My First Exhibition | Zafira

‘LOST IN TRADITON.’

Hey!

So a few days ago, I had my work exhibited for the very first time! As part of a group exhibition by me and my MA group, we showed off some work we did as part of an assignment last term under the theme ‘Collisions’.

I wasn’t planning on doing a blog post on this hence the non-blogger-last-minute-pictures but I thought it would be fun to explain more about the meaning and context behind my work and even a little bit about my working progress.

RESEARCH

A lot of research went into this. It’s the first time I’ve completely finished a photography project, well when I say finished I mean have at least 90% satisfaction with the final product.

It all started off with family pictures from the 70-90s. I spend so much time flicking through family albums, I knew I had to use them in my project in someway or other.

The photographs that stood out most were definitely the portraits, especially the ones taken in studios. It’s crazy how my family used to go to a studio and get these regal, professional shots taken of them against the most extravagant backgrounds. My favourite had to be this one of my dad’s aunt and uncle which you’ll see eventually inspired the entire colour scheme of my project.

I also found myself delving quite deeply into theoretical concepts in photography, it might have been because I was taking a critical studies class at the time but I have always loved reading about anthropological concepts.

The main concept I focused on was Edward Soja’s theory of photographic space and its relation to this idea of the ‘other’. I was looking at the impact of the colonial gaze as well as Edward Said’s take on orientalism. I recommend looking into all these concepts because they give you such an clear understanding on how the West impacted colonised people, their countries and even their way of life post-colonisation.

(the faces are blurred out for privacy reasons and it’s watermarked because it’s from my dad’s very extensive family archive)

TEST SHOOTS

So I did quite a few test shoots for this, you might have seen a few of this pictures over on my Instagram but it was so much fun dressing up and shooting myself in different styles.

Ultimately, I knew I wanted to portray a balance between my two cultures; my Western life here in the UK but then also my roots back in Bangladesh and then also tie back in orientalism and it’s impact on my generation of Bangladeshis.

In these photographs you can see one very ‘modern’ style of South Asian style but then the other is a very traditional look. I knew after shooting these 2 different sets, that for my final, I’d want to represent both somehow.

My set up started off with my mum’s old sarees, I love a good classic katan saree. They’ve always felt so decadent to me. I loved the creases and the folds and the way that mirrored the folds in the clothing I was wearing. I liked how these turned out but it didn’t feel exciting enough to me.

pre-final-set

These are my pre-final-set of images I guess you’d call them? Well those personally, gave me the ick towards myself as a photographer because of how hazy and foggy and messy they look but they were so pivotal in the creation of my final set so I had to include these in here. I was playing around with lens filters and different editing styles and it did not work out how I wanted to but at least now I had a clear image of what I wanted for my final set.

I wanted to go back to that family portrait and figure out how I could recreate the colours because that’s one thing that made me fall in love with it and the backdrop too. However. getting a backdrop anywhere close to the one in the original picture would have broke my bank account. I looked at other options too like printing a photograph of Bangladesh onto material and then using that but that too was just way out of my budget.

I was like okay, where can I get a large amount of fabric for cheap? And then it came to me, a bedsheet. I got this during the boxing day sales on Amazon for £7 and it’s amazing. It’s quite a matte material which was a gem not only photographing but even when it came to printing later on.

final project.

click here

I ended refining my pre-final-set and made the quality much more clean and refined. I decided to focus on paan and the whole paan eating process as in a few of the pictures, you’ll see my skirt is actually printed in gold paan leaves. (my skirt is handmade!!!)

It fit into the whole “Lost in Tradition’ title because paan is something I eat a little too regularly after I’ve finished a meal. It’s a tradition I’ve carried on even though I’ve grown up around such a Western environment. I was playing around with the nut cracker in the pre-final set and it was pretty interesting having that contrast between the metal and the bright colours.

I shot this in my kitchen for optimal natural lighting in the 1 hour of bright light we get during the winter in the UK and it worked out so well. I found shooting slightly underexposed but with a medium or large raw file really malleable in my editing process. Yes, there was a some of noise because of this but it added some amazing texture and film like feel to the pictures.

If you press the ‘click here’ button on the image above, you can see all the photographs :)

Overall, I think I’m happy with how they turned out. The printing process was so cool too, I got my prints done at Come Through Lab in Ancoats and they did such a great job.

