Shooting Film in Venice – Portra 400 & Tri-X 400

If there’s any European city that deserves to be shot on film, it’s Venice. There’s simply no need for a Nottingham man in his late 20s to describe its beauty.  A weekend is all you need if you’re on your own. Beautiful venetian gothic architecture, suited-up old Italian men holding newspapers, murky green canal water, a contrast of high fashion and rustic looking washing lines. It’s so easy to shoot multiple rolls.

Tourist essentials – in B&W.

I took my Kodak Snapic A1 with me (a trusty modern 35mm point and shoot) and had about 15 photos left on my roll of Tri-X 400. I’m a professional videographer by trade and I exclusively shoot black and white on the Snapic A1 for behind-the-scenes video content. It almost felt like a waste to shoot Tri-X in such a colourful place. To combat this, I decided to snap all the touristy spots in b&w and save the unique photos for a colourful roll purchase the next day.

Every bridge in Venice is a scenic photo opportunity and on 35mm black and white, lots of shots here feel ambiguously timeless. My favourite aspect of shooting film is the ‘trigger discipline’ required to get the most out of every roll. I love looking at digital photos but I would have spent my entire weekend behind the lens if I wasn’t using a little point and shoot.

The Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo (the spirally building above) is a must see and snap. It’s accessed via a few extremely narrow side streets and it reveals itself at the angle this photo captures. It’s absolutely stunning. These ‘reveals’ are what I love about visiting famous buildings, especially when you aren’t able to view them from a distance. My first glance at the Taj Mahal in India and Machu Picchu in Peru have been some of my most vivid memories in life. There’s something special about how your eyes are first introduced to beautiful architecture, especially when you’ve seen hundreds of images online from a famous ‘photo point’ and the reveal immediately introduces a different perspective that you’ll forever remember.

Let’s switch to Portra 400..

Buying film in Venice.

Venice is filled with busy washing lines that sprawl across Canals, streets and alleyways. As I mentioned before in regards to film, you have to think carefully about which spots deserve a shot off your roll. I would have taken 100s of washing line photos alone. If you visit Venice, don’t get too inspired by the first washing line you see (unless you are creating a collection of washing photos)! I ended up revisiting streets to take each photo and even at different times of day to ensure I had ideal light. If I weren’t an amateur film photographer with a point and shoot I would have been a lot more comfortable shooting in the early evening. I envy those Leica photographers who nail the light manually every time. It was the first time I’d taken notes of picture ideas on Google Maps and revisited instead of simply snapping. I recommend this fun process for those with time on their hands and limited film!

When I studied digital film production at University, I had an obsession with Wes Anderson and his love of centre frame. Since my old tutor told me to find my own style, I’ve tried hard to actively avoid it after creating shorts and documentaries that felt a little too inspired by his films. I find it funny that there’s only one photo here that Wes could relate to and it’s a quick shot of a yellow boat whilst walking to my next slice of pizza. Now I sit here writing this post, disagreeing with my old tutor and yearning for some additional centre frame photos. Old habits.

Again yearning for better focus.. My Kodak Snapic A1 only has two focus modes and I’m still new to the camera. This little pop-up antiques/wares market was a fantastic opportunity to capture an entire photo album. It’s a shame I had to catch a train in 30 minutes!

Back in the UK now (sadly).

I hope you can forgive my strange word choices, apologies! This is my first article for 35mmc and as a filmmaker who works primarily in video marketing this has been a fun but challenging exercise to avoid my default ‘advert copy lingo’ and write posts that can sit next to the great essays on here. In all honesty, it’s an honour to be able to share some travel snaps on here and I do not deserve to be placed alongside 35mmc’s incredible photographers and essayists.

If for any reason you’d like to contact me or have also taken photos in Venice (I’d love to see them) feel free to message through my website. I upload often on Instagram so if you would like to see more of my snaps, that’s the place.

Thank you for reading!