For my 50th birthday, I was treated to a trip to Venice, Italy! Obviously I was going to take a film camera - but which one?

My first thought was the Olympus mju II as it is tiny, weatherproof and really good. However it had a light leak from the foam around the film window, so had to think of something else. Going through my collection, the choice was narrowed down to the Fuji Work Record, Chinon 3001 or Ricoh 500G. However none really fitted the bill - the Fuji is great, but to cancel the flash you have to open a flap and press the button which would be to too fiddly. The Chinon is an excellent camera, but not weatherproof (and rain was forecast), and the Ricoh hasn’t been used for some time so didn’t want to rely on it still operating properly. I have many more options, but none were as ideal as the mju.

Two days before travelling, I ordered a light seal kit for the mju and fitted it, and for good measure stuck black PVC electrical tape all the way around the edge of the back door. A little comment to the wife of I would love to take my Kodak 66 too, was followed by - well take it then! Not wanting to intrude too much on proceedings, the Kodak would be fine, as I know it well and can treat it like a point & shoot.

This first shot fully justifies why I wanted to bring the Kodak.

The HP5 has really captured the atmosphere of Venice in the rain, and this was pretty much the only shot I had in mind before the trip. The rest would just be scenes observed whilst wandering through the streets and over canals.

The film chosen for the mju was Fujifilm 400 to cope with the light, and capture the colours of the buildings. It did a great job and exactly what I wanted - and luckily the work on the camera got rid of all the light leaks.

If you have never been to Venice, it is a photographers dream location - typically Italian architecture, vibrant colours plus quaint bridges and canals around every corner - as long as you stay away from the main tourist spots. St Mark’s Square and Rialto Bridge were packed, but step away and it is silent and empty.

I can only imagine what it would be like with blue sky and that gorgeous Mediterranean light, as the sun only made an appearance on the way to the airport the following morning!

I could have shot a lot more rolls of film, but as a couple, you need to reign it in and enjoy the time too.

It was not just cute little scenes that I photographed, but also some street scenes of the thousands of people all with the single aim of poking each others eyes out with their umbrellas, or dressed in matching Venezia ponchos…

After the wonder of the back streets, and the chaos of the tourist spots, it was nice to get on the water in the form of the traditional tourist Gondola ride. Some say it is over priced and over hyped - but when in Venice!

It was such a chilled out experience, and worth the money in my opinion (but definitely pay the extra to have it all to yourself).

The is no way of choosing which I prefer between the colour or black & white - I love them both!

With our 36 hours in Venice complete, it is somewhere I would love to see again in the sunshine, but not in peak tourist season for sure!

Analog Venezia…

Photographica London 2026