Some things I've learned so far from shooting film

The Holga 135 is a very forgiving camera.

Ektar 100 is a gorgeous film but ISO 100 means you really should shoot it in broad daylight if shooting at box speed.

Shooting daily life on digital produces this urge to make things Instagram-worthy. Shooting daily life on film means taking things as they are.

Instant film can be really beautiful, and a nice change of pace.

Keep rolls of 120 film tightly wound. First-time shooters, I'm looking at you!

A good lab is worth every penny. Not all labs are equal!

A good scan is hard to find.

Shooting film costs money with each press of the shutter, but don't be precious about it. Treat it as a gift. Make mistakes.

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In praise of the Casio World Time watch

My watch for my India trip is the humble Casio World Time Illuminator in black resin . It has 5 alarms, every time zone, and a sub-dial for the home time zone. When working weird shifts across multiple time zones, it's hard to beat. The World Time has a distinctly 80s aesthetic. While not as gorgeously uncomplicated as the F-91W (my favorite Casio watch), it is still a lovely example of a classic design era. There's a little world display that shows you which time zone you've selected, plus it gives the city code for the biggest city in the time zone. One of the World Time's biggest selling points is its price. I bought mine from Amazon for $15, only about $6 more than the F-91W. It's almost impossible to beat, and is reliable to boot. Casio claims it has a 10-year battery (depending on usage of the illumination function). Speaking of illumination, the light on the World Time is much better than that on the F-91W. It has two lights, one in each of the lower

Gearing up for Hyderabad

In just a few short weeks, I'll be taking my longest ever trip out of the United States: 30 days in Hyderabad, India. I'll fly from Detroit to Charlotte to London to Hyderabad, where I'll be living in a corporate apartment for the duration of my stay. It's going to be quite the experience. While I'll be working quite a bit, I'm planning to take my trusty Nikon D3300 (kit lens plus 35mm prime) and Google Pixel to document my adventures. I'll be traveling alone, though I'm not sure I'll ever really be alone in a country of billions. I'm looking forward to spending time with my colleagues and experiencing life in Hyderabad while I'm there. For the curious, the rest of my bag will include: Bose On-Ear Wireless Headphones Anker SoundBuds Curve GorillaPod DSLR tripod Google PixelBook Two spare battery packs Chargers, adapters for international outlets, and cables out the wazoo An assortment of pens, pencils, a Sakura Koi watercolor kit,

One and a half weeks down, three to go

Since I left Michigan on the 15th, I've taken three flights, survived food poisoning and a cold, and weathered brutal heat. I've also done a ton of work and met a ton of wonderful people. The first portion of the trip is over. I'm more or less acclimated, and adjusted to the time change. Of course, we decided to switch to nights on Monday, so I'll have to adjust again, but for now I'm enjoying being a bit more settled. Speaking of Monday, I'm going to be late to work. One of the team here is getting married, so we're all taking it in shifts to attend the wedding! I'm looking forward to the experience and sharing it with the team. I didn't bring anything wedding-appropriate on the trip, so I'm heading off to the mall today to pick up a blazer or something. And as for clothes, I made a friend at work this week because of my shoes. Yes, my shoes. I'm not much of a shoe person, but I recently bought a couple pairs of Onitsuka Tiger Ultimate

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