Today, we’re featuring a wonderful Italy travel essay from David Smith. Scroll below to view the images and read more from David about how film photography helped him deal with is cancer diagnosis…
Analog cameras and films used: Leica M6 (Find at KEH Camera or on eBay) | Kodak Gold 200 (Find on Amazon), Kodak T-Max 400 (Find on Amazon)
Connect with David: Website | Instagram
Florence and Tuscany on Kodak Gold and T-Max 400
By David Smith
I took up film photography in the summer of 2022 after being diagnosed with cancer. At first, it was a means to distract myself from all the negative things happening to my body, but it quickly became a passion and obsession. Soon, I started taking my camera with me everywhere I went, documenting the people and world around me. Because of my cancer, most of these photos were taken at or close to my home in London, Ontario.
In recent months, my health has improved and in March 2025 I took my first overseas trip in over five years. The trip was to Florence for a conference on plants and algae (I’m a biology professor). Although most of my time was spent in presentations and meetings, I was able to sneak away on several occasions to capture Florence and the surrounding Tuscan countryside on film.
I brought with me only one camera and lens, a Leica M6 with a Summilux 50mm f/1.4 pre-aspherical, and two film stocks, Kodak Gold and T-Max 400. I devoted one afternoon to doing street photography in Florence. It was a cloudy, drizzly day so I went with the T-Max 400. I spent a lot of time in and around the various street markets and managed to get some nice street portraits.
On another afternoon, I ventured into the Tuscan countryside and visited the walled town of Lucca and some surrounding villages. It was a mild, sunny day, so I shot Kodak Gold, taking advantage of the beautiful spring colors. I almost exclusively do documentary photography on black and white film, so I was out of my comfort zone shooting landscapes and architecture with the Kodak Gold. Still, I was excited to see the results and pleased with some of the shots.
Now that I’m back home, I have renewed confidence in my body, health, and spirit. I believe shooting film in a unique place has improved my eye, and I’m excited to see if I can find new inspiration when revisiting some of my favorite photography spots around London. More than anything, I feel fortunate to have stumbled upon such a fulfilling hobby.
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john
July 28, 2025 at 7:11 pm
Beautiful photos and the street photography is inspiring! I love that your new creativity has helped you deal with a difficult situation. I’d love to get up to London ON and take some snaps! Peace!
David Smith
July 29, 2025 at 9:28 am
John, many thanks for the kind words.