June & July on Film | Zafira
Hey everyone!
I’m back with one of my favourite types of posts to do one here … A monthly film dump!
It’s summer, and I couldn’t be happier. The sun’s out, I’m finally turning a nice golden shade of brown and most of all, I’ve reunited with my friends and family again for a summer of fun after nearly 2 years apart.
There was a lot going on these past 2 months but it’s been a joy getting back to some sort of normality.
Here’s my June & July on film!
REDOING MY BEDROOM
I graduated and turned 21 in June and July and my room needed a well overdue makeover. The last time it had been painted was when I was around 13 and being the avid clothes collector/hoarder I am, I just needed more practical clothing storage solutions.
As you can see, I decided to paint my room white. I’ll try and post a room tour or some pictures of my new room soon if that’s something you’d like to see?
I turned 21 in June which was more of a shock than excitement. I feel like I’m still 13 sometimes, I can’t believe how old I’m getting. Thank you to my favourite cousin Zahrah for my lovely birthday balloon! It’s surprisingly still floating a little over a month later.
Also how cute is my new rug from Wayfair?! I will definitely be taking more shoe pics on it very soon.
I posted a blue eyeshadow look over on my IG a few weeks ago because it’s been my go to look recently. Blue eyeshadow and brown eyes are the perfect combo and I feel so 60s anytime I put it on.
In the middle is a very blurry picture of a polaroid of me and my cousins when I saw them for the first time since the lockdown in March 2020 which was so crazy, I’ve missed my family so much and it’s the biggest blessing to be seeing everyone again.
A SHOOT WITH MARIA
I’ve started shooting again!
I did a shoot with my friend Maria in June with the cutest baby blue backdrop. I’m not as comfortable using backdrops as I used to be so it was more of a little experimental, play around kind of shoot which are my favourite kinds. Look how amazing she looks!
You can check out all the pictures from the shoot here:
Alpaca Farm
On the hottest day of the summer, me and my cousins ended up at Adventurous Alpacas in Rossendale Valley. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done even though I’m not the biggest animal fan and I was quite scared but these alpacas were adorable and not scary at all.
You get these little bags of food and you get to feed and stroke them (if they let you lol) and take some cute pics.
This is Alfonzo with the pretty blue eyes.
NJ looking like she belongs in the countryside.
It’s such a lovely family activity to do during the summer! We all had so much fun hanging out the alpacas.
That’s my film dump over! Let me know what your favourite pictures were and follow my socials for updates for some very very cool things happening in the next 2 weeks.
Thanks for reading,
October & November on Film | Zafira
Hi!
It’s been quite a while since I’ve done one of these monthly film posts but I haven’t been shooting as much film as I would like to. With lockdown it’s been difficult to get my film developed at my regular spots and also, I don’t have anything exciting to shoot anymore. My life is officially boring.
However these photographs were shot in the little period of time during the beginning of October. When things were slowly on the path to feeling normal again and we were reuniting with friends and family. Little did we know we’d be in yet another lockdown just a few weeks after.
Anyway, enough with the doom and gloom. I hope you’re all taking care of yourselves and staying safe. Here’s a few photographs that will hopefully brighten your day.
I think growing up I never realised how exceptionally lucky I was to grow up around so many people who used to sew. I used to watch my grandma sew, my aunts and of course, my Amma. Now that I’m older I’ve found a little soft spot for sewing. Everyone knows I love clothes but the effort and time that goes into making them is an art in itself that many people don’t appreciate.
This past year I’ve made the time to teach myself how to sew, mainly from random Youtubers and just doing whatever feels right and what I’ve seen my Amma do. I’m not exactly what you’d call an organised sewer lol but there’s nothing more satisfying than wearing something you’ve made with your own two hands.
I’ve made a few things this year but recently I worked on this green dress. It’s not completely finished yet but I adore it so much. These past few months I keep seeing pictures of Gwyneth Paltrow in various shades of green and all it’s done is make me fall in love with the colour. I’ll try and make a post about this dress when I finish it completely over on my Instagram.
And just like that, eating out is once again a myth. A distant memory of something we once did so freely.
Earlier this October, I did manage to eat out once with my favourite cousin (sorry 2 the rest of my cousins) who I hadn’t seen since before the first lockdown earlier this March. It was so nice catching up with her.
We grabbed some lunch at one of our favourite places to eat, Comptoir Libanis. This is the one in Spinningfields and it’s so pretty inside as you can see from my poorly shot blurry photograph of the place. It’s literally one of the most stunning places to lunch. The food is amazing too.
What would these monthly film posts be without some shots of the city?
Here’s my friend Matt and his sleeping puppy Bear.
