Alpinaraid 1

This is it. After months of preparation of our Peugeot 205, we finally started our journey into the French and Italian Alps.

In this 10 set series, you can find the film photographies that I took during the whole adventure.

In this first set Alpinaraid 1, photos 1 and 2 were taken on the border of the Annecy Lake, in the early morning, on our way to the starting point at Col de la Madeleine (2000 m). The third photo was taken during the first day of the journey. I think it was the first glacier that we could see so well.

Photo details

Before July 2022, I was still indecisive whether to coose the Rollei 35S or the Yashica ZoomTec 90 for this trip.

I got the scans from the roll I took during my Helsinki trip using the Rollei, and it convinced me to take this small point and shoot with me for the journey.

As far as film roll was concerned, I wanted to shoot a color film, and decided to use the Fujifilm Superia Xtra 400.

Alpinaraid 2

Here are the first pictures I took of our Genesis Blue Peugeot 205.

The first image was shot at the Lac du Mont-Cenis. It really looks like we were all alone in this beautiful scenery.

Second picture was taken somewhere in Italy, during a mountain pass downhill.

Last photo was taken at Col du Glandon (1924 m).

Photo details

Rollei 35S + Fujifilm Superia Xtra

I think the use of the Superia Xtra roll was a great choice for its pastel looking feel in the blue and green range. The car really stands out when taken in a green / gray background.

Alpinaraid 3

In this set, I decided to show various landscapes taken during the journey.

The first image is one of my favourite from the two rolls I shot during the adventure. It was 5 minutes before we ended surronded by the clouds seen in the background, at the Colle delle Finestre (2176 m).

Second image was taken during an uphill in an old italian military track.

Third one was shot in the morning at Camping Le Gravelotte, just after our first camp night.
Fun fact: This website’s homepage background image was shot right after the one you see here: I discovered that I could have cable cars going down and up at the same time in one picture.

Last image was taken at Lago Nero during the third day of the adventure.

Photo details

Rollei 35S + Fujifilm Superia Xtra

I’m very happy with how the first picture turned out. The blur of the weeds in the foreground is quite nice in my opinion.

I had to color correct a bit the last image as it turned out a bit too purpleish. It happened to some pictures of the end of my first roll for an unknown reason.

Alpinaraid 4

The two pictures were taken on the shore of Lago Di Rochemolles, on our way to the Colle Di Sommeiller.

Photo details

Rollei 35S + Fujifilm Superia Xtra

Focusing is a bit tricky with the Rollei, as it is made with a ring around the lens, according to a value the photographer has to measure (in my case, it was measured with stride length).

Alpinaraid 5

The first picture in this set is my favourite from the whole journey. I was lucky enough to take out the camera before the cloud could go further away, and managed to shoot it with the sunset hitting the grass in the foreground.
It was taken at the Rifugio dell’Assietta.

The second and third images were probably taken during cool-off breaks for the car, after long uphill roads (as seen in the background of image #3).

Photo details

Rollei 35S + Fujifilm Superia Xtra

As I already mentionned, I find this lens’ bokeh very pleasing to the eye, so I’m happy that I decided to shoot things with out-of-focus elements even if that meant possibly missing the focus on the subject.

Alpinaraid 6

The two pictures from this set are also among my favourites. They were taken at the Colle di Sommeiller, at 3000 m altitude. We were enjoying the landscape after going uphill about 800 m of positive elevation.
Notice how the hood is a bit open: we called it the ‘race mode’, the goal was to cool-off the engine bay a bit faster.

Photo details

Rollei 35S + Fujifilm Superia Xtra

For these two images, I used a short exposure as the goal was to capture the splashes from driving in the water, so I had to open wide. The result came out a lot better than expected, and I am grateful that we were able to keep a physical memory of this moment.

Alpinaraid 7

The first image was taken at the Caserme Della Bandia. It was very interesting to explore these ruins perched so high in the mountains.

Second and third pictures were shot during our visit of the Vallée de Névache: one of the most beautiful valley we took during this journey.

Photo details

Rollei 35S + Fujifilm Superia Xtra

Alpinaraid 8

In this set, I chose three images I took during our stroll in Saint-Véran (one of Europe’s most elevated village). It it a peaceful village we enjoyed discovering.

The last image of this set was shot during a downhill in Italy. Cows were on the other side of the lake.

Photo details

Rollei 35S + Fujifilm Superia Xtra

I really like how the water turns out with this roll of film. It looks almost cyan, but the real color was not far away from that.

Alpinaraid 9

Finish line! The first image was taken at the Menton Beach, where we finished the Alpinaraid.
It was an amazing experience, I saw places, sceneries and landscapes that I have never seen before.

Second picture was taken during our trip along the Côte d’Azur.

Photo details

Rollei 35S + Fujifilm Superia Xtra

The scenery from the first picture was so colorful, I couldn’t be happier with how the result turned out.

However, the second picture was too audacious from someone who has trembling hands. Moreover, I tried to shoot it standing still without a tripod. It could have resulted in a great picture.

Alpinaraid 10

This last set from the Alpinaraid series regroup all pictures I took during our trip to come back home. We drove by the Gorges du Verdon, which is where I took the different pictures.

It is a beautiful, natural place, that was unfortunately a bit dry when we were there.

Photo details

Rollei 35S + Fujifilm Superia Xtra