01/10/23, London
Lately, I’ve been taking photos with film cameras again. I even bought a plastic 'Diana' camera by Lomography to go alongside my very old Leica, which once belonged to my grandfather. There's something deeply enjoyable about returning to film - slowing down, being limited to a number of shots, and then waiting to see what develops.
On long Sunday bike rides and walks through Hackney Marshes, I started bringing the Diana with me.
This photo of ducks was taken at the top of Springfield Park, and it turned out to be the one I picked from the first roll of Diana 120 film. I love the camera’s dreamy imperfections — the soft focus, the unexpected light leaks. But what draws me to this image most is the way it captures something about life itself: how imperfection can be beautiful, even comforting.
There’s a duck looking right at us - calm, confident, completely itself. Just a duck, enjoying a quiet, sunny morning in London. The others float nearby, and we’re simply there, lucky to have stumbled upon the scene.