A big big thank you to everyone who came and saw my work whilst it was being exhibited. I don’t think I’ve ever truly felt like a real photographer until I saw other people looking at my work up on the walls.

Here’s me looking like a baby in front of my work.

I’ll be releasing some prints within the next week so keep an eye out over on Instagram if you want to get your hands on some!

Thanks for reading,

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!

The Last of Summer on Film | Zafira

Hey guys!

And just like that it’s autumn. I haven’t done one of these ‘On Film’ posts in forever because my life midst this whole Corona business has just not been worth shooting on film so I took a little bit of a break. But I’m back at uni, back to doing things that require leaving my house so I’ve started shooting again.

Here are a few shots from the end of summer and this September that I hope you’ll like. This roll had a light leak so a few of my shots look a bit glitchy but I kind of love how that looks.

This is my very beautiful friend Britt who I used to shoot on film all the time when we were at college together. But we barely have time to see each other these days because we’re so busy. We had a very cute day out to Heaton Park towards of the end of summer and hung out and it was just like old times.

Some more shots at Heaton Park. I hadn’t been there for years I forgot how lovely it is to walk around.

I can’t entirely remember when I took this but the sunset was something else this day. I love the way the sunlight reflects on the white walls in my parents room in the prettiest shade of orange.

These bags were incredibly popular this year and it’s so wild to me because as kid, I used to get one of these bags every time someone in our family would go to Bangladesh. So when I see brands like Shrimps selling these for hundreds of pounds, it kind of makes me feel a bit weird because it feels almost extortionate.

As much as I love Shrimps, I do have a few issues with someone of the things they sell but that’s a story for another day.

This bag along with a few others like it were kindly made for me in Bangladesh and I think they’re so pretty.

As you can tell, here is the point in my roll where a light leak formed. I actually really love when this happens and you get the orange/red colours at the top of your photographs. I wear this outfit pretty much every summer and I adore it.

A few shots from the city.

I think this was my first day properly back in the city since March so I really enjoyed just walking around and taking a few snaps of places I walk by everyday.

This canal shot is my favourite shot on this entire roll because usually, this little nook hiding the canal on Oxford Road looks quite grimy and gross but on this particular day, the sunlight was hitting the water so perfectly. It was so serene.

What would a roll be without a shot of this cat that isn’t ours? We’re no longer friends because I was quite viciously scratched a few weeks ago whilst trying to stroke it.

This is my friend Tarek looking the coolest in Piccadilly Gardens. (sorry for being half an hour late, i hope this makes up for it)

I took these when I was shooting my uni lookbook which you can check out here if you haven’t already. Some very cute fits.

I’m starting to get back into the swing of shooting often again so there’ll be more of these soon.

Thanks for reading!

I Went To London Fashion Week! (kind of) | Zafira

Hey!

So, if you’ve been keeping up with my Instagram this past week you will know that I went to London Fashion Week! Well, I didn’t exactly go. It was more of a stand outside the event spaces in the rain and hope some well dressed people go in and out so you can take some pretty pictures of their outfits kinda thing.

Even though I was stood in the rain for two days, the entire experience was so incredibly good. I loved seeing everyone all dressed up and the range of people that were there. It was definitely an experience that I’d remember forever.

I took a lot of photographs so feel free to have a little browse :)

Thanks for checking these out, I’ll be posting my film shots in my February on Film sometime in the next few days so make sure you follow me over on my socials to know when it’s up!

January on Film | Zafira

Hey!

January has lasted a good 3 years or that’s honestly what it’s felt like. It’s been a quiet month. I think like a lot of people, I’ve been trying to get my life back on track a little bit after almost a month off uni. I’m happy to be back into my usual schedule though and also happy to see what this year has to offer!

Here’s my January on film:

For the past few weeks, I’ve been adoring this little spot in my parents room. It’s on top of my mum’s dresser, a spot where she keeps a vintage jewellery box, her perfume, a mirror and a spinny bangle holder (not pictured). I think it might be the way it looks when the sun starts to set or the way an immense amount of light shines through no matter what the weather. It’s just very pretty.

Pictured here is an & Other Stories Perfume I got my mum for her birthday which I occasionally steal a spritz or two of and my favourite favourite & Other Stories lipstick that has most definitely been loved.

