Nikon FE35mm Film Camera After the travel day and arrival we decided to take it easy on our first day in Solvang, California and stay local and just walk the town. Despite my usual aversion to touristy places and civilization in general I found it pretty easy to enjoy the town. Solvang, CA is a town that pretends to be in Denmark and most of its buildings are show of architecture that could fit in. I have never been to Denmark so I can't be a good judge but it certainly looked a hint more European than other American towns. As a result, there was plenty to point my cameras at and I made good use of both of my cameras I had for this trip.

For color, I went very lightweight with an Olympus Stylus Zoom 140 point and shoot 35mm camera, and for black and white my trusty Nikon FE. Which one to raise was often driven by the location and sometimes by the subject itself. I usually did not have to hesitate and think, the choice seemed to be easy.

WorldMark Solvang, CACalifornia 2026

WorldMark Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Olympus Stylus Zoom 140 on Kodak Colorplus 200 Color Negative Film

Olympus Stylus Zoom 14035mm Point and Shoot Camera For the longest time I was confused about the windmills scattered through the town. I have always associated these historic windmills with the Netherlands, not with Denmark. But a little bit of time with the Internet and I learned that they used to be common in Denmark too and feature some clear distinguishing features. In the end, why not, they provided quite the visual magnet to capture.

While the Olympus point and shoot can be limiting in some exposure situations, like on a bright beach, it does very well for the most part and it's convenience, small size, light weight, and handy zoom range is hard to beat on a vacation with anyone who is not a crazy photographer. It makes it easy to move things along without driving them crazy. There is one annoying thing I will need to figure out soon though. At the top center of the frame, there's some type of a hair caught somewhere forming a loop down into the frame and back up. When the aperture is more open, the hair gets blurred out. Other times it gets lost in darker scenes where the top of the frame is busy or with patterns. With clear blue skies, it becomes rather annoying quite rapidly and I am thankful for the healing feature of photo software.

Colors of Mission Santa Ines, Solvang, CACalifornia 2026

Colors of Mission Santa Ines, Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Olympus Stylus Zoom 140 on Kodak Colorplus 200 Color Negative Film

The morning was cool and very foggy and the whole valley to the east was covered. We were told that was not usual for Solvang, however, when it repeated day after day I had my doubts. We headed out the back way that started under our balcony and led through a field to the Santa Ines mission. Yes, the mission was featured in the Day 0 blog post too, but with its absolutely wonderful architecture it simply had to be. Plus in the morning I was hoping for sunshine on the stucco unlike the evening before when that side of the building was in shadow. The fog had its own plans though and my morning light was bright, yet wonderfully diffused providing for a whole different photographic opportunity.

I also kept searching for different angles to prevent coming back with the same angles repeated over and over. It's not always easy as some of the perspectives just looked so appealing!

Welcome Garden at Santa Ines Mission, Solvang, CACalifornia 2026

Welcome Garden at Santa Ines Mission, Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Olympus Stylus Zoom 140 on Kodak Colorplus 200 Color Negative Film

From there, we wondered through the town in an unplanned fashion in a vague effort to hit every single street and see every bit of the town. As you can see below, we were out early enough on Saturday to catch the town still sleeping or barely waking up. And that was just fine with me as the tourists did not start arriving until about noon. Thus, even the weekend was very enjoyable. That's true almost everywhere. Get up early enough and one can have a place to themselves.

Panino Sandwich Shop. Solvang, CACalifornia 2026

Panino Sandwich Shop. Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Olympus Stylus Zoom 140 on Kodak Colorplus 200 Color Negative Film

Copenhagen Sausage Garden, Solvang, CACalifornia 2026

Copenhagen Sausage Garden, Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Olympus Stylus Zoom 140 on Kodak Colorplus 200 Color Negative Film

I can't help but insert a negative comment in here. While the Copenhagen Sausage Garden looked appealing with their sausages and beer, and it did suck us in for a supper on this Saturday, I was rather disappointed. It was very overpriced, significantly more than the rest of the town, and the care was not all that great. I enjoyed both my beer and the sausage but did not go back for seconds on this day or for the rest of the week. I guess they get enough one-time visitors that they don't have to worry about repeat business. We were staying right in town and I would have gone back had it not been so ridiculously priced.

Now we're finally getting to those windmills mentioned earlier. They are very photogenic, buggers, aren't they?

Hamlet Square Windmill, Solvang, CACalifornia 2026

Hamlet Square Windmill, Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE on Ultrafine Xtreme UFX400 Black and White Negative Film

Solvang Brewing Company Windmill, CaliforniaCalifornia 2026

Solvang Brewing Company Windmill, California
Photographed with a 35mm Olympus Stylus Zoom 140 on Kodak Colorplus 200 Color Negative Film

Unlike the beer garden mentioned above, most other restaurants, bakeries, and ice cream shops were priced all right for California. We just had to learn to be price aware. If there was a place that seemed a bit on the high end, there was usually another similar one within 5 minutes to compare to. And there was plenty of selection to satisfy both hunger as well as various cravings.

