Nikon FA was my first ever 35mm film camera. I had been on the fence for quite sometime so when an opportunity presented itself I jumped on board.
It had been quite some time due to our rolling lockdowns since I had an opportunity to get out and shoot with Lucas. We were both chomping at the bit for some time so at our first opportunity we headed out to East London for some film fun!
We started off outside the ExCel Centre with the aim of heading eastward before turning back here. The walk took us through parts decaying through to the ultra modern (and of course, deserted). Nikon FA was my first ever 35mm film camera. I had been on the fence for quite some time so when an opportunity presented itself I jumped on board.
It had been quite some time due to our rolling lockdowns since I had an opportunity to get out and shoot with Lucas. We were both chomping at the bit for some time so at our first opportunity we headed out to East London for some film fun!
We started off outside the ExCel Centre with the aim of heading eastward before turning back here. The walk took us through parts decaying through to the ultra modern (and of course, deserted).The weather was extremely cold, you could feel the windchill working its way through if I stood around or decided to take a break for too long. The overcast weather also helped the film choice. Ilford HP5+ has a wide latitude so you could easily shoot it at any range from 200-800 ISO without much problem. A good idea is to figure out how much grain you want in your image before you get going.
The first few images of an abandoned building which was bought by Newham Council back in 2015. It sits on prime land, opposite the huge ExCel International Exhibition Centre directly across the River Thames. To its east lies London City Airport and to the West the Financial Capital of the World, Canary Wharf. Unsurprisingly, no decision has been made with regards to those abandoned buildings. Although, how long are they going to ponder on it?
The sky is clear, the sun is out as we continue our walk along the River Thames. Just behind the conference centre is plonked a ‘mobile mini’ which makes no sense either. Anyway, a good snap! As we were coming out of lockdown I could help but think why flights were still going out of London City Airport?
A little further along and more abandoned buildings, brand new ones this time. Empty offices with residential complex above. We arrived just at the right time, the light and shadows with the buildings seemingly converging at the end. One of my favourite shots was the reflection of Canary Wharf behind us in the distance, the clouds and the sun at its full brightness.
We took a break for a bit and started to plot out the rest of the walk. A few clouds rolled in and I remember looking up the flight schedule so Lucas could grab a shot on his Canon 35mm. Luck would have it that as we had walked further along we saw a plane taxiing in the distance (not on the rosta!) and he was able to grab a few shots!
We reached the end of the line to find a water pumping station. We hadn’t been walking along the Thames afterall! It was the end of the Gallions Point Marina. The sun was getting lower at this point and we decided to hustle a bit to a spot Lucas had found on the River Thames. The decaying boat would make a perfect subject for a long exposure shot. Which Lucas had prepared very well for with his 10 stop Lee Filter! We worked our way around to North Woolwich through the Royal Victoria Garden, in much more of a hurry due to light starting to go.
We found our way out to a bridge directly underneath the flight path of City Airport after walking along a dead-end footpath. Perfect opportunity to capture the East London Skyline but this time with Lucas’s ND filter. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the right thread to hook it up so decided to take a risk and take the shot with the ND Filter handheld. The first shot needed better focus as you can see in the video, however, the second attempt was far better. I really like that shot, definitely will need to find some time to have a play with these filters in the future!
Scurrying our way past the Tate & Lyle factory as pedestrians stopped and asked us for directions to the nearest tube station. We made our final stop at the Thames Barrier which has been in operation for over 40 years now. Little is known about how crucial this system is in preventing wide scale flooding in London. The question remains whether it can withstand the future rising challenges the Thames will pose.
The light was almost lost now as I burned off my final few shots checking how well the HP5+ can handle these conditions. A tripod would probably have been useful at this point but otherwise a very fruitful and productive day out shooting film!
Massive thanks to IG @analog_square who is always a dream to work with on any shoot for all the little videos along the way.
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