Chinese Lunar New Year (35mm Film photography)
Film ain’t dead & Neither am I!
After over a decade I’m back to shooting film photography!
Why now?
The Alternative Gallery is in the process of building a darkroom and we decided the best way to flesh everything out was to develop our own film!
This has made shooting film so much more accessible for me. And in the end, much cheaper.
Shooting film quickly gets expensive between buying film, then developing & scanning. Years ago I rectified the last step by getting myself a really nice flatbed film scanner. But the development part always seemed a bit out of reach.
Fortunately, I now have access to the tools that allow me to develop my own B&W and Color (C-41) film, with E-6 Slide Film processing soon as well. One of the many benefits to having an organization like the Alternative Gallery is you don’t have to pursue endeavors like this on your own!
NYC Photo Adventure(s)
In February I actually took two separate trips to NYC to shoot some film, one at the beginning of the month and one in the middle of the month. All the shots in this post are from the more recent trip, which landed on Chinese Lunar New Year. (Photos from the first adventure will be coming in a future post)
I loaded up a fresh roll of CineStill 400D to start things off in Chinatown. Also in tow were an expired disposable camera and a fun little keychain camera from Kodak called the Charmera.
For my final roll I shot CineStill 800T, but I only got off about a dozen shots before the trip was over. So that roll has yet to be finished and therefore none of those images are included in this post. Once I finish that roll I’ll upload some of those nighttime shots as well.
But for now, here are some shots of me bumming around NYC during Chinese Lunar New Year!
Cinestill 400D (35mm)
This was my first time shooting any type of CineStill film, and I was extremely excited to do so! CineStill modifies Kodak motion picture film for use in still photography, giving the shots a more cinematic look than your average 35mm photographic film.
I’m extremely happy with the results and look of the final product. I agree that the images definitely have a cinematic look to them, which as a filmmaker is so damn badass in my eyes! CineStill film will likely become my go to!
These images were shot with a Minolta X-370.
Kodak Funsaver Camera (Kodak GT 800 - 35mm)
I’ve also been super into shooting expired film and expired disposable cameras. In this case I used a Kodak Funsaver camera loaded with Kodak GT 800 film, expired in December 2013.
The first few shots of the roll were used up as I bought this camera at a yard sale a few years ago for $1. That left me with roughly 20 of the 27 exposures. For 20+ shots, that’s a dollar well spent!
The colors are muted and it’s a bit grainy, but I really love how these shots look! You use expired film for the unpredictability and imperfections it offers!
Kodak Charmera Keychain Camera (Digital)
In late 2025 Kodak released the Charmera keychain camera. It’s this little plastic lo-fi camera that stores images on a micro SD card. It’s modeled after various Kodak cameras from the 1980s. The cameras come in a blind box and it’s fun surprise to see which one you get!
I got one as a gift for Christmas and I pretty much carry it around with me everywhere I go.
Even though I was shooting some rolls of CineStill and a disposable, I still took a bunch of shots with the Charmera for some added variety!
The images produced by this camera are rather small in comparison to other digital cameras. I’ve experimented with upscaling the images and even making some prints, with pretty good results.
But the images below are directly from the camera with no editing or upscaling of any type.
Some bootleg Labubu dolls on Canal Street.
The confetti cannon aftermath.
Wall of shame at the Fresh Market on Mott Street.
A message left on a tree stump. I love this so damn much!
This camera seems to look best when taking photos of colorful things!
Let’s Wrap This up!
As I told a friend of mine, I feel like I’m picking up exactly where I left off when I stopped shooting film and didn’t focus on photography as much.
Even though I’ve only shot a few rolls of film so far, it feels very natural. I wish I would have picked it back up much sooner. So I’m going to be doing a LOT of shooting to make up for it!
NYC is always a great place to grab some photos and somewhere I’ll be visiting very regularly, especially during cultural events.
My regular shooting habit is becoming:
Shooting a fresh roll of film;
Shooting an expired disposable camera/roll of film;
Busting out the Charmera camera;
All at the same time.
I enjoy wrapping up a day of shooting and having a variety of types of images. This might not always be the case if I’m shooting something specific of course, but in general it will likely remain my default way of going on a photo adventure.
It’s also nice to have the Charmera because I can see those photos instantly, a good thing when I’m excited to see some images but might not have the chance to develop film right away.
Expect to see regular posts of new film work from me because I’m inspired as hell!