This is my favourite autumn outfit at the minute. The skirt is from Cow and my cardigan with the little birdies is from Zara! I don’t think it’s available anymore sadly but Zara has such a cute collection of cardigans this season.
And of course, uni was in full swing in October so I loved being reunited with my uni pals again!
And lastly, here’s some more pictures of Manchester looking gloomy and unusually quiet on a cold and breezy Monday afternoon.
I hope you enjoyed these pictures. Thanks for reading!
New Years Resolutions 2019 | Zafira
Hey!
So here we are, another year gushed down the drain quicker than anyone expected. But I guess that happens every year, time flies when you're having fun (or you're just used to the same old boring, repetitive routine everyday).
Anyway, I've been contemplating whether I even wanted to post a New Year's Resolution this year because let's be honest, no one really sticks to them. But, since reflecting on the year has become sort of tradition on here for me, I thought that I would stick to it and tell you all about everything I failed at doing in 2018 (literally everything) and what I intend to improve on in 2019.
A new year is just like a brand new notebook, I'm bursting with ideas to jot down and things to do. It's a new slate, an opportunity for you to do all those things you said that you'd do later. Now is the time.
do you ever just want to punch yourself really hard in the face
Oh my god. I cause myself so much stress and anxiety just by naming files really stupid things. It's something I've wanted to improve on for a while so let's see if I finally get a grip in 2019 so I can actually find the files I'm looking for without causing premature ageing.
I'd say I have a very varied and wide wardrobe which is kind of great because I don't have a set style and I love that I can push and alter boundaries to fit the style and look of whatever I'm feeling. However, saying that I have an extensive wardrobe would be great if I actually wore stuff from it and not the same pair of jeans 3 days in a row.
Getting dressed used to be the highlight of my day but now I feel like it's become boring because I don't excite myself by picking new and challenging outfits. I always have that little voice in my head saying
'What will people think?'
but I think it's time we get rid of that voice because I probably look a solid 11/10 in whatever I'm wearing :)
Also, sustainability is something that has recently become a very important factor in my life. The fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world and I'd really like to not play a big part in ruining world.
Well this one is going to difficult. I spend a lot of time complaining and overthinking and just seeing the negative in things. I guess I see it as being 'realistic' but being realistic doesn't always mean being the biggest b*tch and buzz kill ever. In 2019, I'm becoming positive Penny.
I have a week till I get back to uni and if I'm being 100% honest with you, I've done close to nothing which is stressing me out a tiny bit since I have 2 deadlines when I get back. I would like to not die of a heart attack at 19 so I think I should start doing things ahead of time and be organised. Maybe I'll start planning things in advance and just really get my sh*t together.
There was once a time where I would read a book a day and maybe even paint, draw even spend time outside (shocking i know) but it seems like these days, I don't do any of that. I've been collecting books that I've wanted to read this entire year. I love books so I think it's time they make a comeback into my life.
Also, there's a reason I suffered through fine art in my first year of college, I adore art. I have always loved creating whether it's drawing or painting or even doodling. I'd draw on literally everything but I don't even do that anymore. I feel like I need to get back in touch with my inner child because that's when I remember having so much fun and really enjoying life because I was doing what I loved.
I feel like every Instagrammer falls into this mindset where they start off posting the stuff they like and the work they enjoyed creating and then somewhere within that, this fear develops that their followers are not enjoying what they are posting so they starting posting stuff that their followers want to see or the stuff that gets the most attention.
I have definitely felt this way and it's affected my photography work a lot. The way in which I work and create my best work happens when don't overthink it and don't think about the outcome of the photograph but the present. The moment in which the photograph was taken.
In 2018, the first thing on my mind was ' is this good enough for Instagram? ' and I found this altering and even ruining some of my work. The only work I have really loved this year is my film shots of Wales.
I hope that in 2019, my photography work gets better and I start posting more things that I like. Maybe even some cool projects.
*wink wink*
I want to finish this post off with the biggest thank you. I started this blog in 2015 not thinking that anything would come of it but it has become such a big part of my life. I feel like this year things are taking off in a direction I didn't really expect my blog to go in but I am so happy nonetheless.
Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my blog. It truly means a lot. I hope everyone's 2019 is the best year of their lives.
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October (and a bit of November) on Film | Zafira
Hi!
I'm back with my film series! This is probably my favourite thing to post on here just because I love looking back at everything I've done at the end of each month.
October was a bit of a weird one, I feel like it was so eventful but I only remember picking up my camera a handful of times. I was feeling a bit meh towards my photography work recently so this roll of film was a bit of a struggle to get through. It ended up being in my camera for over a month which is completely unlike me. Anyway, I had a good mope about it and now I feel a lot better. I'm also looking forward to doing so many new projects very very very soon! I switched up my film this month so if things are looking slightly different than usual then it's because I used the famous Kodak Porta 400 which I bought for waaay too much.
