Such is the odd, pleasant surprise of the unexpected. Finding myself camera-less, purchasing a 10–pack of film days before making a visit to my homeland Costa Rica, all the way from Europe. I already had the spectacular news of my mother finding a film SLR in her house in near-perfect state. The finding was, as you might’ve guessed, a Canon A-1 and Canon FD 50 mm f/2.0 that belonged to my father, which had seen complete utter inactivity and darkness for years.

That was before I sent a friend of mine to check the gear, corroborating that the bag where the camera rested probably had some time-stopping powers. Fantasy aside, the only thing needing a fix was a dry shutter mechanism producing the famous squeak these models not–so–proudly carry the burden of…but I already had informed myself on how to solve it.

I chose the ISO 200 film because at the time, still completely new to film shooting, thought a relatively medium speed emulsion would be a good compromise. Given the results, I was probably not too far off with the idea.

Then the moment of testing the camera/film combo came. Two days after strolling packs off of the Juan Santamaría airport, we decided to go to the market to get some groceries. With immense excitement, I went out with my sister, like a once-young kid, to marvel at the otherwise completely ordinary surroundings lit by the tropical morning sun.

Safe to say that a sunny, dry morning in the middle of the Costa Rican valley hardly proved to be any challenge for this film/camera combo. After thoroughly exploring the gear, I had great fun photographing with this camera and the ISO used seemed well suited to the occasion. I was particularly interested in how this film would hold against direct light, and the various scenes where nailing the exposure would make contrast become the star of this work.

~ Clarence

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2 responses to “5 Frames… With Fomapan 200 Creative (EI 200 / 35mm format / Canon A-1)”

  1. Hola Clarence. Thanks for sharing, what beautiful experience you had finding the camera in your dad old belongings. I read the articles to read more about the Canon A-1 and learn for other film photographers experiences. What a surprise you’re living in my home country. Un abrazo y que viva la fotografía análoga 🙂

    1. hello Sora! glad to know I´ve got fellow neighbour that´s also pasionate about film! Been having trouble getting in touch with others who shoot film around here, So any news is good news. The camera itself is great. If you can ensure you can get one in good state, I totally recommend it!

 

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