5 Frames on the Run to Remember LA with the Olympus XA – by Tiffany Perez

I am the first to say that I am not the fittest person. To be accurate, I am probably the least fit person in my house, only narrowly beating the dog. Along with my return to film, I wanted to return to an activity that brought me…not exactly joy all the time but it gave me a sense of accomplishment and a goal. That was running. My friend asked me to do a 5k race with her which then turned to several 5ks. Before I knew it, we were running half marathons.

After some time, we began doing fewer races and I fell out of the sport. I wanted to get back into the activity and signed up for a 10k race through Los Angeles. The Run to Remember LA is a race that honors those who have fallen in the line of duty to protect those around us. Firefighters, policeman, first responders, and military. I ran this race before and wanted to do it again, not just for the purpose of getting back into running but also for the cause and the people that this race honors.

As I thought about the race and what I would be seeing, I wanted to merge my passion for analog photography with the event. Although it was a bit crazy, I admit, I wanted to take a camera with me on the race other than my phone.

The Gear

If I was going to bring a camera with me, it had to be a point and shoot. I didn’t want to be running a race with my SLR hanging around my neck. Although I have picked up an autofocus camera, I didn’t want to bring it on the race since I would have to press buttons to turn off the preset flash and the like. I just wanted something I knew would be quick for me. With this in mind, there was really only one choice: my Olympus XA. Small enough to fit in my fitness bet and quick at the draw. I got to the race location at 6:30 in the morning and it was slightly overcast. I loaded the camera with Fuji Superia 400 so that I could get a good range of photos no matter how the conditions changed throughout the day.

The Target

I wanted to capture the essence of the event. Those that we were running for as well as the different scenes as we were running by. The course of the race had us run through Beverly Hills and FOX Studios. So I focused my shots on the little bits of effort that one might miss while running as well as the buildings and support that were all along the route. And with a camera no bigger than my phone, it was not odd to see me in the crowd taking pictures of everything I saw around me.

Shots Fired

Conclusion

Unlike most of my posts here, this was not as much a film stock review but more of an experience of an event. I enjoyed seeing all the people running for those that meant so much to them. And even for those that didn’t run for anyone, in particular, there was still a great amount of support and love. I was fortunate to have run this race for a friend of mine who is currently a firefighter. I am proud and honored to know him and to have been able to run this race for him and his fellow firefighters.

Having said that, I think my choice of Fuji Superia was a good choice. It captured the scenes just how I wanted it to. Not too warm in tones even though the sun was shining so bright that day. The film was able to capture all the colors and light so well. It did this event the honor that it deserved.

Thanks for reading this article. You can look at my other posts to 35mmc or my Instagram if you want to see more of my work.

Cheers!
Tiffany Perez
The Drive-By Film Shooter

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