Photography Zafira Ahmed Photography Zafira Ahmed

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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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This is Alfonzo with the pretty blue eyes.

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NJ looking like she belongs in the countryside.

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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,

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Photography Zafira Ahmed Photography Zafira Ahmed

October on Film | Zafira

Hi!

It’s been a wild month. I’ve finally settled into uni after 4 months off. I’ve realised that I don’t really talk about uni a whole lot on here but that’s mainly because I have the biggest love/hate relationship with it (by this i mean i cry not to go but i still go in everyday). Brexit has been postponed. Zac Posen has closed his beautiful fashion label. Harry Styles released a new song. CO2 levels probably rose a bit. Like I said, it’s been a wild month.

But as always, I tried to capture this month as best as I could so here is my October on Film!

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We start October off with this beauty of a dress.

Me and my cousins had a lovely day out towards the end of September and one them kindly bought me this dress from Zara and obviously, I had to wear it to Uni the next day. I love dresses in this style and cut because they are such classic pieces to have and super easy to style. This dress is also the comfiest thing ever. I spent the day running around Manchester and uni in it and it didn’t get in the way at all.

Can we also talk about how great I look in this photograph? Not to like toot my own horn or be a complete and utter narcissist but I love this picture of myself. Thank you Victoria!

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Since these photographs were taken I have also accidentally accumulated this dress in black too.

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On every roll there’s always an odd shot of my room. Here is my dad’s boutonniere from my cousin’s wedding over a year ago that I haven’t had the heart to throw away yet.

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Here’s Vicky applying lip gloss after our little brunch date.

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I’ve weirdly been spending a lot of time in Harvey Nichols recently because I love walking around and looking at things I can’t afford. This is a shot from either the second or third floor.

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I was walking back to uni one day and ended up walking past a massive protest on Oxford Road. This was about what’s happening with Turkey and Rojava and to raise awareness. I can’t say I’m too educated or read enough on the topic to fully explain to you what’s happening but there’s a page over on the Independent that cover a lot to do with it. You can check that out here.

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I feel it all it looks like I’ve done this month is go for brunch. I promise you I’ve done a lot more. This is my cousin Zahrah on our brunch date at Evelyn’s where we spent so long taking pictures of our food that it went cold.

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There’s also always a shot of me drinking something on every roll now too. I’m actually wearing the black version of my blue dress here but you can’t see it very well.

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I bought this Ralph Lauren tweed blazer at the Thrift Shop in Manchester for £12 and not only did I buy this for an absolute bargain but I met Oli Sykes too from Bring Me the Horizon! I have nothing but a badly taken picture on my phone to show for that but it was truly a great day. The 13 year old in me was filled with pure joy.

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This is Jack being a hardworking student and also looking very grumpy because he wasn’t too happy about having his photograph taken.

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We had a wedding in the family (again) so the end of this month was spent getting dressed up and hopping from wedding event to wedding event.

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I took this because we were at a wedding at the exact same time last year at the exact same place and saw this exact same cat. You can’t see the cat very well but it’s been strolling around the British Muslim Heritage Centre for a year now. Maybe even longer who knows.

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I love autumn so much.

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It’s your favourite child bride! I really have to stop making that joke now that I’m no longer a child. But here I am all dressed up on a freezing cold autumn day.

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Here’s my cousin Zahrah again looking pretty.

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Daylight savings happened this month too which contrary to popular opinion, I actually really love. I like it when it gets dark earlier. How beautiful is the sun setting behind the marquee?

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And of course, what is a roll of film without the appearance of one of the babies?

It turns out that this is actually my third October on Film! You can check out last years October on Film here and the one from 2017 here.

Thanks for reading!

Lots of love,

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September on Film | Zafira

Hey!

After an abundance of requests asking for my monthly film blog posts, I’ve decided to bring back what seems like everybody’s favourite series over on here. The roll I shot on this month has actually been in my camera since the end of July/beginning of August and it might just be the longest I’ve ever had a film roll in my camera.

