Stephanie Yt
Stephanie Yt is a 28-year-old London based photographer from Hong Kong whose love of travel has taken her from the surreal salt lake landscapes in Bolivia to the golden sunsets in the Serengeti. She has been shooting with her Fujifilm X100s since the beginning and now alternates between her new Fujifilm X-A7 kit with add-on lenses of the XC50-230mm and XC35mm F2.
Her love for travelling and food have since been documented and shared via her blog Steph Yt Travels and Instagram @stephyttravels and is now a popular online destination for travellers and foodies alike. Since lockdown she has been focusing her energy on UK travels, lots of home cooked meals and spending time with her boyfriend and fluffy cat, Mochi.
By Stephanie Yt
Bright blue skies, beautiful wild flowers, and cosy afternoons at home; summer days are all about creating memories. With everything online in this digital age, it is such a rarity and a treat to have physical photographs to remind you of your favourite moments. This summer I am so happy to have my instax mini Link by my side to create just that! Be it at home or on-the-go, when paired with my FUJIFILM X-A7 camera, it is the perfect combination for capturing memories.
The instax mini Link is a portable instax film printer that allows users to not only edit images, create collages, and more, but also allows you to print direct from your phone or certain Fujifilm cameras. The wireless connection is easy to establish via the printer’s in-built Bluetooth connection and there is a print function that is easily accessible when viewing your photos on playback on your camera rolls.
FUJIFILM X-A7 + XC15-45mmF3.5-5.6 OIS PZ - F3.5, ISO 3200, 1/250 sec
I have been using the instax mini Link connected to my favourite camera, the X-A7, and love the effect of gorgeous quality images printed immediately before my eyes. I love the freedom of choosing which images to print as I can guarantee that no film will be wasted on images that may not turn out the way I want. It’s such an easy yet effective way of keeping track of beautiful places and heartfelt memories, or to give to friends you are with as a keepsake of the day you spent together.
For those who enjoy a bit of experimentation, the mini Link App is free to download on your smartphone and has some fun additional functions that allow the user to edit your photographs and create collages before printing. Similar to linking with my X-A7, the app is automatically picked up by my phone and once connected, is easy to establish and sync for any future prints.
FUJIFILM X-A7 + XC15-45mmF3.5-5.6 OIS PZ - F4.4, ISO 800, 1/180 sec
With the app, you are able to manipulate your image with many options before choosing to print. From editing the photo’s brightness, saturation, and contrast to applying one of their preset filters (Monochrome, Sepia and Auto), the mini Link App is extremely straightforward and user-friendly, and means your photos come printed in your own style. Top tip: use the Fujifilm Camera Remote App to import your photos from your camera to your smartphone first and then get creating!
My favourite feature is the collage function which allows more than one image to be printed onto a single instax print. It’s the perfect “photobooth style” function that allows me to remember a set of movements or expressions of the day, which in this case is of my kitten Mochi and his many quizzical emotions.
FUJIFILM X-A7 + XC15-45mmF3.5-5.6 OIS PZ - F3.5, ISO 640, 1/80 sec
Another function that I have been really enjoying is the Split print function which allows me to print out one single image across several instax prints to create a beautiful scrapbook style collage. I love the way the image can flow through multiple prints and finish as a whole image. It’s something a bit different and just a gorgeous way to print out and display your images on a wall space.
At the end of the day, there is nothing better than having your memories in a physical print to withstand the years and I am so excited that I have such an easy way of making sure I keep track of my favourite images with my instax mini Link and FUJIFILM X-A7.
FUJIFILM X-A7 + XC15-45mmF3.5-5.6 OIS PZ - F3.5, ISO 3200, 1/80 sec