Film Log: Roll 003 | Introducing the Nikon FG

Introducing my newest companion: the Nikon FG.

I'll be honest, I didn't do much research on what camera to get after the Yashica died. The camera repair store had recently refurbished the Nikon FG, rated it a good beginner's camera, and I had a lens at home that would fit perfectly so I only had to pay for the body. Without much thought and anxiously wanting to get a working camera in my hands, I bought it and the first roll proved that it could produce some gorgeous shots...and that I still had a lot to learn.

When the Yashica's shutter jammed on me, I must've been six exposures deep into a brand new roll. When I reloaded it into the Nikon FG, I knew I'd have to advance a couple to avoid double exposures, but I didn't advance far enough. What resulted were completely split-framed double exposures between from our trip to Shenandoah National Park and Doylestown, PA.

It's not exactly my style and, honestly, was quite sad to lose some of these original photos, especially the ones from inside Siren Records, but hey. That's one of the many lessons I'm learning with film: let go and move on.

Another lesson I learned is that manual focus is HARD. I'm so used to my phone or my Sony to do everything for me—shutter speed, aperture, focus, you name it—that I was shocked to find a lot of my photos out of focus. Also, I was shooting at waaaaay too low an aperture. When adjusting my aperture, I was only thinking of light and not depth of field. Big mental note taken for my next roll. On the plus side though, my camera's light meter works pretty well and was really helpful on gauge the best shutter speed. If it recommended more than one, I always picked the higher number because I remember reading somewhere that overexposed photos can be edited, but you can't do much with underexposed ones.

But even with the learning curve, there were absolute gems that made me so excited for what this camera is capable of. I was able to nail down the focus on some (even if it took me twenty seconds to get all the settings right) and the colors are downright beautiful. I've even created a postcard of the Nakashima Reading Room at the Michener Art Museum, which you can purchase in my store.

Check out the focus here! Look at her whiskers! And the little hairs on her paw!

Nakashima Reading Room, Michener Art Museum

Nakashima Reading Room, Michener Art Museum | Buy Postcard

Special thanks to PhotoLounge for developing my film! <3