Photo Journal: 21 Film Photos of Bath, UK

 

There was something gleefully childlike about taking photos of Bath with a film camera – like I was 11 again and my parents had given me a disposable camera on our family holiday so I could learn to express myself. Every shot was experimental: as I squinted through the viewfinder I took over twice as long as usual to take a photo, paying extra attention to the frame, angle, light. I saved my 36 exposures for extra-special scenes, but I was equal parts cautious and devil-may-care – eager to save the shots, but playful in my selection and exhilarated by the throwback it gave me to my early teenage years.

 

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Birds flying over Bath

 

I bought a Pentax film camera for £5 from a charity shop about a month ago, ordered some film (I had to get my mother to teach me how put it in – embarrassingly millennial), and took it to Bath for its first outing. I had no idea if this camera actually worked, but whurr of the mechanics at appropriate moments reassured me.

The last time I had used film was when I was around 14, when I used to buy disposable cameras and take pictures of me and my friends. Getting the film developed and seeing the photos for the first time was always my favourite part – there I was, with pink-tinted sunglasses and a fringe that was always cut just half a centimetre too short. I used to excitedly flick through the photos before I’d even got out of the store where they’d been developed, and I did exactly the same thing last week when these Bath photos were ready for pick-up.

At first, I sighed with relief as the photos confirmed the camera did in fact work, then on closer inspection I realised that it worked well. I liked the way my Pentax had captured the natural light – none of these photos are filtered – and given my pictures a nostalgic vibe, made especially beautiful by Bath itself, with its heritage feel: tearooms, terraced houses, and the tone of its stone.

 

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The chimney tops and curve of Royal Crescent

 

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Ornate metalwork in the sky 

 

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The inner shop fronts of Pulteney Bridge

 

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Window box flowers on a Georgian building

 

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Bath Pump Rooms

 

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A view over Bath from just south of the city

 

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A mix of different styles of architecture (and a beautiful reflection)

 

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More chimney tops in Bath city centre

 

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View over Bath from Alexandra Park

 

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Classic Bath architecture

 

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Looking down a Bath street, and into The Circus

 

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Fairy lights hung along one of Bath’s narrow alleyways

 

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Bridge over the River Avon

 

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Laura Place, leading into Great Pulteney Street

 

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The Corridor, one of the oldest covered shopping areas in the world

 

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Old signage on Abbey Street

 

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Royal Crescent being patrolled by police and their horses

 

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Shops along Pulteney Bridge

 

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The ballroom at Bath Assembly Rooms

 

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I’m pretty sure I took this one through a bus window on the way home.
 

Pin these photos to save for later:

Royal Crescent - 21 Film Photos of Bath, UKLooking into The Circus - 21 Film Photos of Bath, UK

 

 

Have you ever played around with film photography?
If you have any tips I’d love to read them in the comments below!

 

 



6 responses to “Photo Journal: 21 Film Photos of Bath, UK”

  1. These are lovely! Loving the retro red Volvo on Laura Square. I started with a Pentax camera and wonder what things would look like if I picked it back up now!

  2. […] Related post: 21 Film Photos of Bath, UK  […]

  3. Dan Lester says:

    I first shot on film in 1947 at 4 years old. Since then have shot all formats from Minox to Graflex 4×5. My father was a pro. I’ve shot digital since 1999. Still have a good film camera but don’t use it.

    • Gotta Keep Movin' says:

      Very interesting indeed, Dan. Love that you’ve been taking pictures since you were 4 – how incredible. Thanks for taking a look at my gallery!

  4. Anna says:

    funnily enough the last time I played with film was 6 years ago in Bath (around these dates also)!! My first digital camera decided to die down on me there and then, so I got a disposable one! Took some lovely (albeit dark) photos. The best capture from that camera though was in Oxford Circus, London where I shot one of the classic red double decker buses. My then boyfriend was so amazed by the photo that he made a large print of it and used it as a poster!

    • Gotta Keep Movin' says:

      Thank you for sharing your film photography story with me, Anna! Love it that it was in Bath too 😉 How funny! I would love to see that double decker bus shot…

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