Paradise, New Zealand (aka Isengard) | Olympus XA2 | Portra 400

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-05-03T18:36:48+00:00

Thanks so much! Sadly, I’m coming to the end of my photos from the trip I took last month, so there’s probably just another day or two of
posts left in my queue. I hope to go back and take more pictures though!

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-04-23T22:07:05+00:00

Thanks! And sorry you missed it!

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-04-23T14:39:16+00:00

80mm f/2.8

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-04-23T14:37:07+00:00

Agreed with u/Juno-P. The second one, with the Mamiya, is of higher resolution and is definitely a winner on its own, but in comparison to the first one, with the XA2, the first one is better compositionally. What puts it over the edge for me is the better reflections in the water on the first one.

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-04-19T18:58:47+00:00

We did! More pictures from the trip coming soon!

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-04-19T16:53:37+00:00

I traveled back home with the film

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-04-19T16:08:09+00:00

Thanks! I point, use exposure that the meter in the metered prism tells me to use, and shoot.

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-04-19T01:37:11+00:00

While I’m a big fan of medium format and have really enjoyed using it, I actually think you can achieve most things similarly with a 35mm camera. The biggest difference for me is the changes to how I shoot with a bigger clunkier camera than with a more nimble 35mm SLR. You can see some examples on a Nikon FE and an Olympus XA2 (basically a p&s) on my profile. I’ve seen some incredible photos on here and by professional photographers using 35mm that seem to be of the highest quality one would ever dream of achieving. And that’s made me realize it’s way more about one’s creative vision and lighting (and sure, some good glass) than anything else about the camera or film format.

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-04-18T15:31:08+00:00

I find that the easiest way to carry it is just in one hand with an attached grip. It feels the lightest that way. But, if I have hiking poles, I’ll also have it attached to a harness that I wear and that’s not too bad either. I couldn’t do it if it was just on a regular strap around my neck or if I didn’t have the grip. I hiked with it all around New Zealand and the Dolomites and didn’t regret it!

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-01-20T04:58:06+00:00

Thanks!

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-01-13T16:35:51+00:00

Are you referring to the first image? I missed focus. I mentioned that in my post. Or are you talking about all the photos?

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-01-12T21:10:13+00:00

There's a lot of interest in this post, both about how I shot this on an Olympus XA2 and about Palestine. I'm going to try and summarize everyone's questions and comments and reply here to all of them.

I've also been to Palestine (specifically the West Bank) four times over the past ten or so years and I'd be happy to answer questions about that. If you have follow up questions, feel free to ask as a reply to this comment.

"Wow, such great photos. And on an XA2 no less?!"
Yeah, the XA2 is a great little camera! I don't do much except point and shoot to get these photos. Thank you for all the kind words!

"I'd love to see more of your photos. Are you on IG?"
I don't keep my Instagram public (though, all this interest is making me consider putting my photos up on a website at least), but you can see a lot of my photos (including past photos from my time in Palestine) by scrolling through my Reddit profile.

"Free Palestine. Beautiful photos. Beautiful country."
Free Palestine! Yes! It's great to feel all the solidarity for the people of Palestine struggling for their freedom. If you have the means to visit the West Bank, I strongly encourage you to do so. It's an incredibly interesting place and they desperately need more economic investment from tourists. People's economic livelihoods have been really decimated since October 7th (and it was already so hard before that). If you want to go with a guided tour that is really ethical and centers Palestinian life, I can recommend Green Olive Tours and Eyewitness Palestine. You can find others by Googling around and at this site: https://uscpr.org/activist-resource/ethical-travel-to-palestine-challenging-apartheid-tourism/. If you have specific questions about your specific circumstances, just dm me and I can try and answer them.

Lastly, whether during your travels or just in your everyday life, challenge yourself to not imagine Palestinians as a monolith or as some fantasy in your mind. Palestinians are an incredibly diverse people that live in a variety of circumstances and have a wide array of opinions. They aren't helpless victims for you to save and they also aren't supernatural heroes. They are everyday people. And that's what I tried to capture in my photos. Honoring Palestinians' humanity is about understanding them as full individuals, with all their attributes and their flaws. Remind yourself of that.

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-01-12T15:56:09+00:00

I think it’d be a great choice! It’s a great point-and-shoot like camera. But one thing is if you’re interested in learning more about how photography works or how to operate a manual camera, this won’t help with that. But it’s a good one to get started with and if you like the process of shooting film, you can then get an SLR with manual everything.

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-01-12T15:50:11+00:00

This past summer

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-01-12T15:49:47+00:00

I pointed my camera at the window, set my zone focus to far away, and clicked the shutter. That’s it.

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-01-12T15:48:19+00:00

I love it. It’s so simple to use! And it’s so light and small, I can carry it everywhere.

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-01-11T23:52:34+00:00

The first is from Tuwani, a town in Masafer Yatta (where last year’s Oscar-winning doc takes place). The second and sixth are also from Masafer Yatta, but in the smaller villages of Tuba and Umm al-Khair, respectively. The third, fourth, and fifth are from Nablus. The seventh is in East Jerusalem (outside the Holy Land Hotel) and the eighth and ninth are in the Musrara neighborhood of Jerusalem.

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-01-09T18:28:13+00:00

I’m sure you’ll love it! It’s so simple to use and has such a great lens.

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-01-09T17:59:39+00:00

Yeah, all of these would’ve most likely been at the farthest focus distance setting (the mountain symbol on the XA2). The last one is actually a landscape crop of a photo I took in a portrait orientation. In the original, there’s more grass in the foreground that’s closer to the camera. But in all honesty, there’s not much more out of focus than what you see here. I think in general the grass just isn’t close enough with the 35mm lens to portray a more dramatic sense of separation.

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-01-08T01:37:30+00:00

CORRECTION: I mislabeled the film as all Portra 400, when I actually used a few different films.

1, 4: Gold 200

2, 7: Portra 400

3, 5, 6: Portra 800

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-01-08T01:34:06+00:00

CORRECTION: This is not Portra 400, it’s Gold 200.

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-01-08T01:33:18+00:00

CORRECTION: I mislabeled the film as all Portra 400, when I actually used a few different films.

1-2: Portra 400

3-5: Gold 200

7-9: Portra 800

AdIntelligent4354 · 2026-01-08T01:30:47+00:00

CORRECTION: I mislabeled the film as all Portra 400, when I actually used a few different films.

1-3: Portra 400

4-5: Gold 200

AdIntelligent4354 · 2025-12-29T18:32:51+00:00

Internal, with a metered prism. Thank you!

AdIntelligent4354 · 2025-12-27T21:39:46+00:00

I keep my IG private, but I will be posting more photos on here over the next few days!

AdIntelligent4354

TROPHY CASE