We spent Christmas and Boxing Day in London this year compared to our usual family shindig in Birmingham so we could visit some family. I took this somewhere in Whitechapel on Boxing Day. Honestly I think it’s kinda disgusting. There’s nothing I hate more than pigeons.

Here I am dressed like I’m cosplaying Shrek in this funky green silky dress from none other than Zara. I love this dress however, I hate wearing it because it creases instantly. I am also wearing some vibrant green eye shadow that you can barely see. I have my massive vintage coat from Headlock Vintage on too which everyone seems to hate but I am completely smitten with it. My personal tutor at university actually asked if I picked this coat of a skip which was very nice of him.

I was going to do this whole “only buy two things a month” thing but it’s now the end of January and once again, my wardrobe doors are incapable of closing without an aggressive shove.

These dreamy babies were a little bit of an impulsive buy from ASOS but my god are they beautiful. I love Mary Janes. They’re probably my all-time favourite style of shoe. These are plain black and velvet and pretty much match everything in my wardrobe.

As I said, this whole “only buy two things a month” thing did not go well whatsoever.

I’ve been quite in love with various shades of green for a while now which is strange because I used to hate the colour green. I think it’s incredibly flattering on brown-ier skin tones.

This blazer style corduroy jacket is from TK Maxx but is from a brand called Y.A.S that I know nothing about other than they are expensive are sold on ASOS. This jacket was originally £80 however because TK Maxx is a literal heaven on earth, this jacket only cost me £14.99. Bargain of the year.

Considering I’ve lived in Manchester my entire life, I don’t think I’ve ever been to the Whitworth Gallery.

It’s an incredibly pretty building, not only from the outside but the inside too. It’s so open and bright and I think this might be my new favourite place in Manchester. They’ve also got the most aesthetically pleasing cafe that’s lined with tall window after tall window (there’s a little snippet of it on the smaller pic).

I don’t even know where to begin with these cheeky babies. They both came over a few days ago and were causing chaos left, right and centre. They gave each other makeovers with some pretty pink lipstick, made me draw everyone and everything ever possible, ate of course (their fave activity) and both took turns drinking from my water bottle/cup in this picture.

Thanks for reading!

It’s been wild watching these two grow up the past 2 years.

Lots of love,

The Up-Cycle Project: The Perfect Errand Bag, the V Neck Dress of My Dreams and a Furry Surprise | Zafira

Hey!

So, it’s been a while. It’s so been so long in fact that we’ve rejoiced a new year and are already somehow halfway through January. I hope you all had the loveliest start to your new year and are slowly but surely getting out of that post-holiday slump.

Anyway, I made a few New Years resolutions and shared them on a post over on Instagram and one of them was to stop shopping and make more of my own clothes.

This is definitely one of those things that are easier said than done because making your own clothes requires many skills and a whole lot of practice. However, much like photography, I can 10000% say that clothes are a passion of mine and in order to understand the process a bit more, I have to start right from the very beginning.

My mum is the most talented tailor to have ever graced this Earth. She’s made me the curtains in my room, quilts and a bunch of clothes so I’m taking a few tips and tricks from her and obviously, some handy dandy YouTube tutorials to educate myself on my new found hobby.

What is up-cycling you may ask? Up-cycling is where you take products and turn them into something else. I know that a lot of vintage/thrift stores do this such as Cow and Blue Rinse so I wanted to see for myself what sorts of things I could make out of neglected clothes.

V Neck Black Dress

I think we should probably start with my absolute favourite thing in my wardrobe right now which is this black v neck dress.

You’re either 1, too focused on my amazing top underneath to care or 2, asking why this boring old thing is my favourite out of all the contents of my wardrobe. This is top stunning, I dream about it every night and I will be wearing this every day for the rest of my life but I’m planning to do a whole other post about this top and some more stuff very soon!

So back to the dress, I think something like this is fundamental in a person’s wardrobe. Especially if you’re trying to be a bit more conscious about stopping shopping. A dress like this can be worn and styled in so many different ways. I get incredibly excited thinking about the endless possibilities.

I thought this would be a lot more difficult to make but it really wasn’t. I began by sketching out my V neck on the front and back. I did make the V a lot deeper in the back so measuring all of that and making sure it was somewhat even was a little bit of a challenge since numbers and I do not get along. I made the dress slightly shorter by decreasing material from what is now the straps of the dress and then finally hemmed all the raw edges.

