2025 Biannual Album

Written By Ata Bal

Following are some frames from my lens taken first half of 2025.

experiments on film

I’ve been experimenting with film late 2024 and first half of 2025. It was challenging but not as much as I initially thought. Having shot on manual mode in DSLR cameras have helped quite a bit when trying to guess the light intensity on cameras without a built-in light meter.

But biggest challenge by far is trying to anticipate what the camera was “seeing”. I shot exclusively with rangefinder cameras. Not because some puritanical street-photography ethic but they were very easy to carry around. In these cameras there is a little shift between what you see on the rangefinder and the final photo as rangefinder doesn’t show you the image from camera’s lens. Anticipating this and counteracting it in your composition needed skill and having seen enough photos out of your equipment.

Fujifilm 400 was ideal for colour photography with a nostalgic feeling. Objects tend to have warmer tints but their shadow profile leans towards green. Making it very well suited for a dreamy look with a feeling of a photo taken “sometime in the past.” Also it records considerable amount of grain which helps this theme.  

Ilford HP5 Plus can be used as a go to film for black and white photography. It’s an inexpensive and well performing film. It gives just the right amount of contrast to the image. It performs really well under low and medium light conditions. But high light intensity can make your shadows loose contrast a little. Use quicker-than-usual shutter speed under higher light conditions.

Smena 8M and expired Konica Minolta 100 VX was the most interesting shoot among all my film photography so far. First, a small word about Smena 8M. It’s an old Soviet camera. And as with all old Soviet technology, it feels like an alternative universe to use it. It packs quite a punch. It’s a completely manual camera that allows you to shoot with different ISO films. It allows for double exposure. However it doesn’t come with a built-in light meter so you have to either be really good at guessing the light intensity or use a seperate light meter. It is mainly plastic built, which makes it super easy to carry around but it’s surprisingly sturdy.

As for the expired Konica Minolta 100VX, it behaves a little unstable. Lighter tones tend to have a strong pink tint whereas shadows have a strong green tint. This not only makes your photos dreamy but also gives them a psychedelic sensation. Hence shooting a luna park was perhaps the best thing I did with this film. 

Sydney Mardi Gras 2025

I had the opportunity to shoot the Sydney’s infamous Mardi Gras this year as well. But unlike last year, I feel confident enough with the results to publish them. It is truly an event one must experience at least once in their lifetime. Alongside being a beautiful parade with impressive audio-visual shows and significant Pride history, it is also one big party where the city of Sydney lets loose for a night. In many ways it functions as how circuses functioned in the old times. It provides a safe area for “role-reversal” where suit and dress wearing men and women of the city dress in high-vis, skin exposing, glittered clothes and dance like there’s no tomorrow.

Frames of Sydney

Below are some photos from my occasional photo-walks. They are all taken with a mirrorless digital camera and a modern lens. Just some frames, from the daily lives of Sydney-Siders.

Old-Town Datça

And lastly, these photos were taken in Old-Town Datça during my Turkey trip last year. I found them hiding at the backs of my storage card somewhere. Hence I could only just publish them. Old-Town Datça is the historical settlement near Datça, Turkey. Its history dates back to 11th Century B.C. Found as a Dorian settlement, it changed hands multiple times from Greeks to Persians to Romans and finally Ottomans. It was also famously a late home to prominent poet Can Yücel.

Ata Bal
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Frames of 2024