Mortensen's Danish Bakery, Solvang, CaliforniaCalifornia 2026

Mortensen's Danish Bakery, Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE on Ultrafine Xtreme UFX400 Black and White Negative Film

Solvang Tours, CACalifornia 2026

Solvang Tours, California
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE on Ultrafine Xtreme UFX400 Black and White Negative Film

Wine Valley Inn, Solvang, CaliforniaCalifornia 2026

Wine Valley Inn, Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Olympus Stylus Zoom 140 on Kodak Colorplus 200 Color Negative Film

Banquet House, Solvang, CACalifornia 2026

Banquet House, Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE on Ultrafine Xtreme UFX400 Black and White Negative Film

Bit o'Denmark Restaurant, Solvang, CaliforniaCalifornia 2026

Bit o'Denmark Restaurant, Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Olympus Stylus Zoom 140 on Kodak Colorplus 200 Color Negative Film

I'll probably get in trouble for saying that here but the Bit o'Denmark Restaurant did not draw us in despite walking by it many times as it was on the same street where we stayed and under 5 minutes away. The menu did not have anything that screamed "you can't leave Solvang until you eat me" and the prices here were also a bit high for the cheap me. This was despite having a pre-trip recommendation from a friend of a friend. I had to wonder though, was that simply because of the history and prominence of this restaurant or their menu? Since we skipped I can't judge. Maybe next time.

We did have the last breakfast of the day at the Red Viking Restaurant, a plateful of eggs, potatoes, and a few other things I can't remember but I'll say it was very good and filling. And I felt really bad for the waitress who was haggled by a customer sitting next to us. She orders eggs over easy and complained they were too easy. I could not keep my cool for too long with customers like that, I'd show them the door and then get fired shortly after.

On the way for a short afternoon break and rest from walking, we went by the Santa Ines Mission again to catch it in yet another light. The sun did not hop over to the other side of the building yet and provided the brightest illumination of the stucco yet. Some repeat shots, some new angles, and also making up for a metering mishap from the night before.

Fenced Garden at Santa Ines Mission, Solvang, CACalifornia 2026

Fenced Garden at Santa Ines Mission, Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE on Ultrafine Xtreme UFX400 Black and White Negative Film

Compared to the morning shot in color, you can see the fog has lifted and the garden has a nice hilly background.

The Cross at Santa Ines Mission, Solvang, CACalifornia 2026

The Cross at Santa Ines Mission, Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE on Ultrafine Xtreme UFX400 Black and White Negative Film

Colonnade Arches, Santa Ines Mission, Solvang, CACalifornia 2026

Colonnade Arches, Santa Ines Mission, Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Olympus Stylus Zoom 140 on Kodak Colorplus 200 Color Negative Film

The below angle became my favorite at the Old Santa Ines Mission. Actually, both of them. The angles photo of the chapel door and the colonnade in the background, as well as the head on photo of the door and cross.

Chapel & Colonnade, Santa Ines Mission, Solvang, CACalifornia 2026

Chapel & Colonnade, Santa Ines Mission, Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE on Ultrafine Xtreme UFX400 Black and White Negative Film

Chapel Door, Santa Ines Mission, Solvang, CaliforniaCalifornia 2026

Chapel Door, Santa Ines Mission, Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE on Ultrafine Xtreme UFX400 Black and White Negative Film

After recharging our internal human batteries, it was time for another round of a town stroll.

Renaissance Antiques, Solvang, CACalifornia 2026

Renaissance Antiques, Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE on Ultrafine Xtreme UFX400 Black and White Negative Film

Roof at Renaissance Antiques, Solvang, CaliforniaCalifornia 2026

Roof at Renaissance Antiques, Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Olympus Stylus Zoom 140 on Kodak Colorplus 200 Color Negative Film

HRS Clock & Watch Repair, Solvang, CaliforniaCalifornia 2026

HRS Clock & Watch Repair, Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE on Ultrafine Xtreme UFX400 Black and White Negative Film

The Good Life Garden, Solvang, CACalifornia 2026

The Good Life Garden, Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE on Ultrafine Xtreme UFX400 Black and White Negative Film

The Book Loft, Solvang, CACalifornia 2026

The Book Loft, Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE on Ultrafine Xtreme UFX400 Black and White Negative Film

The Solvang Bakery and Windmill, Solvang, CACalifornia 2026

The Solvang Bakery and Windmill, Solvang, California
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE on Ultrafine Xtreme UFX400 Black and White Negative Film

Thanks for joining me on this first episode of our California 2026 trip. There should be 7 more coming up soon and I hope you'll be back.

Enjoy The Beauty That Surrounds You! #etbtsy

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