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Who's behind IFWEFILM?

Discover everything about me, my origins, how I started in the world of analogue photography and why I founded IFWEFILM
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¡Hola! 🙂

I am Marina Llopis, a professional film photographer and the founder of IFWEFILM.

My story is full of emotions, decisions and unexpected turns but above all, of learnings and wonderful moments.


So if you’re curious about how everything started, let me tell you my story as I’ve never done before…




[Full story down bellow ⇣]

 

Who I am and where I come from

I was born on a beautiful island in the Mediterranean sea, Mallorca in 1992 in the arms of a wonderful woman named María José and a wonderful father named Vicente. From a very young age I fell in love with nature. The weekends of my childhood used to be surrounded by mountains of the Sierra de Tramuntana or in the beautiful village of Soller.
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Analogue photography discovery

One day in summer when I was 13 years old, my father without being aware, gave me something that would change my life forever: my first film camera. It was a beautiful Nikon F-301 that belonged to my father for many, many years. Legend has it that it was the camera that he took on trips to Morocco in his youth. For me it was love at first sight, I can clearly remember that the song “Can’t help falling in love” by Elvis Presley was playing in the background of my mind while I looked at all the camera’s buttons.
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First photography inspirations

In my late teens, I remember being the one who always carried a camera with me or that annoying friend who asked all my closest people to let me take portraits of them. My growing interest in film photography led me to attend my first mini photography course while still studying at high school. It was during this period that I found inspiration in Japanese photographers like Kawauchi Rinko, Moriyama Daido, Ueda Shoji or Honma Takashii that deeply captivated me.
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The decision that changed my life

After finishing high school, I had clear in my mind that I was going to dedicate myself to photography but, my big question at that time was where exactly I was going to study it. My older sister Elisabeth who lives in Nagoya (Japan) made me a proposal that marked a before and after in my life: "Hey Marina, why don't you come to Japan and study photography here?" I didn't think twice, my answer was a huge and clear yes to that question. At the age 18 in April 2011, I took my bags and went straight to Japan.
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Life in Japan

My 5 years in Japan were the most transformative years of my life. I spent my first two years exclusively learning the Japanese language to reach a university level and I rapidly learned and got used to Japanese culture. Thanks to this experience, values ​​such as respect, love for others, discipline and the utmost attention to detail became part of my personality.
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Studying photography in Nagoya

April 2013 was when I finally started my photography studies at the wonderful Nagoya Visual Arts school. For me it was without a doubt the two happiest years of my life. It was an intense journey in which I was 100% immersed in the world of photography, in fact I can assure you that it was almost the only thing that I had in my mind everyday. I learned countless things from the wonderful teachers Sawao Yasuhiro and Hata Yoshiyuki but most of all, I fell madly in love with analogue photography. In fact, by chance of fate, I even got a job in a photo lab while studying at NVA.
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My climax experience in Tokyo

My last year in Japan was without a doubt the climax of my experience. I moved to Tokyo in 2015 to start working at IINO Media Pro, one of the most important commercial photography studios in Tokyo. There I had the honour of working alongside numerous renowned Japanese photographers and in photoshoots of companies such as Vogue Japan, Seiko, Nike among others.
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Back home, back to Mallorca.

In April 2016 I decided to return to Mallorca, to spend time with my family, to take a break from the busy life in Japan and to focus again on myself as a photographer. I again found another job in a photo lab where I worked for two years while I was taking up new photographic projects, although nothing I did quite filled me completely.
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Getting my life back on track

After that period of "rest" in Mallorca, I had what I think has been the most important insight on my path after living in Japan. I decided to move to the UK to get my life back on track and start as an professional analogue photographer.
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My life in Bristol with a new plan

I started my new life in Bristol in April 2018. After one month, I found a job (guess where...yes! in a..) photo lab but, this time I had a different plan in my mind: In the meantime, I vowed to create a project in which I could help people enter the world of analogue photography and fulfil my dream of dedicating my life to my passion.
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IFWEFILM, my life project

For that reason, in July 2018 I founded IFWEFILM and held my first film photography experience for beginners on August 22nd. Since then I’ve been doing many more film photography experiences, creating content to help and inspire people about analogue photography on social media and even uploaded videos on my YouTube channel.
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My photography journey

All I have to say now is that I am extremely grateful for everything I have in my life and all the support I have received through many wonderful people. All this makes me get up every morning motivated to continue growing this beautiful project called IFWEFILM and to inspire and transmit all the love I feel towards analogue photography.
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My photography inspiration

Kawauchi Rinko, Shinoyama Kishin, Ueda Shoji, Homma Takashi
Hey, by the way

I'm always here to help 🙂

My mission is to help all the people that I can with the difficulties / doubts they have about analogue photography. Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

If you have any collaboration in mind that you would like to do with me IFWEFILM, click the button bellow and send me your ideas. I’m always involved in analogue photography projects so I’m all ears and eyes 😉

Contact me