Today, we’re featuring a beautiful Ireland travel story from film photographer Olivia Rutt. Scroll below to view the images and read more from Olivia about exploring the Ireland coast…
Analog cameras and films used: Canon EOS Elan II (Find at KEH Camera or on eBay) | Kodak Portra 400 (Find on Amazon), Kodak Portra 160 (Find on Amazon), Kodak UltraMax 400 (Find on Amazon), Ilford HP5 (Find on Amazon)
Connect with Olivia: Website | Instagram | TikTok
Ireland’s Coast: A Travel Story
By Olivia Rutt
I wasn’t even planning on bringing my film camera to Ireland. I was only bringing a carry-on for my week-long trip to the Emerald Isle, so I thought I’d save space and not bring any film.
But then the Canon EOS 55 (or Canon EOS Elan II in the US) I ordered on eBay showed up on a whim to my door the day I was supposed to leave, and that changed everything.
I grabbed the remaining four rolls of film in my fridge, all expired (whoops), and threw them a plastic bag with “DO NOT XRAY” written on it. While waiting for the flight, I was watching YouTube videos on how to operate the camera and just hoping I was doing everything right.
The extra gear was totally worth it. I took some of my favourite film shots on this trip and loved how easy the camera was to operate.
A week in Ireland was not enough time, but we were able to enjoy the journey as we took trains around the country, checking out places like Galway, Cliffs of Moher, Cork, Cobh, Ring of Kerry, Dublin, Trinity College, and Northern Ireland.
Our trip took us west then south then east then north. We got to see epic landscapes, learn about Ireland’s history and explore museums and galleries along the way. I loved how well the film documented the many greens and magic of Ireland.
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Blog Comments
Curtis Heikkinen
June 24, 2026 at 9:14 am
Lovely images! Nice work! I am curious. Did you hand hold on that waterfall image? Do you recall the shutter speed? Beautiful shot!
Olivia
June 24, 2026 at 12:59 pm
Hey Curtis! I handheld it!! I always take a big breath in and out before I click the shutter when shooting low shutters handheld like that. I can’t recall exactly, but I think I was 1/30th and I had a 50mm on the camera.