You can see here that I’ve styled it with this top with big sleeves which is basically a piece of art (again, I’ll get into everything about this beauty in another post) but I would wear this with pretty much anything you can put on the top half of your body. A plain white tee, a turtleneck, a blouse, a white shirt, like I said, endless possibilities.

The perfect ‘i’m just heading out to run some errands’ bag.

Honestly, I’m not much of a bag person. I either carry my tote bag with my favourite painting of all time on which is ‘Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose’ by John Singer Sargent or my basic but ever so handy Kanken black backpack.

When it comes to bags, I’m more on the practical side versus it looking pretty on my shoulder. Two things I always carry around with me are my camera and a water bottle so I knew when making this bag, it would have to be a decent size and not miniature like a Jacquemus Le Chiquito Mini Bag.

This bag is definitely a little on the smaller side than what I’m used to but I can still fit all my essentials in here and I love coordinating this bag with my ever so famous and my all time favourite pink shoes.

I think you’ll be surprised to know that this bag was once a woven mini skirt. I picked up the skirt a while ago in TK Maxx for a solid £4.99. My goodness do I love TK Maxx.

the original skirt

I really do wish I took better before shots of the skirt but here’s a little shot from my story archives.

As you can see, it’s a fitted, woven mini skirt with fringe detailing at the bottom. I can’t really say I’m much of a mini skirt wearer but this was most definitely a very cute skirt.

I have a rule where I will get rid of anything I haven’t worn in over two months. Whether that’s donating it or selling it over on my Depop. However, I did not want to part ways with this gem and I am glad I kept it and made it into something I use all the time.

The making process was fairly simple. I didn’t have to sew as much since it was a skirt but I sewed the bottom where the fringe is, cut about an inch or so off the top to keep for the straps and added a zip.

A little something extra…

I wasn’t sure I wanted to put this in with this post since it isn’t an up cycle item but it’s just too cute to leave out.

the ‘i only made this so i would have something to nap on when i go out’ bag

I never thought true love was real until I made this.

I love anything soft, most people do but this, this is like next level soft. Imagine carrying around a chinchilla with you, this bag is exactly like that.

I got the material for this bag at my new favourite shop, Abakhan, and I knew after one slight stroke that this was the material I needed. It’s so so so nice.

I think the making process of this was great, I had a lot of fun making this one.

I used one of my totes as a guideline when cutting the material. I did decrease around half an inch to an inch because I didn’t want it the same size as tote but something a bit smaller. I also made it wider horizontally which is something I prefer in bags.

I wish I lived in a less wet city or else this would be my go to accessory every single day.

I’m so excited to be starting a new series and project, thanks for reading as always!

Lots of love,

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.

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.

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.

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.

Moose Coffee looking pretty in the sunlight.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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,

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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What's in My Bag? | Zafira

Hi!

I think that one of the very first YouTube beauty guru-esque videos I watched was a 'What's in My Bag' and I think I've been dying to do one ever since. A couple of months ago, I was kindly gifted the most beautiful satchel from MAHI Leather and ever since then, I've been using it pretty much everyday.

This has been my life saver since mid November. It fits everything I could possibly need for a busy day at college or even shooting. This is the Harvard Satchel in black. I decided on black because I knew that it would match my outfits a lot better than brown. It has a small compartment at the front where I dump stuff that I need easy access to so my bus pass, keys etc. It has a small zipped compartment at the back which I use occasionally but it's mainly full of receipts. Inside, there's so much space I'm sure I could fit a small child in there. It has two big compartments and then a little zipped compartment which I use for some back up film rolls, SD cards and anything else along those lines.

Here's a shot of it on film, I think it truly helps to fulfill the whole photographer aesthetic I'm aiming for. (and it matches my Doc Martens so well!)

Here's a few things I carry on a daily basis...

1. Lip balm

I don't think I ever leave the house without lip balm, even if I don't have a bag with me I'll usually slip one in my pocket. This is the watermelon flavoured lip balm from Oliver Bonas. It's smells so good, like if summer had a scent, this would totally be it. It's has such a good consistency and looks super adorable. It's my perfect lip balm.

