavens opened whilst taking this shot. I had to make sure I never got rain on the lens so I stood under a tree for shelter. Luckily this was a decent exposure, however I needed to some more work after the developing stages. As bizarre as it sounds, from all of the five times I have visited Paris, it always rains at Notre Dame!

Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, 2009

Whilst being hounded by the usual people trying to sell you wrist bands at the bottom of the steps, I had limited time to take this shot due to them grabbing your arms! Also, the weather did not help, with grey clouds everywhere and poor lighting. I had to really do a lot of editing on this shot with the exposure and brightness levels.

Tour Eiffel, 2009

After the countless attempts to get the tower in the viewfinder, I was stood quite far away to get this shot. I knew that this spot was perfect from the countless times I have visited the tower, as it is a picture postcard shot. I was lucky that weather conditions were great in Paris at the time.

Cirencester

Abbey House, 2009

I am now glad I took this pic of the front of the Abbey because it was due for restoration. With the Abbey being Cirencester's landmark, I wanted to get in close with the camera as the lighting was great to feature the detail and elements of this historic building.

The Bathurst Estate, 2009

If you ever visit Ciren, this fantastic park can be easily missed if you don't know the area well. There is a peaceful atmosphere when you walk between these historic trees. This inspired me to take this shot.