This summer was a little chaotic to say the least and shooting on film felt like a massive inconvenience. I was shooting frequently on digital so to carry around my DSLR, the lenses for that and then my film camera with all it’s accessories would have been quite the struggle. It’s a shame because there were so many moments this summer that could have been beautifully captured on film. I’m hoping to get a little film camera soon, something like Contax T3 (maybe something a little cheaper jesus i had no idea that these were that expensive) so I can take it everywhere hassle free.

I don’t know how this month is already over, I don’t remember feeling like it ever began. It’s been just as busy as this summer with me starting my second year of uni. I actually love September, it’s so lovely seeing everything transition into autumn and there’s just something about Manchester during this time of year that I completely adore.

Here a few snaps from late July, August and of course, September.

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I think I took this in August when I was walking through Piccadilly Gardens to probably go shop or something but I ended up bumping into this huge marching band. It was pretty cool and very random but I love their hats.

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This roll has more photographs of me than I’m used to but here’s a shot of me in the COW changing rooms because they’re so cute. I can’t remember if I bought anything from there but this is a very rare shot of me in a printed white t-shirt.

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My mum hates all animals, especially this little daredevil of a cat. This is our neighbour’s cat that might as well belong to us. If you’ve followed these monthly film posts for a while, she’s made quite a few appearances and loves her time in-front the camera. What a pretty girl.

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Moose Coffee looking pretty in the sunlight.

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I picked up this amazing jumper this month at Thrift Shop Manchester for £7 and I can’t stop wearing it. It’s super 80/90s style and it’s one of my favourite things in my wardrobe at the minute. I also got these lovely Chanel button looking earrings from my friend Vicky as a late birthday present which was very sweet of her and my clip is from Primark!

Also how insane is it that this time last year, I had a bob and now my hair is sooo long? I think this the longest I’ve had it in a while, I usually get it cut into a bob every summer but this year I thought I’d let it grow out and go wild.

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I finally updated my photo walls in my room with some newer shots. I also upgraded to 5x7 prints too and I loove how they look. I love being surrounded with photographs of my family and friends and most importantly, shots of me.

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When I say I’ve lived in my boiler suit this summer, I’m not even exaggerating. It was my go to outfit and was so easy to wear and style. Anytime I’d leave the house to run some errands or even to come into the city, I’d throw this on with a pair of boots or my Vans. This is the best £35 I’ve ever spent. Here I am in TK Maxx in my 5 hour quest to find some jeans that actually fit me (no luck unfortunately but I got a cute pair from Topshop).

I remember when I first started shooting on film, I’d always take these mirror pictures cos I thought they were so cool. I still love them so they’re slowly making a comeback.

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I had lunch at Mackie Mayor a week or so ago and it’s one of the coolest places to eat in Manchester. Maybe one day I’ll have to do a post about my favourite places to eat in Manchester because there’s sooo many. Mackie Mayor is filled with different food stalls so there’s so much to pick from. From pizza to tacos to all sorts. It’s the perfect place to eat if you’re with a lot of people because they have such a good range of food to pick from so there’s something for everyone.

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Here are a few of my favourite things this month:

  • Pearl Clips - Primark

  • Burt’s Bees Lip Balm in Pomegranate (hands down best lip balm ever made by anyone)

  • Hugo Boss Watch

  • The Ordinary - Alpha Arbutin Serum (so so so good for dark spots)

  • All necklaces are from Lovisa

  • Bangle - from some little cheap stall on Green Street in London

  • NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Rome (i’ve been wearing this everyday since i was 16 it’s my favourite lipstick of all time)

  • Gold Hoops - & Other Stories (i also wear these almost everyday)

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Her'e’s me and my friend Divine in our matching outfits for our first day back at uni! (you don’t even need to ask both of these shirts are obviously from Zara)

When I was around 8/9 years old, I had a dress so similar to this. Me and my cousin Zahrah would wear matching outfits and we both had this dress so when I saw this in Oliver Bonas the other day it immediately took me back to our childhood. Over this dress, I’m wearing a puffy sleeved shirt from Zara that I’ve tied at the front and my new Converse.

Can you believe this dress was on sale for £20 down from £68? I love a good bargain.

That’s all I have for this month! I’ll try and make this into a regular thing since it’s in high demand. To see more of my film pics and photographs in general, follow me over on my Instagram and other social medias (everything is linked at the bottom of each post!)

Thanks for reading!

Lots of love,

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