I was finally able to use a roll of the beloved Kodak Porta 400 film. Bought one roll for $9.99 and had it processed onto a disc for $7.50 at a local photo lab. I think it would be much more economical to buy in bulk and process in bulk so that I will only have to pay for one or two disks.

I have learned a few things after this first roll and am making notes to myself:

-SLOW DOWN! Don’t hurry to take a shot because I don’t want to miss the frame. And don’t get frustrated if I do miss a certain cute or pretty frame/moment. Slow down to get the correct exposure and focus. And wait for the subject to blink.

-do not shoot a person with the harsh sun on their face, golden/orange sun – the kind of sun that makes a person squint. I know this may be common-sense to most, but I for some reason thought the light would be pretty – NOT SO!

-I need to use a different focal lenght. I have used 50mm for so long and do mostly portraits. I think it’s time to try an 80mm length.

-When I’m shooting a person and I think I’m pretty close to their face, take a step in and get closer and maybe even another step in. If I’m not going to take a step in, then take a couple steps back and get the entire setting.

-I need to overexpose this film if I want to get the look I want. Definitely overexpose a couple stops on a cloudy day like the one on the lake and with Nina (still need to learn more about how that works on my canon ae-1)

-I need lots of practice on manual focusing (at least 10 of 36 pictures were out of focus). Or I need to ask my subject to stand still and not blink.

A question I need to research:

-how do I fix my mom’s orange skin?

Note to self:

-buy a light meter.

Half of this inaugural roll was taken at our house and the other half on the lake at my parent’s house in Columbia, SC. Luca is wearing Lederhosen. And my dad, husband and kids are playing with my dad’s remote control sailboat.

[Kodak Porta 400 Film, 35mm Canon Ae-1, 50mm 1.8]