I can only find the pomegranate one online so you can buy that here:

https://www.oliverbonas.com/gift/pomegranate-lip-balm-50676

2. Film Camera

I'm trying to get into the habit of carrying a camera around to capture memories, moments and anything cool and exciting really. I've been in love with this baby for so long now I can never seem to leave the house without it anymore. This is the Canon 300 and it most likely has a roll of the Fujifilm Superia 200 in it. I adore film. I finish college in a few weeks and I've just been trying to capture moments with my friends and they're just somewhat more special when I take them on film.

3. Lipsticks (usually about 20 shoved into the front pocket)

I don't really touch up on my makeup throughout the day but the one thing I will end up re-applying a couple of times a day is lipstick. I drink coffee a lot and my lipstick usually rubs off on the coffee cups so I'll always have a nice selection of lipsticks to re-apply. Here I have NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams in Rome and Budapest, Barry M Lip Paint in Genie which I don't even think I've worn yet and then an old Nina Ricci lipstick that is ancient but the colour is too pretty to throw away.

4. Mirror & Keys

This vintage mirror was actually given to me for free at a car boot sale. it's really pretty and I just love vintage items. I carry a mirror because I can't stop staring at myself and my keys are quite self explanatory. I need to them to get in and out of my house.

5. Purse

This bright mustard purse was a completely random purchase. I needed a purse so I went to TK Maxx and this Visconti purse caught my eye and I impulsively ended up buying it. I'm usually not a bright colour wearing person but something about this purse really captured my gaze.

6. Body Mist

I enjoy smelling nice so I'll have a couple of random body mists or sprays in my bag. I'm not a huge fan of carrying perfume bottles around just because they're so bulky and I'm always scared they're going to end up breaking and spilling all over my work. This So...? body mist in Fresh Floral is just a very cheap body mist I picked up in Superdrug to throw into my bag. Considering it cost under £2, it smells amazing and so clean and fresh which is something I'm always looking for in a scent.

7. Bobby Pins

The bottom of my bag consists of so many of these. No matter how hard I try to be organised and put them into little bags or pouches, they always end up escaping somehow.

8. SD Card & USB Stick

I think most students carry USB sticks with them, it's just very handy when saving work. Since I do photography as a subject at college, an SD card is a necessity but also great when I'm out and about shooting. Just like the bobby pins, there's usually so many just piling up at the bottom of my bag.

8. Pencil Case

As a photography, English Language and English Literature student, there is never not a moment where I don't need a pen or some sort of writing/drawing material. I got this pencil case a couple of years ago in Wilkos.

9. Hand Cream

I think I wash my hands more than anyone ever should. I wash my hands before and after everything I do and they always end up feeling pretty dry. This is the Zoella Wonder Hand Mosturising Hand Cream and it's okay. I was using one that I picked up at TK Maxx which was my absolute fave but that ran out a few days ago and this is just my back up for now.

10. A Book (sometimes several)

I used to be a huge book worm but these days, I can't seem to find the time or patience to read. However, there are moments when I feel like reading and it's just very handy to have a book in my bag just so I'm not completely bored. I wanted to start reading more of the cult classics and I thought 1984 was a pretty good place to start. Since I'm a literature student, I'm usually carrying books that we're studying alongside whatever I'm reading in my own time too.

11. Sunglasses

I'm aware that currently in the UK, the mini Beast from the East has hit us and it's covered in snow outside, but sunglasses are such a perfect accessory for any and every outfit. It's just handy to have them in case the sun decides to come out of hiding or to complete my look for that particular day. These are some very cheap sunnies from Primark that I've had for years.

12. Glasses

So I'm a bit blind. I've been wearing glasses on and off since I was 3 and they're a necessity because I'm short sighted and can usually never see anything.  These have a very grandma vibe which is something I'm quite liking at the minute. These are from Specsavers.

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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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December on Film | Zafira

Hi!

IT'S 2018. I still can't get my head wrapped around that it's 2018. It's actually insane how fast time has gone. The last few months of 2017 were quite busy and hectic, especially December. It consisted of finishing college work and most importantly, the end of a very very very long term. I was very much looking forward to the 2 week holiday and I spent it quite wisely (I did nothing whatsoever). It was a pretty good month.

Here's December through my eyes.

