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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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 HeadphonesAnker SoundBuds CurveGorillaPod DSLR tripodGoogle PixelBookTwo spare battery packsChargers, adapters for international outlets, and cables out the wazooAn assortment of pens, pencils, a Sakura Koi watercolor kit, notebooks, and a …

It's hot here

Today I decided to see some of Hyderabad. Being the adventurer that I am, I picked a walking route to the botanical gardens. "20 minutes? No problem!" I thought to myself. Even in 100°F heat, that should be plenty doable with enough water and sunscreen.Reader, it was not.After about 30 minutes hitting dead ends and nearly getting hit by tuktuks while turning redder that a tomato, I decided to try cooling off in a mall along the road. The security guards wanted to confiscate my camera, so I turned around and left. At that point I decided to call an Uber to take me back to the office.The Uber at least was prompt, clean, and fast. I felt awful using Uber, but for a foreigner who speaks no Hindi it's the best option by far.Takeaway: Hi-Tech City isn't a walkable part of Hyderabad except at grave risk of heat stroke or traffic accident, and I'm going to stick to taking an Uber anywhere I need to go.

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 corners,…

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