Surprise! I started using my Lubitel Universal again!

A few months ago I started looking into Medium Format cameras and nearly bought one, but figured why do that when I don’t even use the Lubitel I have? I thought about selling it and even put it on Facebook Marketplace and had a lot of interest, which actually made me excited about the camera again. I dug it up out of the camera drawer under my bed and started shooting it! I shot almost 2 full rolls of expired Kodak Ektar 100 at Crystal Castle and I think the photos turned out gorgeous. It made me so excited to be shooting with this camera again – it’s definitely had a learning curve, and been a long couple of years to get me finally excited about shooting it, but now I want to keep going!

As you can see I got a couple of cool light leaks which weren’t very surprising as the camera back is a little loose. After how badly previous rolls have turned out using the Lubitel, I think I finally understand how focusing, aperture, and shutter speed work on this camera and am so grateful that the photos turned out so nice straight out of the camera.

Can’t wait to finish the next roll!

Last week I got 5 rolls of film back! I’d been shooting some of them for a long time, and this is definitely one of them.

I got a Pentax Spotmatic with a 35mm lens off eBay back in October 2015 (Cost: $180) and for some reason didn’t shoot much with it. It took me 2 and a half years to finish the first roll of film because I just wasn’t inspired by the camera once I got it. The camera is in great condition, came with a great carry case and a good lens, but I just rarely picked it up.

The Pentax Spotmatic is very easy to use and is fool proof. I would definitely recommend you consider it as an option if you are looking to get your film camera. I also really love my Pentax ME Super – Pentax film cameras in general really work for me. They are more compact which makes them easy to carry around with you.

Shooting film is such a joy and although I wasn’t very inspired by this camera at first, after seeing the results and falling in love with them, I’m very excited to shoot more with it over the next couple of years, especially as my Pentax ME Super (former favourite SLR) needs a repair.

I was fortunate enough to be gifted a Canon AE-1 by a lovely older man a couple of years ago and although I’ve only put 3 rolls through it so far, I always love the results.

Over the last few months I’ve been to Melbourne, Byron Bay, Crystal Castle, and the park with my friend & her babies and brought the AE-1 along for the ride.

The camera is so easy to use and always gives beautiful results, especially when using Kodak Portra 400. Hope you enjoy x

Can’t wait to shoot the next roll!

I first started shooting this roll in January and didn’t finish until mid-November. It features Sydney, Crystal Castle, and some babies (the more babies the better in my opinion).

Tom – my one and only brother. Happens to be my favourite.

Sydney

Sydney

Zakk. 3 months.

At the airport after spending the day in Sydney training for my new job. May 2016.

I was home alone and Sarah couldn’t get home because of a storm so she came over and we built a fort and watched Friends for hours. Sometimes the unplanned days are the best days.

Lilly

Soren. 1.5 years old.

I bought myself red roses. Not going to wait around for a guy to buy me them someday.

The view from our balcony. This always ends up being my standard final shot to finish a roll.

I love not knowing what I’ve taken a photo of, getting it back and being pleasantly surprised. Something I learned over the course of the year is to use the flash with disposables if it’s not a well lit shot.

All photos taken with my Kodak Fun 400 ISO disposable camera.

View more from the Disposable Diary series here.

This year I discovered one of my favourite places on Earth: Crystal Castle.

I went there for the first time a month ago with my friend Simone and her baby girl Lilly and it was wonderful. Before we got there I was feeling really down and low energy, and even just being five minutes away from there I started to feel so much better. It is located in the Byron hinterland with very little phone service, and I think that keeps it pure. When we actually got in there and had a look around and started to walk among the crystals, I felt even better.

At Crystal Castle you have your choice of different nature walks and psychic readings. Both Simone and I got a psychic reading and loved it – it was actually one of the best experiences I have ever had. The lady that read for me was so positive and saw so much potential for me, which made me feel a lot better and gave me the motivation and the pick me up I needed. She was on point with my personality and my gifts. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and to get some negative information or difficult information to handle but it never came which was such a beautiful feeling. Sometimes it’s nice to have someone see all the things you have going for you, whether you are in that energy or not. We didn’t do any of the different nature walks that day as we had the pram with us and the weather wasn’t too nice, so when the opportunity came to go with some of my other friends, I was excited to explore more of what Crystal Castle had to offer.

Brittany, Janice, Sarah and I made our way down to Crystal Castle last Sunday, despite the weather report telling us there may be rain and lightning. We got incredibly lucky as there was no rain and no lightning! It was a beautiful, sunny, humid day which was beautiful and such a relief. I didn’t get a psychic reading this time, but I did get aura photos and was disappointed to learn that my aura was still red. I think it will remain that way until next year when I make a lot of changes to my life and I start a new journey.

My favourite feature of the grounds is most definitely The Wishing Tree. Thousands of wishes and intentions have been set and hung on the tree over the years. Some have fallen onto the ground. My friend Janice said that maybe all the wishes that have come true are the ones that are now on the ground. I loved that. I certainly hope mine will fall to the ground someday. I checked where I hung my wish and intention last time and it was still there.

I’m so glad I took my DSLR as it was a beautiful day and I didn’t want to have to wait for film to be developed! I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed my day there.

If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend visiting Crystal Castle. There is truly something for everyone, whether you consider yourself a spiritual person or not.