I love love love the snow. It's something I look forward too very year and this year it actually snowed at the right time of year here in the UK.

In December, everyone who applied for Uni pretty much had interviews. This is my friend Cherie on the day of her first interview!

This year I'm starting I'm portrait series on film, I'm going to photograph pretty much everyone I see and Richard was a great place to start.

This is everyone taking their snaps, Instagram stories, Whatsapp pictures and Whatsapp stories of our wonderful Christmas dinner.

The food was a solid 10/10 just to let you know (yes that chicken was as good as it looks).

Baby Zakariya turned into a big boy this month! He turned one in December and you can already tell by that turtleneck of his, he gets a lot of his outfit inspo from me.

Not only have we been blessed with one baby boy in the family this year, but two! This is Mikail looking as handsome and adorable as ever in his little bow tie.

This was taken earlier in December when we had little family gathering. Liyana in her pretty dress!

Christmas has turned into a annual massive family gathering for us. It's really the only time of year where everyone is free and doesn't have work or college or school. We usually have a lovely Christmas dinner, followed by a game of secret Santa and then a couple of quizzes and games and movies to finish off the day. It's my favourite time of year.

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November & October on Film | Zafira

I'm back with another one of these film blog posts!

In my September post I said I'd combine the film shots from October and November because I knew it'd be a hectic couple of months. But, it's December and I'm finally on a fresh roll of film and I've finally gotten round to getting my previous roll developed and scanned in!

October was pretty uneventful, I was feeling quite uninspired but a day out with my cousins shopping in Manchester slowly changed that. It was nice to be out and about. I think I'd like to do some sort of film series based in Manchester, I have lived here my entire life and I've only just started to explore it.

This bin was looking particularly photogenic I couldn't help but take a picture.

At the beginning of November, I spent a weekend in Birmingham with family to mainly look at BCU as I'm applying there, but it was also really nice to just explore Birmingham a little bit since it could possibly be my home for the next 3 years. This is the Bullring and I love how it looks. 

Whilst in Birmingham, I spent some quality time with these two cuties.

Since when did My Little Ponies look like this?

It was Bonfire night when I was still in Birmingham and these shots are pretty decent considering I had no tripod.

This bathroom was really nice but you can't see.

These are pretty underexposed but they have a bit of gloomy vibe and I appreciate some good old Mughal era paintings. This was when me and my family went out to eat in Birmingham.

We went out to local park and took a nice stroll and my little cousin Liyana helped me take some pretty shots.

I've spent the last two months in these amazingly comfy pants from Zara and making this glum face too.

I quite like this even though it's heavily under exposed.

I'm usually never home until after the sun sets except from on the weekends but I spent most of the weekends in my soft office. I luckily caught this shot and the these lovely warm tones it. It makes me feel really nostalgic.

Towards the end of November, it really felt like Winter.

We had a little baby shower for my Auntie at the end of November and there were a bunch of leftover desserts so I bought some in for my friends Sanjida and Cherie. They loved them.

One of my favourite portrait shots I've ever taken on film.

This is the best purchase of the year I think. I bought it from the little boys section in H&M for the bargain price of £14 and even though it's for 14 yrs +, it's quite big and over sized and has kept me warm over the past couple of weeks.

I was kindly gifted this

MAHI Leather bag

and it's the perfect bag for me. It matches everything I wear and has tons of space in which is perfect for me because I now use it for college. It's handiest, prettiest satchel I've ever set my eyes on. Expect a 'What's in My Bag' coming very very soon!

My walls are slowly starting to get completely covered in my film shots.

Kitty is the real star of the show in these film blog posts. I might have bribed her with some string but she's just so photogenic. A film roll isn't complete without her pretty face on it.

Make sure to follow me on social media to stay updated!

Shooting on Film | Zafira

Heelllllllllllllooooooooooooo!

When I was younger, I was so fascinated by film strips. I remember how my dad would have them laid out when he was sorting out all of his photographs and I would just love to look at them. These brown strips with these tiny pictures in them were the coolest things I had ever seen. I'm pretty sure my dad shot on film for quite a while, even in the 00s when digital was a lot more popular, I still remember him shooting pictures of me and family on film. Now it's just so fascinating and utterly amazing looking back at the pictures because I can literally see the whole of my life and my family's life in images. I love how my family always document everything, it's one of the reasons I started getting more into photography and taking it more seriously. There's nothing I love more on the weekends then looking through the endless photo albums. It's a joy. Film shots look so good, I love the different hues and tones the images have. They just feel a lot more raw and gritty than digital. I asked my dad if I could borrow one of his film cameras recently and it's what I've been playing around on for the past few months. It's been amazing. I love film now.

