A Weekend in East London

I bought my little Canonet 28 (pictured above)  for £8 in a charity shop on Whiteladies. I wanted to challenge myself with an uber analogue camera because I thought it might help me take better pictures in general. Unfortunately, I took an entire roll of film without feeding it through properly so my first experiment was a complete disaster; I mourn the loss of those black and white snaps more than I should. However, I didn't let it defeat me and VOILA we have a complete roll of photos. I need to work on the focus a bit more, but I'm just so pleased that none of them came out dark and shadowy. These are completely naked, no edits just the whimsy fuzz of sunshine and feeling content. 
It felt very indulgent to use an entire roll of film for one weekend, but I was so desperate to find out if the camera was working. These are from a little London weekend break a few weeks ago. I went to a film workshop on the South Bank and then wandered down to the river towards Tower Hamlets with my coz. The Sunday morning was so fine. We walked through Brick Lane up to Columbia Rd Flower Market where we basked in the sunshine, listened to street artists and marvelled at the flowers. I can't believe that it's taken me this long to properly explore East London - it's where my people are at! I felt so at home. I kept pointing out houses that I'd like to live in and parks that I'd like to sit in and cafes and bars I'd like to drink in. It was like inspiration overload. There was also such a huge sense of community that I feel is often missing from the parts of London I often frequent and it's given me so much hope that moving to the capital next year doesn't have to be soulless and corporate. I love how cultures smash together in smells and sights and sounds. I felt proud and excited. More importantly, they make really good coffee. 


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