Why I Shoot Film on Summer Vacation (and What I’ve Learned From Mixing Formats)
Discover why I bring film cameras on vacation, the gear and film stocks I pack, and what I’ve learned after two summers of traveling with family and film.
The slower I shoot, the more I remember. Film gives our summers space to breathe.
Why Summer Is Made for Film
Summer, for me, holds a kind of dreamy chaos, sun-drenched, sticky, wild, and a little nostalgic even as it happens. When we pack up for our family trips (road trips, camping weekends, or just a few days at the coast) I always make space in my bag for film.
There’s something about the way film renders the season: light-soaked, imperfect, honest. It doesn’t capture everything, and that’s exactly the point.
Choosing Film on Purpose
Digital photography is efficient. Convenient. Sharp. But when I shoot film, especially while traveling with my family, I slow down. I see things differently. I don’t take the same photo five times; I wait for the photo.
It’s also a boundary. I’m not scrolling through the back of the camera while the kid and dog are sprinting toward the tide. I’m just… watching. Waiting. Remembering.
Film slows me down.
It teaches me to shoot less.
The results feel like memories, not records.
What’s In My Bag
This year I’m keeping it simple:
Nikon N80 – My go-to 35mm camera. Lightweight, reliable autofocus, and perfect for chasing kids and dogs along the beach.
Fujifilm GA645 – A dream for travel. It’s compact for a medium format camera, and the fixed lens rangefinder style works beautifully for scenic landscapes. I don’t bring it everywhere, but when I do, it’s the one I reach for when the light and the view demand something special.
Lenses: Just two: my trusty 50mm f/1.4 and a 24mm f/2.8 for wide, environmental frames.
I carry everything in a Think Tank Retrospective 5, and I use Moment’s film pouches to organize rolls. Last year I brought both a Canon 1N and a Nikon FM2, but I found that the Canon, while excellent, was just too heavy for travel. It’s my main 35mm for client sessions now. As for the FM2, I love it, but with a fast-moving little one and a dog in the frame, autofocus wins. If I still had a slow moving baby I would likely stick with the slowness of the Nikon FM2.
Nikon N80 + 50mm 1.4 + 24mm 2.8, Fujifilm GA645, and used film waiting to be developed from our last vacation.
What I Shoot With (And Why)
My summer film choices are simple, budget-friendly, and beautiful in bright light:
Kodak Gold 200 – Perfect for high sun and warm tones. I love pushing it to 400 for a little extra grit.
Ultramax 400 – A reliable, flexible stock with good latitude and pop.
Ilford HP3 – My favorite black-and-white. I’ll push it all the way to 1600 when I want mood or need extra speed.
I’ve experimented with Fujifilm 200 and 400 but found they didn’t match the tones or contrast I was looking for. The greens never quite landed for me, especially compared to Kodak’s warmth.
This summer, I’m sticking with just two color stocks and one black-and-white. Simple is better when time is short and film is precious.
Lessons From Two Summers
The first summer I brought film along, I didn’t fully commit. I had my digital camera with me at all times and juggling both left me feeling stuck in my photographer brain. I’d swap cameras mid-scene, scroll through previews, and try to make quick choices that pulled me out of the moment.
In the end, I liked my film photos more. They told the real story. My digital files? Still buried on a hard drive.
These days, one of the biggest perks of film is how manageable it makes my personal work. There are fewer files to cull, no RAW files to edit, and when the scans come back, they’re usually 95–100% done. I don’t obsess over color or crop. They’re just… ready. Ready to print, ready to frame, ready to share.
It’s also a relief to leave the tangle of chargers behind. No more worrying about whether everything is fully charged before we head out for the day.
Film doesn’t just change how I shoot. It changes what I bring home—and how much energy I have left to enjoy it.
This Year’s Game Plan
This summer, I’m packing intentionally:
One 35mm camera with two lenses. One medium format camera for scenic shots.
A handful of rolls: two color, one black and white.
Film pouches organized and pre-loaded.
No backup gear “just in case.”
A point-and-shoot for my son, because he wants to remember too. I chose the Kodak Ektar H35 (a half frame point and shoot) for him this year instead of disposable because it actually gives him more frames when I pop in a roll of 36.
The goal isn’t to capture everything. It’s to be in it, and come away with memories I actually want to hold onto—not hundreds of files I’ll never sort through.
Vacation doesn’t need to feel like work. And film helps me draw that line.
Why I Keep Choosing Film
Even with the unpredictability, the delayed gratification, the lab fees, film brings me back to something simple. Something creative. And something grounded in trust; that I don’t need to see the image to know it mattered.
It reminds me that summer is fleeting. That my son won’t always climb into bed with sandy feet. That I won’t always have to pack six kinds of snacks before we leave the driveway. These are the messy, beautiful years. And film sees them the way I do.
