Anya Pavlyuk's story about her Iceland. Let's get inspired!
In early April, I traveled to Iceland and want to share my experience of shooting with a film camera while traveling. Iceland is a paradise not only for photographers who love landscape photography. Street photography enthusiasts will also find plenty to do here—the longer you walk around Reykjavik, the more it captivates you with its unique architecture, small interesting details, bright murals and graffiti, reflections and light and shadow on the windows of antique shops, and mysterious mountains visible above the rooftops. And this is no coincidence—everything most interesting begins there...
Before the trip, I struggled to decide what to take with me—a 35mm film camera or an instant camera. I settled on film since I was also bringing a digital camera and thought it would be physically difficult to carry so much equipment. For anyone planning to take only a film camera on a trip, I recommend stocking up on different types of film (the guys at the photo frame shop will always advise you on the best choice). If you’re bringing it in addition to a digital camera, 3-4 rolls will be enough. While shooting digitally, I sometimes wanted to repeat the same shot on film, and after that, I completely forgot I even had a camera with me, and then I forgot I had a camera at all.
There was an occasion when we approached one of Iceland’s most enchanting places—the Skogafoss waterfall, 60 meters high and 25 meters wide. Due to the large amount of spray the waterfall creates, I got wet immediately, and I had already put the digital camera in my backpack. I tried shooting with my iPhone, but it soon got wet too and completely shut down from the cold. That’s when I remembered my Pentax Spotmatic and put it to use. The camera wasn’t afraid of anything, at least I was confident then, and the results did not disappoint.
There was also a time when, standing on a cliff, I struck up a conversation with a female traveler. She was fascinated by Iceland’s nature and recommended checking out the work of Icelandic photographer Ragnar Axelsson, who began photographing Iceland and the characteristics of Northern people on black-and-white film at the age of 10 and now shoots in Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Scandinavia, and Siberia, never abandoning film. I was inspired and offered to take her photo on film as well. The shot came out a little out of focus but definitely proves that film unites...
After returning home, I felt mentally and physically exhausted for the first few days. The shots on the digital camera and iPhone, which I had been constantly reviewing, already seemed like a poor imitation of what I had photographed with my eyes and heart. That’s when I found the strength to take the film for developing and scanning. Shooting on film during travel, with so many impressions and not seeing the results immediately, means we forget more quickly than usual what we have shot. And here it is—that magic of film in action! Receiving the shots from the lab some time after returning, we can’t quite understand what exactly I photographed!
Text and photos: Anna Pavlyuk, @ana.evig