(also how weird is it that in literally 2 months, it will 2019. wtf.)
I started off October with a shoot with my favourite model Hannah. I stupidly started a new roll right towards the end of our shoot so I had to wait until I had filled up my roll which like I mentioned earlier, took forever.
Since I not only live in Manchester but go to uni here too, it's impossible for me not to snap a pic here and there of the pretty city scenes it has to offer. It's so amazing seeing it how it changes through the seasons.
This is my friend Vicky. We had a bit of a flashback Mary moment but it's okay, she's still cute.
My outfit was inspired by Rachel Berry from Glee lol.
Sorry for taking bad pics of you Vicky.
I walk past this everyday and I've never realised how beautiful it is, especially in autumn.
I'm trying so much more to photograph strangers because despite being told to stay away and never speak to them, they're actually quite interesting people.
This is Manny, he's my favourite barista at Krispy Kreme where I go twice a day to over caffienate myself.
And what would my monthly film series be without these losers? I'm looking a bit rough in this I had the worst cough and cold ever.
This was taken at Leaf when I went out for lunch with my friend Matt.
This is Matt in an overpriced white t-shirt.
I look so grown up in these I do
not
like it whatsoever.
This is Rianna who's always disappointed in me.
Thanks for reading!
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Music of the Month: September | Zafira
Hi!
It's been awhile since I've done one of these but I am back with the best list of songs and artists that I am enjoying this month!
Over the past few months, I haven't really been listening to a lot of new music. I don't really know why but I just wasn't into anything that had been released. It felt like I was just listening to old music that had been recycled in the worst way possible. It felt as if artists were just putting 0 effort into the songs they were releasing. But then September came around and out of nowhere, the most amazing songs and artists came spurting out of nowhere and it really was a blessing. There is nothing better than starting off the most stressful month of the year with the greatest playlist.
If you follow me on Twitter / Instagram you probably most definitely know who I'm going to talk about first. Brockhampton. They are the loves of my life and I think they're the best boyband out there right now. Everything they release is new and so exciting and I always look forward to their new releases.
It was hard to pick a favourite from the album since I love them all but these are my top 3:
1. LOOPHOLE
How and why is this only 53 seconds long.
2. TAPE
So this plus Loophole is revolutionary. They just go so well together and I love the whole calming instrumental bit (sorry for my terrible musical vocab). It's so cinematic I can imagine it so vividly in some sort of movie or film. I love love love it.
3. FABRIC
This gets me so pumped about the day. Even though the lyrics are quite deep and hard hitting, the beat and rhythm are quick paced and I feel like this would be a pretty decent song to work out to as well. It starts off quite slow but then slowly quickens. I also really love the chorus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-0NYnb-fh0
This song was on my Spotify discover playlist a few weeks ago which I had stopped checking for a while because I'm usually left disappointed. My discover playlist is filled mainly with soppy indie music which isn't really what I'm into these days but I ended up finding this jem which I am obsessed with. It's extremely catchy. It's a song definitely meant to stay in your head and is 100% a perfect song to sing in the shower. Not to be a complete weirdo but 'daunting' is such a good word right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOwlY9ITazA
So alt-J recently released a new version of their very loved album 'RELAXER' which is almost as good as the original. This newer version is called 'REDUXER' and features remixes and many different versions of the songs on RELAXER. This particular one features GoldLink who is so good. I love GoldLink a lot too and the mix of all of these people is such a perfect combination.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9b4UvTeQxQ
I've mentioned $uicideboy$ quite a few times in this series but how can I not? They are just too good. This song is from their newest album 'I Want to Die in New Orleans' which is overall is pretty okay but this song is by far my favourite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uFv9Ts7Sdw
What sort of basic teenage blogger would I be if I didn't mention Lana Del Rey at least once in my posts? But I really do love her. I love her essence and her music and just everything about her. This is my most favoured from her latest releases because I love the lyrics. I also watched the music vid for this and it's so beautiful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEiMnOr0-nM
I have never ever been disappointed by a Sticky Fingers song. This is their newest single and I wish this was released earlier because it is the perfect song for a summer's day. I love the lyrics and the nostalgic sort of feel to this song. It's just very very very good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzbRHsyjIzk
A lot of bands and artists released new albums this month and one of these bands was the Neighbourhood. Like many people, I fell in love with them when I heard Sweater Weather which was released 5 years ago. I like many of their earlier songs but when it comes to more recent songs, I've been a bit iffy with them and I'm not a big fan of many. However 'Paradise' reminded me a lot of their older songs and I fell in love instantly. I listened to a snippet of it on Jesse Rutherford's Instagram a few weeks ago before it was released and I knew it would be one of many faves this month.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGvS285hfjA
When listening to SYML I always get a very sad and mopey vibe, like I usually just want to lie in bed and cry when listening to his stuff but this song is so different. It's so upbeat and different. I like it a lot. I really hope he releases more stuff like this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3Qzzggn--s
This song changed my life. The music video stupidly amazing but song itself is so so good. I can defo see myself slow dancing (on my own) in the dark to this. It's perfect. I love Joji.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8LIRtPnuA8
Before many of you start questioning why I put this in here, take a moment and just listen to the song. It's iconic. Life changing. A masterpiece. There's a reason I've been listening to this since I was 6 years old. It's a song I'll always have in my head and I'll be listening to this for ever. I think we must have under estimated JoJo when this came out because she taught us so much in just one song.