Last year one of our family vacations was a camping trip to Cape Disappointment State Park. There’s a long jetty you can walk out onto as the waves break on the rocks around you. My son waited and waited to be sprayed by the perfect wave to hit the rocks. The first photo below is that mist splashing him. I’ll never forget how happy he was when it finally splashed him and how wet his face was after. The second photo, backlit in golden sun, he was still wet as we hiked back to the car.
I don’t need 2,000 photos. I need 20 that make me feel something.
Curious About Film?
If you’ve ever been tempted to shoot film on vacation, I say try it. Just one roll. Just one walk. You don’t need to get it all right, you just need to let go of perfect and let it feel like summer.
Birth of Benjamin - Evergreen Hospital, Kirkland, Wa
A birth story where you give birth with all your co-workers/friends. You and your baby receive so much love and care the entire department is abuzz. It’s the very best birthday party you and your baby could ask for.
Baby Benjamin is here and has been loved on by so many since his very first seconds.
Benjamin Atlas Stuckey
Born July 7th at 5:48 am
Weight: 7lbs 6oz
Maternity at Home on Film - Woodinville, Wa
Reflections on a cozy, laidback maternity session at home.
Waiting Project 2024
The Waiting Project
A personal photo project exploring how we wait in the final weeks of pregnancy. We often romanticize pregnancy in images and maternity sessions are done earlier, when we're earlier in pregnancy and typically more comfortable. With this project we're instead focusing on those final weeks, the home stretch, when the waiting is forefront. Society doesn't talk about it as much, beyond acknowledging how uncomfortable it is. So I’ve invited my clients to reflect and share!
I began my project in 2023, but in 2024 started to include the thoughts and words of my beautiful photo subjects as well.
How do we wait at 38+ weeks?
What does it look and feel like?
Jenna
Waiting
I’ve never had to get so quiet
Too many anxious inquiries about his arrival.
So I sat in silence. Messages left on read.
—
Come rub my feet will you? Because they say we are weathering.
I wonder if they know that it’s extacy, joy, love, and patience that aids a baby earthside.
And not a nervous system demanding deadlines for those unborn.
—
Words by @jennahanchard
Lauren
Waiting
There is this arbitrary number of forty weeks that everyone says you are due by, that you should be born at. But knowing that your conception date is merely an educated guess, we wait for you patiently, Baby. We wait until you are ready to embrace the outside world. We wait until my body, my womb, has every detail of your body grown to the right stage that it can release you into my arms. We are not rushed. We are not concerned. We cherish these final days of your Big Brother being an only child. We cherish these “overdue” days as gifts of days of peace and family bonding and transition. I cherish these days of holding you in my womb, where I’ve inherently kept you safe and secure; I will miss you being in my womb, although you being in my arms will be joyous and fulfilling. My body was intricately designed to create you, to grow you, to nourish you, and to birth you - I trust my body to deliver you when you’re ready, no sooner. We will be here, arms ready to embrace you, when it is your time. Until then, we wait patiently, rubbing you through my womb, showing you all of the love we have for you. We love you, Baby.
—
Words by @gracegrainandgrammar
Becca
Waiting
This period of waiting has felt very different from the last. Physically and mentally, this pregnancy has been a much greater challenge for me. As I’ve gotten bigger, I wonder how I will keep going - it sometimes doesn’t feel possible. As we get closer to their arrival, I wonder how we will do it all – raise a toddler and tend to two newborns.
I’ve been forced to slow down physically, pass off responsibility, and rely on others. All things that I do not excel at. I feel as though there are a ton of things to do and a dwindling amount of time to do them. I am both excited for the arrival of my babies and anxious about all the upcoming change.
I’ve been reminding myself that we were chosen for this journey, we are prepared, and we have everything we need.
—
Words by @b_evsss - Waiting for her twins to arrive - August 2024
Birth of Eunice - Puget Sound Birth Center - Kirkland, Wa
Birth never ceases to amaze me. Eunice’s birth was by far the most surprising yet. Third babies are always a wildcard when trying to predict how labor and birth will go; this one was just that.
1:10 am - Serena (mom) calls me saying they are headed to the birth center. They decided to head in because her contractions were strong even though they were still about 10 mins apart. I grab my stuff and head out the door.
Enroute to the birth center, Serena tells their midwife on the phone that baby is coming.
1:21 am - Eric pulled over on the side of 405 Northbound, Eunice was born in their car. At that moment they had EMT on the phone and were then advised to finish the short drive to the birth center since baby sounded good (she let out a nice big cry) and their midwife would be waiting for them.
As I pulled up to the birth center I had no idea baby had already been born in the car. I saw their car parked with their hazard lights flashing. I walked up to their car and there was a very fresh baby and two very shocked parents. Not long after their midwife arrived and got them inside and cozy. Baby Eunice was great. Serena was amazing. Smiles and laughter soon replaced the fading adrenaline as they recounted what had just happened. Welcome baby Eunice! You are an amazing little girl with a birth story that will be shared for years to come.
Eunice Naeun Han
Born at 1:21 am
Weight: 8lbs 1oz
Length: 20"
