Rock en Seine...

One of the reasons we chose to go to Paris over the August Bank holiday was due to the music festival Rock en Seine, held just outside Paris. (We also went to a music festival whilst we were in Krakow, we are well travelled music lovers! Barcelona next I believe... haha) Neither of us took many photos but I managed to get some with my yashica samuria with my first try of Lomography Xpro film.

I'm still undecided on this film, its very green, though some others from the two rolls I used did turn out quite well, so I guess this is a limited selection to judge it on.

I also took some photos with my Sardina too and I love the results, the wide lens is perfect for the setting...

Highlights from the festival include the Foo Fighters - Dave Grohl is amazing, the Artic Monkeys, Anna Calvi, Lykke Li and Austra, who I just love!

Cameras: Yashica Samurai and Sea Pride Sardina
Films: Lomo Xpro and Colour Negative 400
Location: Rock en Seine, Paris.

Around Paris with my Sardina camera...

Our first three days in Paris were mainly spent at Rock en Seine (photos to come) but we were ambitious on Friday morning and we decided to go explore some of the city before heading to the festival.

We walked down the Rue de St Martin and across the river to the Notre Dame and then across the river again to the Palais du Luxemboug and I tested out my first roll of film in my Sardina Sea Pride.

For a first go, I found this camera awkward... its undeniably pretty however I didn't realise you had to pull the lens out and twist it to be ready to shoot - this action felt extremely clunky. I just left mine out in the end, probably not the right thing to do but oh well. Then winding the film back on I managed to catch my knuckle on the edge of the 'can' and cut out a chunk of skin (please tell me someone else has done this as well, was I doing it wrong?) and honestly - the shutter on this camera is pathetic, it sounds so tiny, I wasn't even sure it was working at first. So after using my first roll, I wasn't expecting much as I wasn't blown away by the photo taking experience...

However, I think I actually really quite like these photos - I was expecting the results to be similar to the Superheads Slim and Wide, yet these photos have quite a different quality to them. I think the lens is a little wider and I like how the edges are fuzzy in comparison to the middle and I think if the day had been sunnier (it was nicer when we left or I'd have used a higher iso film definitely) then the colour would have been much more vivid. So despite my original misgivings I am actually quite intrigued by what else this camera can do...

Do you have a Sardina? I'd love to hear what you think of it too.

Location: Ile de la cite and Palais du Luxembourg, Paris
Camera: Lomograpy Sardina Sea Pride
Film: Lomography iso 400 (I think)

That first evening continued...

After finding the river and enjoying the amazing view, we decided to continue walking around the area on our side of the river before having dinner... we managed to find the Louvre, the Centre Pomidou and some other gems which I just loved.

{can you see me? This one was taken by Thomas with his Sony H7}

We then went for our first French meal - we both had Steak Tartare which was delicious, like a really amazing pate and then desserts.

Thomas had rum baba and I had the nicest creme brulee I've ever tried. As you can see, I was very excited, I seriously love creme brulee.

I also love my yashica samurai, I took 50 photos that first night with a 24 film, you can see the rest that I haven't shared in the films Flickr set here (3 posts on one film is enough lol)

p.s. It's possible I may have taken too many photos in Paris... I'm kidding (of course, you can’t take too many photos of Paris) However, we could be here for a couple of months people... this is 1 film out of 12 I'm just saying.

Along the river...

My main aim on that first evening was to see the river Seine, I'm not sure why, but I really wanted to get to the river and look across the city - I wanted to see all the bridges and get our first view of the Eiffel Tower.

{photo by Thomas with the Sony H7, my first with the tower!}

And boy, once we got there, it really did not disappoint - I felt so much better, like I truly believed we were in Paris and I could finally relax. The sun was shining, the evening was beautiful and we sat and watched the world and the river go by on a bench for a little while just soaking it all in.

Location: The River Seine, Paris
Camera: Yashica Samurai
Film: Kodak Iso 200