Film photography is a relatively new hobby of mine. I bought my first ever film camera on Camden Market when I was maybe 15, but had never given it any serious attention as a photography medium, preferring digital cameras. In my second year of university, I moved into a house with a guy called Ellis, who like me was into photography, but focused on film. I bought an old 35mm film camera off him and began shooting film as a serious project. Since then I have probably owned or shot in excess of 100 different film cameras, ranging from point-and-shoots worth less than a fiver to cameras approaching the highest bracket of quality and price.

One of the beautiful things about film, however, is that you don’t need to spend your life savings to take beautiful photos; take disposable cameras, for example. They often produce stunning colours and capture perfect moments, and yet they cost ~£5 a go. There are hundreds of brilliant yet cheap options to choose from, whether you’re looking for a point-and-shoot or an SLR. In this post I’m going to talk you through a couple of my favourite picks from each of these categories, one cheap and one slightly more expensive, in the hopes of introducing somebody else to the world of film photography.

Point-and-shoot

Nikon Lite Touch 130ED

The Nikon Lite Touch comes in various different models, all with similar names. The 130ED, my pick of the bunch, is a reliable little point and shoot camera, with minimal room for manual adjustment. This can be a huge positive or negative in photography, but for the Lite Touch it is a definite positive. The autofocus, automatic flash and shallow depth of field make it a great camera for various situations, but especially “people photography”. The lens is reasonably fast, the autofocus is reliable, and the flash is soft and isn’t too artificial, which can be a problem with some cheaper cameras.

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This camera is essentially a step up in every category from a disposable camera: better lens, better flash, more control, and reusable. There are at the time of writing plenty of these available on eBay, with £7 plus postage being the lowest price I have seen for a tested and functioning model.

Olympus Stylus / Mju

The Stylus / Mju family of Olympus Cameras is an iconic cult camera from the days of film. The best of the bunch is the Mju II, a point-and-shoot which has become an almost vital accessory to many film street photographers.

The Mju family offer similar functionality to the Nikon Lite Touch, with a higher upside. Some offer a zoom lens, whilst others are fixed focus. The fixed focus lenses on Mju series cameras are worth their weight in gold. The Mju II boasts an f2.8 lens with a 35mm focal length, which is a perfect catch-all focal length for a point-and-shoot film camera. F2.8 is also incredibly quick and sharp for a compact camera: my own compact camera is a Contax T2, regarded as one of the best cameras in the film world, and boasts the same aperture.

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The Mju series all boast a sharp two-step autofocus, which allows the user to focus, reframe the shot and shoot at the original focus. The automatic flash can be controlled for differing situations, and is a soft light which works beautifully on black and white film.

Mju cameras are durable too. Almost all of them are weatherproof with a hard plastic shell protecting the electronics, and they are surprisingly durable. My own Mju II Zoom had been bashed around, dropped in water and down stairs, and the battery compartment is held together by duct tape and prayers, but it still works perfectly.

Single Lens Reflex

Olympus OM-10

My first “serious” film camera, the Olympus OM-10 is a single lens reflex 35mm film camera. I paired it with a 50mm f1.8 Zuiko lens for much of the time that i used it, which is the standard lens found with this camera. The OM-10 is a perfect camera for keen amateur photographers like myself who’d like a bit of control over their shooting conditions.

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The lenses offer manual aperture control, which allows for shallow depth of field and is perfect for portraiture when paired with the 50mm lens. In addition to this, a manual adapter can be purchased separately which allows for shutter speed control, making the camera fully manual. If the adapter is not present, the camera will set the shutter speed automatically based on the ISO and aperture which the camera is set at. This allows for wider apertures in bright light whilst mitigating the risk of overexposure.

Olympus OM-10s vary in price. However, with a bit of searching they can be found complete with a lens for between £20 and £30 on eBay.

Canon AE-1 Program

I own two Canon AE-1s, and have used them extensively over the past year as the first one replaced my OM-10. The AE-1 is an upgrade over the OM-10 in almost every department; more manual control, higher quality and variance of lenses, and increased durability to name a few.

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The camera and lenses offer “Program” mode, which allows the camera to select aperture and shutter speeds based on the film speed which has been selected, and the user has to simply focus the camera and take the photo. Alternatively, the camera can be used on Aperture priority (the user selects the aperture and the camera adjusts shutter speed accordingly), Shutter priority (where the inverse happens), or complete manual control. As this comes as standard on the AE-1 Program, it is suited well to a photographer who wants more control over the fundamentals of their shots.

You should be able to pick up a Canon AE-1 Program for between £40 and £60 on eBay.

Final thoughts

The most important thing to note about buying cameras online is that often they have been sat in a box in somebody’s attic for a decade. To avoid disappointment I would recommend never buying a camera which has not been tested recently with both batteries and film; whilst there are plenty of people out there who are simply selling their old gear and don’t want the hassle of testing it, others will be intentionally selling broken cameras as untested to avoid any negative feedback or returns if it doesn’t work.

