🎞 Experiments in shooting film
Click the button, open the shutter
A few years ago I started taking film photos again as a hobby. First with Dad’s old Yashica, and then with my mother-in-law’s old Pentax K1000, both 1980s consumer-friendly SLRs. I won’t say I’m particularly talented, or even that I have a great eye for it. Often, I forget whether I have a roll of color or black and white film loaded in the camera.1
But occasionally I will end up with something I like: sometimes I’ll nail the composition, or capture just the right moment, or get some unusual color or texture. And even though it’s way more expensive than I expected, requires physical storage, and has none of the instant gratification you get with digital photography, there’s a lot I like about this process.
I love that the camera basically doesn’t use electricity,2 which may come as a shock if you’ve never shot film or have forgotten how it works. The electricity has been front-loaded into the industrial production of film and developing chemicals (as well as scanning in it in my case), so all you need to take a photo is to press a physical button that briefly exposes the light-sensitive film. The lever for advancing the film and the “ka-chunk” of the shutter release are really satisfying.
Because the majority of photos I’ve taken in my life have been on a cellphone, it’s also a treat to use a camera with an actual moving lens that can focus and zoom. Modern phone cameras are great, and have really gotten so much better. But adjusting pieces of glass is more fun and tactile.
Also, because I have to wait, and each shot does end up costing money, it’s a good exercise in composition and patience. Getting photos back is so interesting: it’s not the same as when I draw something — I don’t really mind being a harsh critic of my photos. It’s interesting to ask yourself, what do I like about this? What, specifically, is compelling? Form? Texture? Contrast? Value? A combination?
It’s especially interesting to compare digital and film, and so when I remember, I take a photo on my phone right after I’ve released the shutter. This is not a rigorous test, like one between the very best analog and digital cameras. It’s just a point of comparison between the two ways I take photos regularly.3
Taking photos in an old camera can occasionally make the photos come out really old-looking, and give you the uncanny sense that you’re looking at a still from a ‘70s movie, especially when the lighting is right.
In many cases, the digital version has more verisimilitude, meaning that my cellphone photos more accurately depict what human eyes see. In digital, the color is closer to “real life,” and it captures the whole scene in focus. (Except if the photo is at all dark or not right in front of me, although I know this tech continues to improve.)
Having grown up with digital photography, I appreciate how warm the color can be on film, and that light has a different effect on film than when it hits an image sensor.
See how the light flares differently and how the picture fuzzes differently when you blow it up:
Anyway, photography is fun, and I think it has a lot to offer to draw-ers and people who swear they aren’t visually inclined. I still primarily lean on my phone for snapping pics, especially combined with the cheap cloud storage and machine learning4 that comes along with it. But film is satisfying, and it feels like a whole different discipline. I’m not yet developing and scanning my own negatives, but I’d like to when I upgrade my scanner, and I will gladly take any tips and advice. Do you shoot film? Show me some of your stuff! Until next time.
– Josh
I need to put a sticker on the case or something, seriously. Also a problem: losing track of if a roll needs to be pushed/pulled because I shot it in the wrong ISO, or if I’m using some fun expired film.
Although, especially if you’re a relative newbie like me, you’d be a fool to not put in the watch battery needed to work the light meter, which tells you if your photo will be too light, too dark, or just right.
By the way, if you’re also into this stuff, I recommend this interview with the DP from Mad Men, about how they switched from film to digital mid-way through the show.
If you’ve never searched your photos app with terms like “dog” or “car,” I’m really excited for you. Give it a try.