STORY | LEIDEN

Back in Leiden on a Roll of Kodak Gold

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Published 28 October 2026

He kisses her temple as she smiles widely behind round glasses, both in black shirts, a close frame on Kodak Gold in Leiden

Anika and Tom met as students in Leiden. Years later, they came back from India with one wish: to see the old streets again on real film. So on a sunny day in September, we shot a roll of Kodak Gold in Leiden, along the canals where their story began.

Both wore black from head to toe. On color film, that lets the brick, the leaves and the water do the talking. It is also what I love about working as a photographer in Leiden: the city brings its own colors, and I only have to frame them.

Back on the Rapenburg

We started on the Rapenburg, the canal past the old university buildings. Across the water stands the gate of the Hortus botanicus, where Anika says they used to sit between lectures. They sat down on the bench in front of it once more, and I photographed them from the other bank.

Couple on a bench before the Hortus botanicus gate across the Rapenburg in Leiden, green canal water in the foreground

Arched stone bridge over a canal in Leiden, a figure in black at the railing and the arches mirrored in the still water — The Hortus gate and a stone bridge, across the water

Nearby, a stone bridge turned its arches into almost perfect circles in the water. The trees were still full and green, and the sun lay warm on the brick.

Kodak Gold and a Slower Rhythm

Film changes the pace of a walk. A roll of Kodak Gold 200 holds only a few dozen frames, so I take one photograph at a time and ask for a short pause at each click. In between, Anika and Tom simply talked and held hands. When they crossed a cobbled square, I waited for the step that felt right.

Couple in black holding hands on a sunlit cobbled square, stepping toward each other under a tree, fallen leaves on the stones

Couple walking hand in hand across a cobbled square past a grand stone building, a warm color frame on Kodak Gold film

In a narrow street with a pink flag over the doors, they walked toward me hand in hand. On a quiet square, Tom sat on a red bench under a hanging basket full of flowers, while Anika stood by the lamppost beside him.

Couple in black walking toward the camera down a narrow street in Leiden, bicycles along the walls and a pink flag overhead

Man in black on a red bench below a lamppost with a hanging basket of pink flowers, his partner standing beside the plants

Close portrait of a smiling couple sitting in front of a dark window, his arm around her and her hands folded on her knee

Next came a red front door framed by ivy, where they stood side by side and then kissed. A few streets on, they posed in front of a grand stone facade with tall windows, Tom’s hands resting on Anika’s shoulders.

Couple in black side by side at a red front door framed by ivy and white window frames, two stone posts on the brick pavement

Kiss at a red door under ivy in Leiden, a quiet doorstep frame on Kodak Gold with stone posts on either side of the step

She stands in front with his hands on her shoulders, a grand stone facade with tall windows and carved ornaments behind them

A Café, White Steps and Two Rings

At a café with stained glass above the window, they took a seat on two tall stools. Over a small table, they held hands and then leaned in for a kiss.

Couple holding hands across a small table on tall wooden stools outside a café with stained glass, sun on their black clothes

Kiss over a café table on tall stools, the warm reds and browns of the wooden storefront glowing on Kodak Gold in Leiden

On the white stone steps of a building nearby, they sat close together, laughing and kissing again. Their hands told the rest. I asked them to lay one hand over the other among pink anemones, so both rings caught the sun.

Couple kissing on white stone steps, her black heels and his polished shoes in the sun, the steps bright against their clothes

Smiling couple in black sitting close on white stone steps, holding hands, a sharp color portrait on Kodak Gold 200 film

Two hands with rings laid one over the other among pink anemones and dark green leaves, a close detail on Kodak Gold — Two rings and pink anemones

A Quiet Courtyard on Kodak Gold

Toward the end, Tom leaned one hand on a brick wall above Anika, under a row of arches, and she looked up at him. In a green courtyard behind one of the buildings, they kissed between the plants.

He leans one hand on a brick wall above her under a row of arches, green garden plants and yellow flowers along the path

Kiss in a quiet green courtyard in Leiden, plants and a small palm behind them, a soft frame from a roll of Kodak Gold

The last frame on this roll is a small square with a red door and a white rose, Anika in one doorway and Tom in the next. Within fifteen days, the scans were in their gallery. Kodak Gold in Leiden had turned their black clothes soft and deep, and the city around them warm.

Small square in Leiden with a red door and a black door side by side, the couple in black in the two doorways and white roses between

Not sure whether film suits you? Read digital or film first.

Curious how Leiden would look on a roll of your own? Discover how I work as a photographer in Leiden.