As my photography was improving, I started to dive into analog film photography.  I was introduced to the idea of film, specifically 35mm film, by my homie Ken Sabado. Him and a couple other homies went down to SoCal for Day N Nite in 2017 and he uploaded these vintage looking pictures; the kind you see in old family albums. When he told me how he got that “look”, I went to thrift stores in hopes of finding a cheap point and shoot film camera. A hefty, whopping $5 later at this small thrift store in the commercial area of Santa Clara, I found a Nikon OneTouch 100 with a built-in flash. No fancy bells and whistles haha. I popped in a roll of Kodak Ultramax 400 which I purchased from Foto Express in Downtown San Jose and I was impressed with the results as you’ll see here soon.

The most rewarding aspect about film is how the photograph is developed after you’ve: shot through all of the exposures, carefully extract the film and film canister from the camera, drive to your local film developing lab to have it be developed, and anticipate the call from the lab to hear “your photos are ready!”. You open the envelope and pull out the negatives, raise them up to some light and see small images that you previously composed in your camera’s view finder, and then you reach for the prints to the see the final product… And in full view, you finally see how the film stock “colors” the photo. In a digital age, I used to feel overwhelmed with Adobe Lightroom Presets and adjusting the exposure, highlights, shadows, vibrancy, and saturation. Shooting film takes all that away and makes it fun to shoot again. No need to think. You just capture. The beautiful thing about film is that it allows you to be more present. You can take the photo, move on, and discover the results when you’ve processed the film.

Even if you don’t do photography, I would suggest picking up a disposable film camera, do something fun with the homies, and capture some dope memories. If you’re in the US and don’t have any places to develop film nearby, I’d suggest The Darkroom Photo Labs. Please, please, please avoid Walgreens at any cost haha. I tried to develop a disposable film camera with 36 exposures on it and I came back with 8 photographs and no negatives… Film can get pricey when you include the roll of film, the gas money to drive to these spots, and the price to pay when you develop such film.

Aight, now onto the cars!

The guy on the right was breaking his neck on this bosozoku Toyota Cressida with custom body modifications.

Early model Mitsubishi Lancer on small wheels.

Datsun 521 with a SR20 engine transplant.

A wild-style bosozoku Toyota Cressida accented with red hearts across the rear quarters.

A much more tamed Cressida build with small additions of the front chin spoiler and the rear spoiler.

Resto-modded Datsun 510, also with a SR20 engine transplant, Volk Racing TE37V’s in bronze, and carbon fiber chin spoiler and over fenders.

4th gen Corolla Coupe on SSR Longchamps.

Toyota Corona Wagon on Celica Supra wheels.

Itasha Sil80 with an inverted hatch/trunk.

Tiny but mighty 1st gen Toyota Corolla. This thing had an aura around it…

I wouldn’t doubt the owner of this Nissan Maxima wagon drives low and slow on its gold mesh wheels and curb feelers attached to the front chin spoiler.

Very classy Nissan Sentra on Volk Racing GrC wheels.

Super clean engine bay on this black JDM faced Acura Integra.

Such a clean build!

6th gen Civic SI (EM1) in my favorite OEM Honda color, Electon Blue Pearl (EBP), on Volk Racing SE37K wheels. Panning the EM1 from front to back, we spot the Mugen front lip, Spoon brakes behind the front Volk wheels, Spoon mirrors, black Recaro SR3 seats, and Mugen wing.

2nd gen Acura Integra (DA) in Aztec Green Pearl on Racing Hart C2 wheels.

Toyota Supra (A80) in Deep Jewel Green with a Ridox kit and Work Meister S1 wheels.

Big single turbo 2JZ on this blue Supra fitted with Work Emotion Cr Kiwami wheels.

Custom MSOFRESH Lexus IS250.

Rocket Bunny Subaru BRZ on wide-lipped mesh wheels.

This Nissan Skyline sedan (ER32) was slammed on OZ Racing Futura wheels.

Another R32 but with 2 doors less than the previous one…

Coming to an end, we’ll be finishing off this coverage shot on film, with a really clean Nissan Bluebird SSS. 70s Japanese cars and RS Watanabe wheels are a match made in heaven lol.

As you saw, analog film photography doesn’t disappoint! It adds character to a photo and it seemed fitting for the scenario and subjects I took photos of. When you combine old cars with old cameras and film stocks, the result is a sense of nostalgia.

Stay tuned for more content and I’ll see y’all next time! Thanks!