Rodrigo’s earliest relationship with photography was casual: a plastic point-and-shoot as a child and the pleasure of seeing what came back from the lab.
Years later, film returned not as a professional obligation but as a light-hearted way of paying attention.
Cats, cityscapes and exploring a place
By sheer volume, Rodrigo says he photographs his cats most often. But outside home, cityscapes are the recurring subject.
Photography has become one of his favourite ways to explore a new place. In Berlin, he and friends organise small photowalks through different corners of the city, using the camera as a reason to move somewhere unfamiliar.
The Olympus Trip 35
When Rodrigo decided to return to analogue photography, he asked his parents for their old cameras. One of them was an Olympus Trip 35.
The camera’s simplicity became part of the lesson.
“You don’t need the most expensive gear to capture really cool moments.”
Rather than treating limitations as something to overcome, the Trip 35 reminded him that attention matters more than equipment.
Sometimes there is no photograph
Film makes Rodrigo more selective. Before pressing the shutter, he thinks about framing and composition, and sometimes the result of that thought is deciding not to take a photograph at all.
That refusal is part of the process. A finite roll turns every frame into a decision rather than a default response.
The favourite part happens later
His favourite stage arrives when the film comes back from the lab and he begins scanning it.
Distance makes the process more rewarding. A frame that survives the wait feels earned, and a good photograph becomes something he spends more time appreciating because he cannot immediately replace it with another version.
Time dilation
Sometimes Rodrigo leaves exposed film waiting in a drawer, stretching the distance between the photographed moment and the eventual image even further.
That delay changes memory. By the time the photograph returns, the event may already have begun to feel far away.
Instead of weakening the picture, the gap can make it more valuable.
“As the memory becomes more distant, the frozen image in time becomes more precious.”
Trying to capture all of Berlin
Rodrigo’s Berlin is broad rather than narrowly thematic. He photographs urban sprawl, public transport, nature, lakes and the changes between seasons.
The city is not one subject but a collection of routines and environments that continue revealing themselves through movement.
A future project about Spätis
What he wants next is focus. Rather than only photographing whatever attracts his attention, Rodrigo is interested in building a defined project.
One idea keeps returning: Berlin’s Spätis.
For now, the Späti project is an idea he would like to explore: a way to give his curiosity about Berlin a more defined focus.
Keeping photography enjoyable
Rodrigo does not want photography to become another source of pressure. He is deliberately unconcerned with meeting a professional standard or constantly upgrading equipment.
The point is enjoyment.
That lightness allows the photographs to accumulate slowly, until ordinary scenes, cats, trains, lakes and street corners become more valuable simply because time has passed.
Questions about Rodrigo’s film photography
What camera helped Rodrigo return to analogue photography?
An Olympus Trip 35 passed down by his parents helped him rediscover film. The image selection also includes photographs made with Minolta X300 and X700 cameras.
Why does waiting matter to him?
Rodrigo enjoys receiving developed film and scanning it. He finds that photographs can become more precious as the memories they hold grow more distant.
What would he like to photograph next?
He is considering a project about Berlin’s Spätis, giving a clearer focus to his existing interest in cityscapes and everyday places.
Explore more of Rodrigo’s photographs on his Lomography page, ni_knight.
Camera, film and location details follow the filenames supplied by Rodrigo. Interview and editing: Emiliano Vittoriosi / Berlin Photo Studio.
Read more conversations about photography, memory and everyday life in Developing Stories.
Developing Stories is a Berlin Photo Studio editorial series about the people, memories and lives behind the photographs we encounter.
