The Instagram page “Stellenbosch on Film”, started by Nina Kirsten, developed out of a coincidental lockdown hobby. This hobby has shaped the way Kirsten looks at the world, as well as at time. She captures everyday, transient moments in Stellenbosch on her film camera, to be kept for the next generation, just as her family did before her.
The orange oak leaves of Stellenbosch crunch beneath the feet of people walking along Dorp Street. A cold, Sunday morning has hands tightly clasped around warm mugs of coffee and umbrellas.
Among those with a coffee is Nina Kirsten, also known as “Stellenbosch on Film”, her film photography alias. A Minolta x 700 film camera neatly rests on the table, the nylon strap gently falls on her lap. Sheltered from the bitter wind, she takes a sip.
Since finding her grandfather’s film camera during lockdown, Nina Kirsten has bought a variety of film cameras, including the Minolta x 700 pictured. “I love how each film camera captures photographs differently,” she says. PHOTO: Erin Walls
The beginning of a passion
Growing up, Kirsten claims she always had a love for photography. “I constantly had my small, digital Canon camera with me on our nights out in university, even though it definitely did not take great photos,” she says.
In 2011, her second year of university, she purchased a Canon DSLR. It was a larger camera, which she would take with on holidays or to special events.
However, lockdown was the beginning for her passion in film photography, particularly.
“I found what I thought was my parents point-and-shoot film camera […] I soon found out that it was my grandfather’s, which he always carried around with him. He unfortunately passed away three years ago,” she says.
Here began her mission to capture moments in a rare way, just as her grandfather had done. “Capturing moments on film is unique. It requires patience, and is totally unlike taking photos digitally,” she says.
Working as an economist at Capitec, Kirsten always felt that she needed an outlet to express her creativity, specifically with photography. After finding and using the film camera, she started her Instagram page, @StellenboschOnFilm. “Creating the profile was a commitment to myself to start, and continue, with film [photography],” she says.
Kirsten refers to film photography as her “other life”, separate from her “uniformed” job at Capitec.“I like having this other layer to me,” she says. PHOTO: Erin Walls
Her Instagram page has gained over 2 900 followers since it began in June 2020. She attributes this success to the fact that both film and Stellenbosch is a “niche” and, combined, she has been able to gather a strong and supportive following.
Her work has been featured in publications such as Blind Eye, as well as her own photography exhibition in The Raptor Room, located in Cape Town. “I wish I could do this as a full-time job, but a girl can dream,” she says.
Placing a lens on Stellenbosch
A strong theme which is carried throughout her Instagram page, is the “beautiful, but ordinary moments”, she says. Post boxes, street mirrors, mountains which cradle residents, shadows from the morning sun and old cars fill her Instagram feed.
“I wanted to showcase Stellenbosch […] I wanted to give my own angle, or rather, perspective on how beautiful it is here,” she says. Kirsten admits that she initially did not put much thought into what she would achieve with her Instagram page. However, she claims she hoped that someone in the world would think, “this photo is lovely, I want to visit that little town called Stellenbosch”.
Kirsten’s Instagram page, @StellenboschOnFilm has accumulated over 2 900 followers since she started it in lockdown last year. “I never really had a plan for the page. It was more a promise to myself to carry on with film,” she says. PHOTO: Erin Walls
Kirsten claims that she looks at the world differently when she has her [film] camera. “I think film, in my personal opinion, has allowed me to truly appreciate what is going on around me,” she says.
“Stellenbosch is forever changing, on the move, evolving. As time goes on, new gems are created for generations to come. It is only ours for a fleeting moment, so I want to capture it.”
Capturing a developing town
“Stellenbosch is forever changing, on the move, evolving,” says Kirsten. “As time goes on, new gems are created for generations to come. It is only ours for a fleeting moment, so I want to try and capture it.”
Kirsten explains how she often goes for walks, and having lived in Stellenbosch for years, she sees constant change.
“Previously bustling buildings have become vacant, and vacant buildings have recently become new establishments, just like this coffee shop,” she says, pointing to the Juvenate sign above her, a new cafe which has recently opened up on Dorp Street.
Kirsten says she sees the world differently when she carries her film camera. “It’s not the same as an iPhone, or a digital camera. It is a unique and exciting experience every time you get a roll of film developed,” she says. PHOTO: Erin Walls
Kirsten’s grandparents used to live in Stellenbosch, but the house is now demolished and stands as a vacant plot. “I walk past the property often, and it is heartbreaking seeing it empty. I have memories of Sunday lunches, walking there from university and playing in the backyard when I was a child,” she says.
Kirsten posted a series of film photographs which were taken in the house, by her grandfather and her mother, on her Instagram page. She also added her own film photo of the now vacant plot. “It was strange taking the film photo [of the plot] and seeing what it used to be: A house full of laughter and memories which, too, was captured on film by my family,” she says.
The property where Nina Kirsten’s grandparents used to live in Stellenbosch, which now stands as an empty plot. “When I stood outside, I struggled to remember where the backyard and swimming pool was, despite my memories being so vivid.” PHOTO: Supplied/Nina Kirsten
“Memories are strange, they seem to fade quicker when the space they happened in doesn’t exist anymore. Seeing the plot, I struggled to identify where the swimming pool was and the backyard. Yet, I remember playing and swimming so vividly,” she says.
Kirsten’s grandparents lived in Stellenbosch, her parents live here and now so does she. “Generations have captured this town on film for decades, and I will continue to do so,” she says.
The future of capturing the past
She explains how, every Sunday, she posts ten photos from other film photographers, which she has coined “Sunday Favourites”. This serves as an ode to the “magic that is film”. Kirsten claims that the film community has allowed her to meet people she would not have otherwise connected with.
“Memories are strange, they seem to fade quicker when the space they happened in doesn’t exist anymore.”
Kirsten says that despite the film community being small, it is “incredibly unique”. She hopes it continues to grow and that the appreciation for film photography does, too. PHOTO: Erin Walls
When choosing her ten favourite photographs each week, Kirsten chooses those photographs which she “scrolls back to” after she has looked at them. “It means it has evoked some kind of feeling in me – so much so that I want to experience it again,” she says.
“Essentially, that is what I want people to feel when they see my work – a sense of wanting to experience it again,” she explains.
Kirsten doesn’t know yet whether “Stellenbosch on Film” will change to “Life on Film”.
“I have come and gone from Stellenbosch, but I always seem to find myself back here,” she says.
A few of the film photos which Kirsten has taken in Stellenbosch. She has over 465 posts on Instagram. PHOTO: Supplied/Nina Kirsten
“Film photography evokes more nostalgia and feeling than a photo taken off an iPhone. I think there is something beautiful about the fact that the generations before me took photographs with the same medium,” she says.