Basically during my first set of film photos I was really dumb and when I told people I was shooting on film, they were like huh wut so I opened the back of the camera to show the film itself which is a big no no unless you want something like this. I still think these look so cool which is why I've kept them. I love the sunset-y colours, reminds me of the Instagram logo.

And then some of the pictures from my first set were two images merged together which had some quite strange outcomes but this is one of my friend Britt that I took at college. It's actually two separate images. The right side is of an image I took inside where she was leaning against the wall but you can only see her knees and the second image is one where she was sat on a bench outside but these two images have merged together and they kind of fit as one in a strange way lol?

The cutest candid of my friend Sunny.

The final one from my first set is when it snowed really heavily back in Jan/Feb time for about 20 mins and then it rained and all washed away.

My second set came out so well and it is truly when I realised film was the love of my life. Here's another snap of Britt with a swanky fringe this time.

This is probably the best picture I've taken in my entire life.

Here's me with the brightest thing in my wardrobe.

The famous pink jacket I wear pretty much everyday.

This was the day one of my favourite people in this entire world died.

My lovely boots when they were shiny and new.

I took this when I was on a shoot with two of my hilarious friends from high school.

When I started getting more into photography a few years back I would always take pictures out of my bedroom window. I don't what but there's something about it that looks so calm and peaceful. It was also really fun seeing how everything would change throughout the seasons as well which is something I might try with my film camera and document all the flowers growing and sky being blue and stuff.

Somewhere in London.

Columbia Road Flower Market which was amazing btw.

Me looking extra cute in my pink jumper from Bershka at the lovely Flower Markets.

That's all I have for now, make sure to follow me on Instagram for updates and just some really cool pictures!

Some Cute Pants That I've Been Loving | Zafira

Hello!

This is kind of weird but recently, I've just been loving pants. I'm usually the sort of person that wears black jeans and whenever I wore blue ones I felt like I was taking the biggest step out of comfort zone. But I feel like over the past few months, all these funky pants have become a sudden interest to me and I've been trying to switch it up from the usual plain black jeans. 

Monochrome Elephant Pants:

These are actually pants that I got made in Bangladesh about 2 years ago in the style of these pants that I had bought but didn't quite fancy the print of. These pants are so comfy and perfect for summer coming up. I usually lounge around the house in these but looking at this picture is making me want to wear them out because they look really good with my Docs. I remember these elephant pants being a thing about 2 years ago but I still think they're really nice and good for hot days.

 Pink Pants:

These pretty pink pants are actually jeggings which I didn't own at all but when I tried these on in

Bershka

, they just fit extremely well. I have such an issue with pants not fitting perfectly but these just look so good and the ankle area fit really well today. I pretty much only bought these to match my infamous pink jacket that the entire world always sees me in but I feel like these pants are so good for Spring/Summer because of the colour. I'm in love with this sort of blush/peachy pink shade, I feel like it suits me really well.

Jazzy Pans:

These were in my last haul but my oh my are they a beauty. I feel like these are the perfect way to look dressy but not like overly dressy. I usually wear them with my docs and a nice velvet tee for some extra umf but these are such a good item of clothing to have. I got these Miss Selfridge but they aren't for sale anymore.

Greyish Culottes:

Culottes are very trendy and popular right now in the world of fashion and they're just lovely to wear. I got these bad bois from

Zara

and they feel like I'm wearing PJ pants all day. I feel like when you wear them, you look effortlessly put together and it looks you've tried really hard even though you haven't. I also think these are lovely for the Spring/Summer time because of how flowy they are. Very very very cute.

 Kinda Pink/Brown Pants:

These were actually my aunties but she kindly gave them to me cos she's lovely. These are from New Look but they're so old that they still have the old New Look label on them. I think these look really cute and kind of formal. I usually wear them with a black turtle neck and my Docs and I'll have this cute photographer aesthetic going on but I wore them with vans the other day and it was such a chilled, casual outfit.

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