Film photography, a.k.a analog, a.k.a analogue (for my friends across the pond), is a great hobby for anyone. It forces you to slow down from the high speed digital picture-taking and really think about composition and quality. Film leads you on exciting adventures while demanding patience. Film is a process and a passion. Here's a few reasons why I got into it.
1. Finding New Places
I have lived in the same town for about 27 years. When I got into film I began discovering my town in a whole new way. Digital photography is lenient on errors and doesn't push you to find new places like film. Now, I'm not saying digital doesn't force you at all, but film requires it. Take an old Single lens reflex (SLR) or Twin lens reflex (TLR) with a roll of film and see where it takes you. You may find new graffiti on a building or a sign you had not noticed before. I've entered small businesses and met new people who had more than products to offer. It's not just finding new places, it's the relationships you build along the way.
2. Patience
While digital gives you the opportunity to see your pictures immediately after you capture them, film requires patience. Whether you develop in a lab or on your own (I recommend the latter), the pictures take some time before you can see them. But when you do, the negatives are one of a kind. You couldn't capture that image precisely the same. With digital, you can snap off five pictures within two seconds. Sure, there are minute differences, but they'd all be fairly similar.
3. That Vintage Feel
Film photography was developed in the late 1800s. It really found it's time in the 1950s-1980s, when film was cheap and most folks could afford a camera. Since the creation of the digital single lens reflex (DSLR), photography as a whole has exploded. Anyone can create amazing images with the help of Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, or another editing app. While some people like to edit their film work, I prefer to leave it as taken. I feel taken back in time, even if I had just taken the picture last week. Regardless of how you feel with editing, film is beautiful one way or the other.
4. The Process
As I mentioned before, film is a process. It starts with choosing a camera and lens (much like digital), but then you get to choose your film stock. Do you want color or black & white? Are you shooting outside or inside? That impacts your ISO choice. Are you shooting 35mm, medium, or large format?
Taking the pictures is half the process: choosing your subject and carefully composing your frame. You have to adjust focus, aperture, and shutter speed before clicking the shutter release. And then you wind the roll and get ready for your next shot.
The second half is developing. Working with the dark room/bag and chemicals makes you feel like a mad scientist in the lab. And finally, after your film dries, you can look at the images. From here, you can create digital scans and/or prints.
The process is long, but it's exciting. It's a journey that usually ends with fulfillment. Occasionally, there's a dud roll, but you learn and develop yourself as a photographer.
5. Slowing Down
Film slows you down as a person and as a photographer. I have really begun to observe the world around me: natural and human formations. Everything in the world is the perfect subject for film. And this provides an opportunity to study your object and the world around it. I love film for what it has taught me about life. And Ferris Bueller says it best: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”
About the Creator
Nick Bucci
Teacher. Writer. Photographer. Mainer.
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