Analogue Adventures: Disney World and Half Frame 🌈🏰

Welcome to another Analogue Adventure! This time with Alex Vye who thought that Disney World would be an amazing opportunity to double up on photos with a half-frame film camera...and he was RIGHT!

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with the rest of the analogue community! First question nice and easy - how long have you been shooting film and how did you get started in the hobby?

I’ve been shooting film for about 15 years. My father and grandfather were heavily into the hobby, and I started shooting film as a way to connect with my Dad. We would go on photography trips to local islands (he worked for the local port for several decades).

What’s your favourite camera to shoot with - and what kind of film do you usually use?

My favourite camera to shoot with is a Nikon FM2. I prefer to shoot with Kodak Ektar (colour) or Kodak TX 400 (bw). I do most of my photography walking through the woods and I feel Ektar really handles the reds and browns you see outdoors in the fall very well. For black and white, I feel that TX 400 gives me the old-timey feel that helps me match my grandfather’s look and feel.

What made you most excited about your Disney adventure, before you left?

Just a chance to shoot something different. I live in a small, rural area, and at some point, you get tired of shooting the same trails or harbours for the millionth time.

NOT from a small rural area...

What were the biggest photographic challenges you faced on the trip?

The crowds and the rides - everywhere in Disney there are tight, constantly moving crowds, and you are always hopping in and out of rides. And a lot of the rides are water based! So you can’t have a large bulky camera, a zoom is pointless, and you really can’t bring an expensive or cherished camera because of the risk of losing it, leaving it behind on a ride, or getting it drenched on a water based ride. Also the high humidity can wreak havoc on sensitive electronic cameras.

Which camera and film were you using, and how did they help you overcome the challenges?

The camera was an olympic pen-s, a compact fully-manual half frame camera. The film was Kodak Ektar 100 and dubblefilm Jelly 200. The olympic pen-s really helped solve the crowded, hopping in and out of rides problem because it is so tiny. It fits in a jacket or even shorts pocket. It has a 30mm lens for nice wide shots, and being completely manual (not even batteries, no problems if a lot of water gets in it).

Also, being a bargain buy from a 2nd hand shop... not a crisis if it got lost. Being small and innocuous made it easier to take quick street photography style shots. As for the film, Ektar is, in my view, the finest 35mm colour film in existence, and with the bright sun of Florida, it really shined. dubblefilm Jelly was an experiment, it produced some fun shots.

Was there any part of the trip you were particularly excited about the photographic opportunities? And did the real experience of them live up to your imagination?

I wanted to create the kind of “memories” photos that you look back at in twenty years and smile. So I wanted candid shots, shots of people enjoying themselves. I wanted pictures you could step into, step back into a time and place. Yes, I think the real experience lived up to my hopes.

What is your favourite photo from the trip and why?

My favourite photo is one of my son and my daughter by the pool, shot on Ektar. By itself, it’s not a great or noteworthy photo - but it is so sharp and crisp you would think it was taken on a modern digital camera or phone, not a sixty year old secondhand half-frame camera. It just pleased me the quality you can get with good, fresh film and good light.

Love it! What is your most unexpected photo from the trip and why?

There is a photo of a yellow, 1890s style building on Main Street of the Magic building that I shot with the Dubblefilm Jelly - the overlay of the film’s colour gradients meshed really well with the building’s colour.

Is there anything you’d do differently - from a photography point of view - if you were to have the trip again?

I would bring more film [ED: this is the CORRECT answer! 🤣] It was so much fun shooting with the Olympus, I started to run out of film halfway through the trip. Once you get in the zone, it is addictive. I would also take more photos of my family. I find that the only photos you go back to in 10 years are the pictures of people.

So true. What would you say to anyone who is curious about doing a similar trip to take photos?

Shoot often, stop trying to take a perfect shot every time. You don’t need to be Ansel Adams. In my view, it’s about capturing memories. Shoot, shoot, then shoot some more. "Quantity has a quality all its own".

Beautifully expressed. What is your next planned adventure, and which camera/film will you be taking to capture it?

There is an island near me, Grand Manan, which is a 1.5 hour ferry ride from the mainland. There are lots of abandoned fishing buildings, whales, and interesting geography.

The Olympus would be the wrong camera for that - I would probably bring the Nikon FM2 with a telephoto lens, which means a faster film like Kodak Ultramax 400, which I have had a lot of success with. Possibly TX 400 for atmospheric shots of abandoned fishing sheds.

Where can people go to see more of your photography?

You can go to https://3d6.ca/ (I used to play a lot of dungeons and dragons; you rolled 3 six sided die for players attributes; and I wanted a short domain name because I am lazy).

Makes total sense to me! No shame here 🤣 Alex thank you SO MUCH for sharing your Analogue Adventure with us, and your photos are gorgeous.

If you'd like to submit your own Analogue Adventure then complete the form here. Happy Shooting! - Paul