So I bought a film camera and I can say without a doubt that it has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It’s reignited my passion and drive for photography by allowing me to capture the world in a whole new way. Not to say that I don’t love photography, which I do very much and I can’t see myself doing anything else, but after years and years of shooting digitally with the same camera, it has almost become too much of a routine. I know my camera like the back of my hand and nothing really changed. As an artist, you’re constantly searching for inspiration that will spark your drive to get better and better. But like all things, eventually, you hit a plateau. Of course, I’m striving to become better than I was the day before but you can only go so long before you start feeling burnt out. Inspiration is like fuel for the fire that drives your passion and after a couple of years, my tank was running low.
Film photography is something completely new to me and offers a wide array of new challenges for me to conquer. Picking up my film camera gave me the same feeling as when I picked up my first DSLR and nothing has come close to giving me that feeling of excitement to explore and to improve my skills as a photographer. With all the luxuries that come with modern technology, you can snap 100 photos without thinking. We’ve become too focused with following trends being competitive that we forget to slow down to make memories. Film forces you to slow down because of how unforgiving it is. You have one shot and that's it, you can’t go back and delete it. There’s also an entire process. From loading the film to the magical feeling of analog switches, shooting film is an experience. With digital photos, you take a shot and you see it right away. There’s a short period of instant gratification but those don’t make long-lasting memories. The difference between digital and film is that with digital photos, you're capturing a moment in time while with film, you’re creating memories. You remember the entire process, the entire journey that led to that one photo. The best (is maybe worst) part is waiting for your images to be processed while you’re waiting eagerly with excitement like a child before Christmas.
Can we talk about how film looks straight out of the camera? IT'S AMAZING. Most photos that come out of my film camera are good to go as is.