That's all I have for this month but if you click here then you can access my entire playlist for this month. There's so much more on there for you to listen to if you enjoyed the songs I mentioned. I don't think this will be a monthly series just because the songs on my playlist don't change drastically but I'll most likely be posting one every other month or so.
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Exploring London: Old Spitalfields Market, Kensington Gardens & Kyoto Gardens | Zafira
Hi!
A few blog posts ago, I did a post all about the National Gallery & Tate Britain as a part of my 'Exploring London' series that have been reoccurring over on here for the past 3 years. I spend the majority of my holidays in London as it is the perfect the place to explore and photograph. Throughout the years I find myself falling more and more in love with it. In today's post, I'll be talking all about Old Spitalfields Market, Kensington Gardens & Holland Park. These are three of the most beautiful and amazing places I visited whilst I was in London.
We begin this post with one of the best markets I've ever been to. If you're quite into that whole hipster-y sort of thing then this is defo the place for you. It consists of a massive range of stalls fluctuating from food, clothes and all the way to home ware. It's perfect place for lunch and just somewhere to kill a few hours.
There's a bunch of designer shops around it too so if that's your sort of thing then Old Spitalfields Market is definitely for you!
There's so many cute places to eat.
The next place I visited was Kensington Gardens. This place wasn't really on my list but since a bunch of my younger cousins came with me, I thought it would nice for them to go somewhere where they can just run and play around. I'm so so so glad me and family came here because it is literally the most perfect place to take portraits. I ended up taking so many family pictures which were the cutest but unfortunately I can't show them since I'd like to respect my family's privacy. I ended up getting some photographs of myself and funnily enough some animals? You'll see further down lol.
It was so weird even seeing this Grey Heron. I felt as if I was in the middle of nowhere shooting for Nat Geo.
This is my favourite shot!
I came to Holland Park with intention of visiting Kyoto Gardens which is inside of it. Most of these photographs are taken in Kyoto Gardens which is so beautiful. It's filled with so much culture and is the perfect place to get some concentrated and highly saturated shots since it's filled to the brim with the most vibrant colours. However, the only downside to Kyoto Gardens was that it was so small. From what people had said to me and reading the reviews on Google, I thought it would be quite big. When I got there, I was slightly disappointed by the size but this was out weighed by the beauty of it.
I recommend that if you want to go see Kyoto Gardens then you should definitely spend a couple of hours walking around Holland Park and see everything it has to offer since it is extremely pretty.
Oh yeah I forgot to mention the peacocks. They really add to the 'je ne sais quoi' of the place.
My hair was doing that whole 'Mulan' thing and I was not happy about it when it came to editing.
The rest of the photographs are from around Holland Park.
There's so many pretty flowers around Holland Park. This would also be an amazing place to take some portraits or family pics.
I'll be posting these photographs plus a lot more over on my Instagram!
Lots of love,
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Exploring London: National Gallery & Tate Britain | Zafira
Hi!
So I'm sort of back and settled into somewhat of a routine after what feels like the most eventful summer of my life which means it's time to show some pretty pics I took whilst I was out and about!
If you follow me over on my Instagram or even if you read my previous blog post, you would know I spent quite a lengthy time in London. Although my exploration days were quite limited due to having a lot of family to visit, I still made the most it and got to see nearly everything on my list.
We begin my little adventure over at the National Gallery and it was such a beautiful place to begin. I love art. I always have but unfortunately my skills within the artistic field aren't quite on Monet's level. Anyway, the National Gallery is the perfect place for an art-lover like myself and it's so stunning to walk around and spend hours admiring the paintings on the wall.
I love galleries and museums that have that sort of elegant, Palace of Versailles kind of vibe it's makes me fall in love with place instantly. The Victoria and Albert Museum (also in London) has the best 'Palace of Versailles' kind of interior and it's my all time fave place.
This pink-ish coloured dress reminds me so much of the latest Collina Strada collection.
I've always wanted something like this painted on my ceiling.
This painting stood out to me so much because my family village in Bangladesh looks the spitting image of this. It's so weird, especially because this painting is of somewhere in America in late 1800s.
