Capturing Summer on Film - A Photo Journal by @alexandrablajovici

As we approach the tail-end of an incredibly hot summer here in the Northern Hemisphere, there's nothing like a photo journal to help us remember times well-spent, either vacationing in a destination new to our eyes, or at home cooling down with a drink, watching a movie or two and getting a much-deserved rest.

Twenty-five-year-old film enthusiast Alexandra Blajovici perfectly captured the warmth and enthusiasm of summer days in this photo journal of her trip to Les Sables d'Olonne in France with her friends, two years ago.

We asked her a few questions about the trip, as well as her experience using Lomography Color Negative 100 film. Let's dive into her answers!

Credits: alexandrablajovici
I wanted to use the Lomography Negative Color 100 to keep a photographic journal of my trip in Les Sables d'Olonne in France. I usually do much more black and white photography, but for the summer I wanted a color roll. It was one of my first tests of a color roll, and the Lomography Negative Color 100 is easy to use, the 3 rolls pack was perfect to take with me, so I could be sure of having enough rolls to test and try a lot of stuff.
Credits: alexandrablajovici
One of my favorite pictures in the album is definitely this one:
Credits: alexandrablajovici
My friend Etienne was reading “The Birth of Tragedy” by Friedrich Nietzsche. The whole atmosphere of those holidays is represented in this picture: the summer days, reading, having deep conversations, going to the beach, the mix of soft light on our skins and salt in our hair. That was it... and I love the soft but powerful colors, and even the accidental light spot because there was so much sun!
I was very curious, and extremely happy when I saw the results. The colors were very warm, rich and tender at the same time. So the atmosphere in the pictures was surprisingly beautiful and melancholic! My wish is to make moments of everyday life I feel grateful about, and my very close friends to be sublimated by photography. And this roll helped me accomplish that, I clearly wasn't expecting such a result! My dream now is to test the Lomography Negative Color 800.

According to Alexandra, her approach to photography as a long-time hobbyist is instinctive, with a lot of trial and errors to figure out which moments interest her enough to keep.

I've even missed some spontaneous moments and that made me tell myself more often "Next time I won't wait, just shoot!". It's all about finding the balance between instinct and what I know is worth shooting. And that comes with experience and failures too! Carrying a camera with me all the time gave me the possibility of listening to that inner voice who says "It's now! Go for it!". My Canon AF 35 ML camera was perfect to do that, because it's easy to use.
Credits: alexandrablajovici

Alexandra grew up in Romania but since 2015 has been living in France, where she studied and now works as a professional actress. She's also passionate about film, music and dancing, and sees photography, a hobby since childhood, as her own "secret creative space".

The digital age came with the possibility of taking pictures of everything with almost no sophisticated materials, and today simply with our smartphones. Since the beginning of digital cameras to now, photography has become accessible and thanks to that I've learned basic photography skills and could practice a lot. But for me photography is art, and the purpose of art is to identify something that matters for us in the world and put some focus on it, literally speaking!
Credits: alexandrablajovici

Dissatisfied with the immediacy of shooting with digital devices, she tried film photography and found in it the perfect mix of choosing each shot wisely and making each moment special. Alexandra added that the fun creative process of film cameras also draws her to the craft.

Each film camera is unique and gives very different results. This plus the roll you choose, the settings, and the quick dream that gives you the impulse to shoot, make the results always unexpected! Not being able to control everything, taking risks and accepting accidents is what makes film photography precious during our very technological and control-obsessed era.
I want to go further and have a lovely Minolta SRT 101, with a 50mm lens. Very soon I will share some portraits and other nice captures I've done with it on my LomoHome, so stay tuned!

Thank you, @alexandrablajovici, for sharing your images and thoughts with us! We're excited to see your new photos!

To the rest of the Lomography community, we hope you've been having a blast this summer! To view more of her work, check out Alexandra's LomoHome.

written by sylvann on 2022-08-27 #people #places #canon #france #lomography-color-negative-100 #les-sables-d-olonne #summer-af-35-ml #alexandra-blajovici

Mentioned Product

Lomography Color Negative 100

Lomography Color Negative 100

The Lomography Color Negative 100 35mm film loves the sun! Expect vivid colors and fantastic sharpness!

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