It’s been a bit, substack. And March was a crazy, busy month. Traveling to another state, then back to California, and now off to Texas soon. I can’t believe it’s almost halfway through the year already.
This roll is my first venture with the Olympus XA - the tiny, more pocketable, predecessor to the now-influencer-famous Olympus Mju, which I also own/love. Full warning - this is not a review as much as it is me speaking to how the camera feels to shoot.
The XA is also infinitely more prone to mistakes - my own fault, like not manually rewinding properly and opening up the door/exposing film. Or forgetting to change the focus range before shooting close-up. There’s more moving parts to remember with the XA than the Olympus Mju, certainly, but they are minor things that I’m sure I’ll get used to with practice.
Carrying the XA is lot more enjoyable than carrying the Mju. It seems smaller than the disposable plastic cameras of yesteryear, but it still feels nice and weighty in hand.
And while I’ve never shot with an Olympus Pen, the XA feels like how I would imagine a half-frame camera would feel, almost like a pocket journal you always have on you. The other bonus is the attachable flash - if you’re lucky to find one on eBay that still works, that is - which barely makes the camera bigger.
do I have too many Olympus XAs yet?
These snaps are in line with how the year feels so far… fast, hazy, a little miserable… trying to find glimpses of beauty in the mundane, doing taxes, work crunch, selling a house, and a car. Unraveling then tying up the million loose ends of my mother’s life, by myself, with little time to really process. And being unreasonably hard on myself, as I am wont to do.
an example using the attachable flash
It’s difficult to have glimpses into the future at the moment, but I am trying to stay positive. There is still time for this year to turn around.
One of my favorite photos by far was of a citizen tearing down a giant Wutang Clan promotional poster to take home.
copping a wutang clan poster