She just looks like she's living her best in life in some sort of Dolce & Gabbana gown. This is exactly what I want to be doing in about 10 years.
Absolutely beautiful.
This is just outside the National Gallery.
I then headed off the Tate Britain which was just as wonderful as the National Gallery. I was in awe of the place as once again, it had that 'Palace of Versailles' kind of vibe but it also had a strange modern and minimalistic twist. It was weirdly cool. I guess it's quite hard to explain but once you look through my photographs you'll understand. As soon as you walk in you're hit with a bright, white, minimal environment but as you start walking through the place it transforms into an old and elegant place.
The most creepiest painting I've ever seen. I was immediately drawn in by this. Maybe it was the way they had lit the painting but it's so so so nightmarish. I think I had a good look at for about 2 minutes and decided to swiftly move away because I know I'd have some sort of unpleasant nightmare about it.
This is one of favourite paintings ever! I can't remember where I saw this first but I've been in love with it for years. This is 'Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose' by John Singer-Sargent. It's beautiful. I even bought it in tote bag form.
I wish I had enough patience and skill to sit and draw in a museum or gallery.
I think I was in year 7 and we'd have these English lessons every other week or so which were so chill and we'd read poetry and just talk about stuff and I remember so vividly reading the poem behind this painting. This is 'The Lady of Shalott' and the poem is bit miserable but still quite good. I used to try and draw and painting this painting so much when I was younger.
Also some of the frames around these paintings are just as stunning as the paintings themselves.
If you're wondering whether I took these on film or not then the answer is no. Preparing for uni has made my bank account a bit non existent alongside living the city life in London so shooting on film wasn't really something I could do. I took one roll of my usual Fujifilm Superia 200 and used that one 36 shot roll for the entire trip. I'll post those in a few weeks but these are all digital photographs that I've edited to make it look like they were shot on film.
I'll be posting these photographs plus a lot more over on my Instagram!
Lots of love,
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A Long Hiatus, Summer, Prepping for Uni & an Update | Zafira
Hi guys!
It's been quite a while since I've posted anything here simply due to this summer being the busiest one I've had yet. We have 1 day left of August and I cannot believe how fast this summer has flown by but I have loved every minute of it. I took a bit of a break over on my Instagram too which is very much needed but I'll explain more about that later on throughout this post.
This summer began in the most exciting and breathtaking manner as me and family headed down to North Wales for a little holiday at the end of June and I have quite a few posts about that on here. You can check them out by clicking on the following links:
https://www.zaf-ira.co.uk/zafira-1/2018/06/staycation-lookbook-zafira-edit.html
https://www.zaf-ira.co.uk/zafira-1/2018/07/wales-on-film-zafira-edit.html
https://www.zaf-ira.co.uk/zafira-1/2018/07/wales-video-faq-zafira-edit.html
I loved our holiday and it was needed desperately since me and family had a wild, chaotic but amazing summer ahead of us.
July and August were mainly spent on preparing for my cousin's wedding which took up the majority of summer. It my eldest cousin's wedding so it was the first out of the kid's generation which is just so so so weird. I still think my cousin is about 15 and I'm 8 years old dying to borrow her Jacqueline Wilson books. Her wedding was beautiful, it was insanely busy but I loved it. I'm posting a little collage of photographs I took the wedding period over on my Instagram.
And then in the midst of that I've been doing all the boring University stuff like finances and bank accounts. All the stuff that adults usually do but since I'm now legally an adult it's my turn to take over which is very very sad. I start uni in about 3 weeks and I'm so excited but also 100% ready to poop my pants. I'm going to start doing a lot of student based posts very soon so make sure you stay tuned for that!
Lastly, for the past two weeks or so me, my mum and brother decided to take a break over in London after the wedding to just relax, explore and see some family. It was the perfect way to end my summer. However, my phone unexpectedly died the moment I got of the train and set my foot on overly polluted and busy grounds of London. It was quite the tragedy and I then found myself phone-less and disconnected from the online world for nearly 2 weeks. My phone was on it's last legs but it's been that way for a good year and it could have not picked a worse time to die. It's so weird being in one of busiest and liveliest cities without a phone. Anyway, this meant I couldn't really update on Instagram so I took this situation and turned it into a good thing. I think sometimes social media can all get a bit too much so having this break really helped me figure out where I'm going with all this stuff and figure out a path.
I think that's a good summary of everything I wanted to update you all on. I'm sorry I've been a bit M.I.A this summer but I'll be back to normal from this post onward.
Lots of love,
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Blackpool | Zafira
Hi!
