5 Frames with a Nikon AF600 & Fuji C200 in Venezia and Burano (Italy) – By Gregoire MBV

Few months ago, I was enjoying a long week end in Venezia, Italy. It was the last week end of carnival there. And we didn’t know at the time, but it was the last weeks of COVID related restrictions. There we landed, coming from Paris, in a city carrying this very touristic and historical reputation of her own, my C200 roll, my Nikon AF600 and I.

Discovering Venezia

Venezia is a city apart of any others that I’ve been to so far. In the bus from the airport to the heart of the city, I enjoyed watching the water expending on both sides of the road, and the exceptional architecture of the city that is revealed as we approached. Walking to the hotel gave me the first impressions of what would be confirmed during all the trip: Venezia is like a museum in the open. As I like street photography, I was wondering how scenes of daily routine, daily walk from the people here, would eventually render in pictures.

Of course, the canals. But more than just canals, little streets, that run like a giant labyrinth. Small shops, restaurants, gorgeous monuments as well, everywhere. The carnival went well. I was not there to shoot costumes and the crowd all around the plaza, but for a street photographer, it’s a great moment because you’ll witness the heliocentrism of how crowded the streets are around the plaza as you walk towards it or from it.

But my favorite place of the week end wasn’t in Venezia itself. It was the small island of Burano.

Burano

Take a boat and go to Murano, a first island, crowdy as well. Then take another one that would eventually get you to Burano.

Burano is a gorgeous town-island, 40min away from Venezia. It’s a colorful, simple, quiet, and refreshing place. I was there walking the streets and you can definitely find a picture to take at every corner. Because of the people there, the tourists as well, the colors of the houses, and daily casual and candid scenes of a small town. There is this sentiment of a place that you see in paintings only. Just like a retreat where you feel the need to take it easy.

Fuji C200 with the Nikon AF600

To me, the blue-purple vibe of the C200 fits perfectly what I felt in Venezia and Burano. It’s not warming the scene, but giving it the accurate feeling of what I felt walking there during march with COVID still messing around. Yet, a friend of mine, film photographer as well, went to the same places a week after me, with some Kodak rolls to shoot (Victor, if you read these lines, you need to write articles here my friend!), and from what I’ve seen, it was nice as well!

Camera wise, I have to say, I love this Nikon AF600 as much as it offers anti-features that could make me hate it as well! But for this occasion, let’s agree on the Nikon AF600 being perfect when you travel: it’s light, easy to use, the AF is accurate and quite fast I find, and you can slide it in your pocket really easy. The perfect companion, even if the viewfinder is the very worst of the very worsts. I use my Yashica T3 on a daily basis when home, but traveling with the Nikon AF600 is the perfect set up for me.

I’m currently shooting B&W rolls, and I’ll probably try warmer films after that. But honestly, the combo made of C200 and Nikon AF600 is solid to me. I’ll run with it again for sure.

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