Film Diaries: the beach

Last month I went to Panama City Beach to take a few days off and relax a bit. After all, it is summer. It was not as packed as around other times of the year and I was quite happy with the experience.

On the trip I was mostly shooting film and there will be some follow-up post after this one. I also shot some digital to compare to film (not so different in final output actually) but that is for some other time.

After the first day, I ran out of film so that I bought some Fuji film at Walmart. I have no idea what kind of film it actually was (unspecified on the packaging) but I suspect it was some C200 or Reala in terms of my experience when scanning. So I ended up shooting Ektar 100 (rated ISO 25) and Fuji something 200 (rated at ISO 50). I was quite surprised that the two look rather close—try to guess which one is which.

The first shot below is one of my favorites. The parachute with its different colors nicely complements the yellowish and greenish tones from the water and sand.

As you can see it was very hot and I got a nice little sunburn—I haven’t had one in years. The white sand was reflecting light like crazy together with the cold water that masked the first signs of burn… a deadly combination…

I love that one: welcome to XXX – check out our gift shop.

The beach – from one of the piers. Both sand and water were amazing.

The downside of Panama City Beach. The beach is literally framed-in by one hotel built next to the other… and this goes one for miles. Sure it provides a lot of beach/sea front windows and real-estate but it has a mass tourism feel to it.