Since everyone enjoyed my Wales video so much, I thought I'd make another one with some random clips I had lying around. About a month or so ago, me and a couple of my family members headed over to Blackpool to just relax and watch the sunset. I think if you live especially in Manchester, you have this very vivid image of Blackpool because as soon as it gets a tiny bit hot, you know you would probably be going there to spend the day since it's pretty close by. When I was younger, Blackpool seemed like the coolest place ever but in more recent days, it's become a somewhat overrated and downhill place to be.
When I went to film this video, the beauty that Blackpool once had offered to me as a young child didn't appear to me straight away but something happened at sunset I was hit with all these amazing and very surprising sunlit surroundings and found that it was the perfect opportunity to film some bits.
I used the song 'The End of Love' by Florence and the Machine because it was on one of Spotify discover playlists and I'm not quite sure why but it reminded me a lot of being at the beach. I feel like it's pretty in-tune with the montage.
I hope you enjoyed it!
Lots of love,
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Wales Video FAQ | Zafira
Hi!
So if you've been following me on my social media, you'd know that a few weeks ago I made and posted a little video montage of my weekend away to Wales and ever since I've had so many questions about it so I thought I'd answer them all on here.
I've seen quite a few videos in the film and 'Super 8' style and I completely adore them. I love the grain and nostalgia feeling behind them. I wanted to replicate that with my montage of Wales because this was the very first time my entire family had gone away together and it was one of those things I know we'll look back at for the rest of our lives. It was most definitely a trip to remember. I wanted it to have that sort of home video-y feel to it but also still be something very visually appealing. I used the song 'Fear of the Water' by Syml because if you know me very well then you'd know I have this weird relation with water. I can't swim so large amounts of water are a big no no but I adore the sea and the ocean and everything that comes with it. I was listening to it on the way to Wales and it's what really spurted the idea of this video.
Okay so the most asked question is how did I get it looking like I shot on film or on a Super 8 camera? A lot of people have also asked what camera I used but my secret really is Adobe Premiere. I am a student so even affording something like Super 8 camera is ridiculous without even thinking about getting the film developed which is another huge dip in the bank so using Adobe Premiere and achieving something that looks pretty authentic was amazing. I just started off my filming with my DSLR and then imported it into Premiere, cropped it into a square shape, added a dash of grain, lowered the contrast, increased the saturation and added the film reel sound and I was good to go. You can even get away with filming with your phone and anything really, the quality of the video isn't really as important because when the overlays and grain and stuff are added on top, the overall quality lowers.
I used two videos I found on YouTube to overlay and help create a perfect and central square shape and to add effects and here they are:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZM9bcUYonY
This first one helped to create those orangey/pink hues that appeared spontaneously which is common when using film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1rCxzJnmiM
And then the second one is what I used to get the square shape. I wasn't sure on how to get the rounded corners so that's why I stuck with the square. I didn't really like the effects on this so I used as a stencil and guide of where to place each clip and then ended up only keeping the audio from this.
I watched quite a few YouTube tutorials to help which were really handy but when it comes to doing the little things like altering colours and such it's pretty much up to your personal preferance. I added a slight yellow tint to emphasize that nostalgic feel and then a handwritten title and subtitle. I got a lot of questions about that too, some people thought it was a font but it's just my crappy handwriting lol. I used a graphics tablet which is actually my little brothers but it's become very handy for me so we'll just say it's mine. I used Photoshop and started off with a black landscape A4 sized document and wrote in yellow. I used a black background because when you usually insert titles in Premiere the background is always black anyway.
Here's the most helpful YouTube tutorial that I found:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrmmJK9QwPo
The last thing I had a loooot of questions about was where this was filmed and as you can probably tell from the title, it was filmed in Wales but more specifically in the small town on Pemaenmawr alongside Llandudno and Snowdonia. They are amazing places to photograph (click here to check out my 'Wales on Film' post) and film because it feels so calm and serene. It's so beautiful to be out in nature and be surrounded by beaches and hills and mountains which is something I tried to capture in my video.
I plan to do a lot more of these because I adore making them, it's so much fun to film and make so make sure you follow my social media to find out when and where I release my next video!
Lots of love,
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Wales on Film | Zafira
Hey!
So if you've read my last blog post (
click here to read if you haven't already
) or have been keeping up to date over on my Instagram, you would know that I spent the most magical and absolutely beautiful weekend away in Wales. It was just what I needed after the stress of exams and college.
We begin our extended weekend away in the small but pretty town of Penmaemawr. If you're thinking what in the world, how do you even pronounce that? Well after a lot of practice and help from this website, I can finally enunciate it like a proper Welsh gal. My family is pretty big, there were about 40/45 of us on this trip which is a loooot of people but this is what made it so so so good. We stayed at this place called Mountain View which is sort of like an Airbnb kind of place. It was just like this huge house with 20+ rooms and it was the coolest. It was based in this cute and quaint town which was most definitely the most picturesque place I've ever been.
