01 January-OM1
With the idea of re-exploration in mind I wanted to take another look at film photography and my Olympus OM-1. The OM-1 is a 35MM SLR Film camera that was released in 1972 and is credited with being exceptionally small for its time and the pioneer of the classic SLR shape and form we all love today. I purchased the camera back in 2014 and when I was doing research on what film camera I wanted to buy I knew that I wanted something that could operate without a battery, sturdy, and offered a tactile experience. For me the OM-1 checked off all those boxes. Once I got the camera I bought a roll of Ektar as well as a B&W roll of Ilford. To be honest I don’t remember how the shoots went but I do remember being underwhelmed by the photos I got back. I’m going to chalk that up to my own inexperience in the past so fingers crossed these next few rolls come out well!
Along with this blog I shot a video detailing my experience with the camera and a roll of Portra 400. All the images below were taken with the OM-1 Zuiko 50 (1.8), and Portra 400.
Prep and the first roll
The last time I had used my OM-1 was in the summer of 2018. After I had gone through my roll and had it sent in for development most of my shots were overexposed due to either a) bad metering or b) bad light seals. So this time, before I started shooting, I made sure to replace the light seals and bought a new battery to help mitigate those problems.
The OM-1 used to use a mercury based battery for the light meter which has now been discontinued so I bought these Zinc based batteries off of Amazon. It has worked fine so far and the meter seems to be reading accurately so I have no complaints there. After I replaced the battery I went about cleaning out my old light seals and replacing them. The first time I tried replacing my light seals I used a pre-cut kit that I found online but this time I wanted to do it myself because I wanted a thicker foam for the lining. After doing some research I settled on the 2MM version of this foam sheet.
It was a fairly simple process and if you’d like to learn how to do so yourself here is a video I following along with from, This Designed That. To make sure that the light meter and new light seals were actually installed correctly I shot through a test roll and sent it to my local film lab, Fort Wayne Film Lab, for development. Once I got the okay from them I put in a new roll to actually start shooting.
Second Roll
My second roll I dedicated to shooting around the house. Like everyone else during this pandemic I’ve been trying my best to stay at home and avoid going out. It definitely gets mundane looking at the same 4 walls but in December we got our first dog and have been having a great time learning to raise the little guy. Here are a few photos I took around the house and of my family.
Third Roll
For the third roll I decided I decided to go downtown and make this video! The video has the majority of my thoughts so I’ll use this section to just share my favorites and a few comments.
Conjure Coffee
Of all the photos I took I think this has the best framing of the lot. The coffee shop definitely made it easy and its interesting seeing how the tungsten lights affected the white balance of the image in combination with all the daylight coming in from the window. When I look at it it kind of reminds me of the Sepia Tone filter on OG Instagram.
Portrait
I shot this one wide open at 1.8 because I knew I wanted the subject to background separation. I honestly wasn’t expecting much from this shot but it’s become one of my favorite shots form this roll!
Red Ford
The truck came out perfectly for this shot! I just wish the brick building in the background would have came out a bit stronger. I still really this photo though.
Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed my time shooting film. Maybe it was the change of scenery or style but either way it was the refresher I needed. I’m not sure if I’m really dedicated to shooting solely analog but I will admit I’ve caught a bit of the film bug. Since this blog I’ve purchased a 35MM 2.8 lens and a Canon EOS 3. I plan on sharing my thoughts on the EOS 3 next month so I hope you stick around for that. Thanks for your time and I hope you all have a great day!
- Aye Min