These images have been shot while on a holiday to the states to visit my brother and his family for three weeks. I have lived in the United States long ago but this trip was really interesting for me as I have never shot film there before and i got to visit places I haven’t been before.
I got really lucky as just before the trip I got to upgrade my old Mamiya 645 for the newer AFDii model and some new lenses too, i love the feeling of shooting with an new/old camera.
All 120 images have been shot with the Mamiya and the 35mm with a Canon A1 and a Nikon F100
(Sarasota, Florida) ~ by Felipe Molina Dorlhiac
Sarasota was built on a swamp. most neighborhoods are in a constant fight with nature to stay above.
The most exciting part of my visit for me was New Orleans as I hear so much about this city throughout the years.
It’s an amazing city for street photography as the streets are full of life and colors. Unfortunately I only stayed for three days as my schedule was really tight.
The French quarter in New Orleans is full of historic buildings and they have done a good effort conserving it, but yes it is really touristy and even when I did my research to find the best local food, none of the good places to eat were in the French quarter.
The streets of the French Quarter are full of kids performing. These kids were happy for me to take their images as they are looking to be discovered and turned into a social media sensation they said. But they still asked me for some cash collaboration after I took the images.
The first two images were taken using Cinestill 800T and the last two with Kodak Portra 400.
“People” from Chile refer to Americans as Gringo and USA as “Gringolandia”. There are lots of different theories of where this word came up but is not used to be offensive in any sense only means “American” to us really.
Las Vegas during the day is not as impressive or opulent but the old downtown has some really grungy alleys and street art all over.
Night images have been taken with a Canon A1 using Cinestill 800T and day time images with the Nikon F100 using Kodak Portra 160.
I don’t take many risks with new films. This is delta 400. I remember taking the time to do a really symmetric composition for this shot. I never saw this bike coming and when taking the picture I remember feeling like “hey that ruined my shot” for a second as I was surprised. This turned out to be the image that I was most anxious to see develop and now my favourite of the series.
Last two images of the camera and the trip here, using portra 400 (Venice beach, Los Angeles)
Felipe is a regular & valued contributor. Be sure to check out the other two feature articles “INBOUND KOREA & TAIWAN” & “STREET SYMPHONY – HAVANA”
About Felipe
Felipe started his career as a camera operator with 16 and 35 mm film cameras in films back in Chile, his native country. Twelve years ago he moved exclusively to still photography, specializing in portraits and travel photography. He has lived in Australia for over 10 years now, and is a working as a studio portrait photographer. His passion for travelling has never stopped and it has taken Felipe to over 40 countries and 90 cities around the world. This passion has turned into an addiction and he is always planning new destinations so stay tuned. Currently have been shooting exclusively on film emulsions.
Website www.felipousky.com
Instagram @filmistheseed/