What station house looks this pretty in 2018?!
To further emphasise the beauty Penmaemawr had already blessed us with, there was a beach literally down the road from where we were staying. I love love love love love beaches. On extremely sunny and warm days, it almost felt as if we weren't in the UK. It was so calm and is completely different than beaches near Manchester such as Blackpool. It's just stunning. I think we ended up at the beach pretty much everyday.
The next place I explored whilst at Wales was Llandudno. I'm not exactly sure which bits of it we went to but we visited the famous pier and some hilly areas too which were absolutely captivating. It's so weird how you can go from the hilly areas that are completely isolated to areas such as the pier which is filled to the brim with people.
The last place I went to was just as encapsulating as the other two. I was so blown away by how stunning Wales is I can see myself going down there for so many years to come. I had no idea it was as alluring as it was. It took my breath away. It's so strange to go from a busy city like Manchester to somewhere like Penmaemawr and feel such a stark contrast in the way people live. It's even stranger that this is literally 2ish hours away from Manchester and it's so different. Anyway, Snowdonia was the last place we went to. We actually went on my birthday which was the 24th of June and I loved it. It's crazy how amazing the weather was when we went too. The sun was shining, the water and sky were as blue as ever and mountains were this amazing luscious green.
And lastly, here's a shot on me looking too happy on my 18th birthday which was the best birthday I've ever had.
Thank you to my family for making this the best holiday ever! You can see some more shots over on my Instagram 😊
Lots of love,
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:
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London on Film | Zafira
Hi!
If you read my previous post, you'd know that I spent a week in London and it was so great. It was nice to have a week away from the chaos and craziness of college life and just take time to spend with my family. I didn't really get to out and explore as the main reason we were there was for wedding shopping but I managed to sneak away for a day and these are the film photographs that I took, enjoy!
I like to organise my photographs into categories when doing these posts but these two don't really fit into any because I took them on a different day.
Like I said earlier, the whole purpose of our family London trip was to shop and shop we did. We bought so much stuff and it was such a long process but most of the shopping is done and I can't wait for the wedding.
I can't remember where I took this but the sunlight is what really caught my eye, it just created such a calm and serene environment in a busy city like London.
The Tate Modern is quite a peculiar place but I love it nonetheless. It's definitely for the more artsy fartsy people but it's still such a cool place to walk around.
The two photographs above were actually taken in a pitch black room. In order to see the work on the walls you had to use flash which is usually not allowed. It was such a beautiful and moving collection of photographs.
Covent Garden is one of those days you'd go when it's sunny and warm. Thankfully, the day I went, the weather was so good even though the Beast from the East 3 had hit a couple of days before.
There's so many pretty flowers in Covent Garden and if the Sun decides to be your friend you can get some super cute shots.
The British Museum is just built in the most beautiful way possible. The outside looks quite historic and old but on the inside, it has the most stunning minimal yet breath taking interior. It's all white and when the sun shines through, it just creates such an amazing atmosphere.
I was running pretty low on film so I didn't get to get as many shots I initially wanted to but I completely adore these Greek sculptures.
I'll be posting these photographs plus a lot more over on my Instagram!
Lots of love,
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Exploring London: Tate Modern, The British Museum & Covent Garden | Zafira
Hey!
It's been quite a while since I've been to London but I was there for the first week of my Easter holidays. The main reason I was there was to shop for my cousin's wedding in the summer which literally took an entire 3 days. Don't even ask it was a very very very long process but just know me and my family will be looking quite cute on her wedding day if I don't say so myself. Anyway, my week was filled with not only shopping but visiting family I hadn't seen for a while which took up the majority of my time there but eventually, I had a day spare and spent it doing what I love most which is wandering the streets and taking photographs. A lot of the photographs will be used in my last ever photography project at college based on the structure and composition of everyday life which is why the majority of my photographs look like I've spent the entire day stalking people.
My little day adventure began at the Tate Modern. I think every hipster/indie/tumblr child has been here but I've always put it off until now. It's cool but weird at the same time. Contemporary art is a strange thing but it's always fun to see what unique things people have created.
From the outside, it doesn't look like a very modern building but inside it's pretty amazing. This particular part drew me in because of the bright coloured text and windows opposite each other. It's a cute corner.
Here's some close ups of what the text says, they're a quite cynical but the quote "Panic drives human herds over cliffs" on the yellow square is my favourite bit.
I don't know what it is but I frickin' love neon lights. I've been contemplating getting a neon flamingo light for my bedroom but they're just waaay too expensive for me at the minute. These two particular pieces are by Bruce Nauman.
I love it when photographs are organised like this.