If you have any questions about film photography, from what cameras to buy to what film works best in certain situations, feel free to message me! My photography Instagram handle is @cheapvacation35mm

A Google search for “Top 5 albums of all time” returns approximately 487 million results, with each list claiming to be the definitive list. There is no definitive list, as music is a far broader church than a top 5, or even top 50 albums of all time can cover. However, there are albums whose influence has been undeniable in the context of musical advancement and defining the sound of a genre for a generation or more. This is why they’re my bucket list albums – not because they are the best of all time, but because they have changed the course of music.

808s and Heartbreak

808s and Heartbreak Kanye West’s fourth studio album, 808s and Heartbreak was released in late 2008. It followed a rough year for the rapper, in which his mother died and engagement with long-term partner Alexis Phifer ended. West took to the studio to exorcise some personal demons on 808s, stating that the album was “Therapeutic – it’s lonely at the top”.

The album marked a change from the classic hip hop and R&B beats which had become synonymous with West over his past three albums. Relying extensively on 808 drumbeat sounds and heavy auto-tune, West took two elements of music production that had been previously derided as bland or cheating, and created hauntingly soulful moods and melodies. Auto-tuning his voice gives it a heart-wrenching crack in places, such as the chorus of “Say You Will”, lending true emotion to the music.

The album itself is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, but its true value to the world of music is its influence; it showed the rap and hip hop world that deeper introspection and personal battles were viable subject matters, and his synthpop-inspired beats continue to be seen in rap to this day, from major billboard stars such as Drake and The Weeknd to young soundcloud artists making beats on their MacBooks.

Dark Side of the Moon

The cover of Pink Floyd’s eighth studio album has become one of the most replicated pop culture motifs in history, alongside Banksy’s Girl With Balloon or Che Guevara’s pop-art visage. Dark Side is synonymous with psychedelic rock and beloved by generation after generation, and is the album that propelled Pink Floyd into the global spotlight.

Following the departure of Syd Barrett in 1968, Roger Waters became the main lyricist for Pink Floyd, and the band’s tone shifted. They were no longer writing about whimsical topics, but hard hitting political and philosophical poetry, crafted around some of the most spectacular guitar and keyboard music ever written. Dark Side helped to launch a wave of political music which had been simmering in the undercurrents of music since the war. Artists such as Dylan and Bowie had released protest songs and helped the movement before Waters’ Pink Floyd released Dark Side, but Pink Floyd’s delve into cultural issues and trends whilst still maintaining their instantly recognizable psychedelic rock sound enabled more bands, rather than artists, to do the same.

From a technological standpoint, Dark Side was incredibly influential for its time too. Using 16-track recording onto tape as opposed to the standard 4 or 8-track mixes used by most artists enabled a deeper complexity of sound and tone which showed other artists and producers that 16-track was a viable method. Furthermore, the left-field ways in which they made certain sounds off the album (most notably clinking coins on Money) inspired further sound experimentation in music as the decade progressed.

Trans-Europe Express

Most people will have heard of the two previous albums, but almost everyone will have heard Kraftwerk’s music – they may just not know it. An electronic quartet from Germany, Kraftwerk’s fourth studio album Trans-Europe Express is one of the most heavily-sampled albums in musical history. From rap mogul Jay-Z (It’s Alright) to indie icons Coldplay (Talk), Kraftwerk’s influence stretches across all music.

It is impossible to choose a specific Kraftwerk album to define as “most influential” as their overall sound has impacted music so significantly, rather than a specific album. However, Trans-Europe Express is the most articulate and perhaps the easiest to see the sheer influence which Kraftwerk have had on the musical scene. Europe Endless is inherently Gorillaz-esque but predates Damon Albarn’s creation by almost 30 years. Hall of Mirrors would be an unsurprising sound on a Joy Division instrumental, and Kraftwerk predate them too. The title track, TEE, belongs on a Daft Punk album, who would not emerge for another thirty years. Kraftwerk’s innovation catapulted the musical world from “guitar, drums, piano, and bass” into a synth-pop, electronica world which has allowed for further innovation beyond what would have been deemed possible 30 years ago.

Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not

Arctic Monkeys’ 2006 debut album propelled them to immediate fame, scoring them a Glastonbury headline slot and the record of the fastest selling debut album by a band ever, having gone quadruple platinum at the time of writing.

In an era where indie rock had lost some of its garage rock roots, with bands such as Keane and Radiohead dominating the charts, Whatever provided a grunge-laden, heavier tone for people to jump around to, with instantly classic stories of nightlife and fighting entrenching the band’s music as a night out staple. Their massive shakeup of the indie scene gave rise to more indie rock as British culture trended away from Britpop, with bands such as The Fratellis, Maximo Park and Razorlight suddenly sharing the musical spotlight.

The biggest criticism of Whatever is that it is rough around the edges, a telltale sign of a young band who hadn’t quite found their groove until 2007’s Favourite Worst Nightmare. This can be seen as a positive, however. The album was so against the grain that its rough and readiness was charming, with Alex Turner’s boyish rasp belying an excited youthful sound – compared his vocals on From The Ritz To The Rubble to AM’s Fireside; Turner remains a powerful vocalist, but for different reasons, and the roughness is exactly what indie rock needed in 2006.