When I did Fine Art in my first year of college, this famous urinal by Marcel Duhamp was bought up when we were studying what art actually is. It was really cool seeing it in real life.
This was really adorable because they're just staring at an older version of themselves.
For this piece they had several screens and each screen was a different argument for a question that went along the lines of "If you post your art work online does it still belong to you?" It was so fascinating reading the different viewpoints.
It was also really exciting looking at Martin Parr's work as he is one of the photographers who I had used for inspiration for my final photography project at college. I love this sort of stuff.
It's really interesting watching how people react to art. Especially at places like the Tate Modern where the art is so different and unique.
I'd love to give you some context about these last two images but I honestly cannot remember what the story was behind them but they me remind of Neanderthal/monkey-esque creatures.
The next place on my list was the British Museum. I never even knew this existed but I was extremely glad that I went. The building itself is so beautiful inside and out and if I had a lot of time to explore, I could most likely spend an entire lifetime in there.
Look at this beauty.
I have quite an admiration for stuff like the globe and golden details on the clock on the two photographs above. I think they're insanely pretty and I'd fill my entire house with stuff like it if I could.
Whenever I look at a vase like this I always think of the opening scene of Hercules.
When you have your exams 4 weeks and you still haven't revised a single thing.
When you try and act casual when you see your bae.
I actually adore these Greek sculptures, I really wish someone would make one of me.
The boys.
How cute does this father and son look in the sunlight?
I have so many photographs of the British Museum building but they're on my rolls of film that haven't been developed yet (keep your eyes peeled over on my Instagram to see when I post 'London on Film').
The last place I ventured to was Covent Garden which is the perfect place to go on a sunny day. Thankfully, I was blessed with amazing weather when I went last week and I'd definitely be going back there a lot more. It's such a nice place to go with friends and family. It's filled with little market stalls but also a huge variation of shops to fit your every need.
I tripped and almost fell before I took this. I just thought you should know.
There's so many cool acts going on around Covent Garden to keep everyone entertained.
I 100% will be having my lunch here some day.
I'll be posting these photographs plus a lot more over on my Instagram!
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February on Film | Zafira
This month, my eldest cousin Tahmina got engaged. In the Bengali culture, we have this thing called a 'Cinifan' which is basically an engagement party. It was so much fun and I'm still bewildered as to how old me and my cousins have gotten. It seems like only yesterday that I was like 8 and Tahmina was 13 and I was dying to borrow her Jacqueline Wilson books (still am).
I'd like to give a very big thanks to Jarred and Rachael for absolutely wrecking and making my Valentines day a very funny and eventful one, I appreciate it lots ❤
We went to the Jungle Jazz Cafe in Manchester during our very short one week holiday for breakfast and discovered such a beautiful place to just chill and hang out. It's so pretty inside and is definitely one of the most photogenic cafes you will find here in Manchester.
For my last ever photography project at my last ever year at college, I chose to explore composition. I'm looking at photographers such as William Eggleston who use composition in such a unique and eye catchy way. Me and a few friends ended up in the Manchester Art Gallery and spent some time walking around, admiring art and as shown in these pictures, watching people admire art.
I'll be posting these plus a lot more over on my Instagram!
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September on Film | Zafira
Hi!
I'm back with another post in my film series! I'm quite aware it's mid October, well pretty much past mid at this point but I've been insanely busy at college but I've finally found a little bit of time to show you a couple of snaps I took during the month of September!
All I can remember from September was the stress of being back at college, writing my personal statement and catching up with all my amazing friends. It's weird how fast college has gone, this is my last year and I want to treasure every moment possible.
This is Britt, she smells nice.
I'm currently trying to jazz my room up a bit. It looks quite plain so I stuck pretty much all my film shots up on my walls and it looked quite cute. I think I'll probably end up getting some fairy lights too just to complete that ever so 'Tumblr' look.
This is Cherie and Sanjida. They make college that little bit more bearable.
Here's a snap of Cherie looking cute as per usual.
Lydia and Jazmine having waay too much fun in the art department.
Another cat one. We've become particularly close over the past few days. I often find that when I come home, he/she is waiting for me outside my window.
My mum likes buying fresh flowers every week.
I'm Asian of course my house contains at least one chili plant.
We have a little bit of a jungle theme going on in our living room, it's very nice and relaxing.
Sparkly macaroons are apparently a thing?
Me in the only shirt I seem to own. I don't even look like myself in this it's strange.
I took this on the way home from college. I spend too much of my life sat on a bus.
Since I had experimented a lot this month, a lot of my shots were pretty much under exposed but it's all good, I've got a fresh roll and I'm excited to shoot again. I think I'm going to merge October and November together so get ready for a nice chunky post!
Remember to follow me on all my social media to stay updated and to see some cool behind the scenes and extra shots!