Unknown Pleasures

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An album cover of similar status to Dark Side of the Moon, Unknown Pleasures was the first of two albums released in Joy Division’s tragically short career. Recorded in 1979 at the dawn of the post-punk movement, Joy Division were able to meld heavy riffs with melancholy introspection, whilst still retaining a charismatic energy and aggression inspired by 70s punk bands such as the Sex Pistols.

Joy Division paved the way for bands such as U2, The Cure, and Radiohead. Unknown Pleasures and the associated narrative around Ian Curtis’ depression helped to destigmatize mental health issues as a taboo subject in contemporary society, and following his death Joy Division’s successor band, New Order (formed by the remaining members) continued to spread this message.

An interesting side note; Joy Division would playTrans-Europe Express before performing on stage to pump themselves up.

Final thoughts

These are not the best albums of all time. Some of them are not even the artists’ best albums, but their influence on music and society has been undeniable. Don’t have time to listen to all five albums? My pick of which song captures the tone of each album are as follows.

• 808s and Heartbreak – Welcome To Heartbreak
• Dark Side of the Moon – Breathe
• Trans-Europe Express – The Hall of Mirrors
• Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not – The View From The Afternoon
• Unknown Pleasures – Disorder

Last Saturday, I took a walk around Bristol with the Where The Wall company, who operate walking tours focused on street art, and Banksy in particular. Banksy began his career in Bristol in 1990 as a freehand street artist, tagging across the city with friends, before becoming a stencil artist by 2000. His most recent known piece is in Port Talbot, Wales, and is a comment on the harmful nature of emissions by the steel industry.

Banksy has become synonymous over his career with anti-establishment art and commentaries. His first piece which garnered real fame and attention was created in 1999 and can be found in Bristol. Titled The Mild Mild West, it depicts a teddy bear preparing to throw a Molotov Cocktail at a group of riot police. This piece was a comment on the Bristol Police Force’s attempts to shut down raves and parties in the Bristol area during the 1990’s, with the ravers depicted as a teddy bear. This is a reference to the ‘Teddy Bear’ MDMA pills and their implicit association with ravers and partiers. To many, The Mild Mild West is the essence of Banksy: it captures his anti-establishment mindset and was a pointed comment which many could relate to.

However, there are those who exist both within the street art community and wider society who are critical of Banksy’s message as he has grown in both recognition and prestige. On a fundamental level, the art which Banksy is doing is still illegal. Graffiti and tagging remains against the law in the United Kingdom and most other countries, but Banksy is given special dispensation or preferential treatment by the establishment, even as he creates anti-establishmentarian art. This is seen by many as a hypocritical position, who argue that Banksy has become part of the establishment and is profiting (both financially and in terms of recognition and social standing) off of the very establishment he began his career by critiquing. He has been further critiqued by some individuals as being a dumbed-down, not particularly thought provoking artist: Jonathan Jones (Guardian art correspondent) went so far as to say “he has invented the artistic equivalent of a tweet. You see it, you get it. Is that really all we want?”.

Other street artists have gone as far as to deface his art as a result of this distaste: in Bristol, the Well Hung Lover has been tagged over and paintbombed by the graffiti crew DBK (Dirty Bristol Kidz). A number of his pieces in New York were defaced by famous American street artists, some within hours of their unveiling. Street art has always been inherently anarchistic, with its illegal roots contributing to a culture skeptical of the police and the powers that be.

It is almost impossible for those who achieve mainstream fame to avoid what certain individuals may see as “selling out”, as it is a function of the society we live in. Take the now-infamous recent auction of Girl With Balloon at Sotheby’s; Banksy’s painting sold for over £1 million before it was shredded, with the shredding taking its estimated value at over £2 million. Prestige such as this in the art world makes Banksy’s continued anonymity spectacular, but also prevents him from maintaining his distance from the establishment which propelled him to fame.

Banksy remains one of the most conversation-provoking, relevant, and identifiable artists in the modern world to this day. Despite many people’s misgivings, he remains influential and his artwork still garners international attention when it appears. His legacy will surely be one of popular social commentaries and thought-provoking, incredibly identifiable imagery, but whether the malcontent amongst elements of the street art community grows and infiltrates more of wider society remains to be seen. –

If you’re interested in learning more about street art and find yourself in Bristol, I thoroughly recommend checking out Where The Wall (http://www.wherethewall.com/tours/). The tours cover more than just Banksy, and delve into the history of street art too. They also offer introductions to stencil art spray painting sessions, which are a lot of fun and a great souvenir. I promise this isn’t a paid ad, I just had a great time.

Hi! For those of you who haven’t found this blog by being a mate of mine and therefore seeing me spamming your social media, my name’s Sam O’Neill. I’ve decided to create a blog to talk about Cheap Vacations; not Mallorca for under £100, but easy ways to escape the grind of everyday life and immerse yourself in something else.

Experiences, books, music and anything else I feel like writing about will end up on this blog, as long as it serves as an escape for however long it takes you to read it. Hopefully, you’ll be inspired to pursue the experience, read the book, listen to the music, or look into whatever it is I’ve written about further.

Hope you enjoy,

Sam O’Neill

(Yes, the blog name is a Frank Ocean reference)