Analog photography as a digital native, why I shoot film, and why you should consider it too
2022 saw analog photographers experience both intense film shortages and multiple price hikes. Kodak’s late 2022 announcement of another 17% price increase to their film line for the following year, brings both hope and turmoil. This price hike comes as a result of a new hiring operation for Kodak films, meaning we can expect production increases (despite a higher hit to our wallets). As a result, we have begun to see countless videos, blogs and posts discussing film simulations and switching to digital. I get it, I have a digital camera (which I mainly just use for events) but personally, I won’t switch back. Here are my reasons why:
The first role that I shot, a role of Kodak color plus, was done so on my Dad's old Canon eos Rebel and to be honest, I didn’t understand the hype. The whole process felt like I was using an old digital camera, and the photos didn’t come out great either.
Some shots from my first roll:
So I set the camera aside and went back to my comfort zone of my Nikon d40x
. Until that one Saturday at Ijhallen.
One of the largest flea markets in Europe, there was no lack of old camera stands. I walked up to one and picked up a Konica Autoreflex TC, a small crack on the left-hand top of the body worried me, but I decided it was worth the $35 risk. I was immediately attracted to its satisfying mirror slap, and the film advance lever, hitching slightly as I winded it with every shot. It felt like I had a true piece of quality in my hand, and something that carried a story with it. I loved that shutter click and couldn’t get enough of just winding to the next frame and taking another shot.
This camera is what sucked me into using film. So I kept on shooting dragging it with me everywhere I went. There was something about the motions of using an analog camera that kept me attached, its feel, the click of taking a shot, and then winding onto the next frame. I loved the tactile aspect of shooting film. Its just Fun!
My first year shooting film meant I carried my Konica by my side more and more. After summer, and following a (slightly regretful) change to an A1, everywhere I went a camera came with me. I loved shooting film, and successful shots on film felt so much better than on a digital camera. Getting scans in my inbox still feels like christmas. It’s a joy to get a photo back from the lab and it looks exactly as you had envisioned it. It builds trust in your skills, and furthermore takes you right back to the moment you took the shot. Try it and you too will be hooked. Trust me.
Using an analog camera on a daily basis, I began realizing the impact of the photographic gaze. When shooting with any camera, you enter a special sort of mind-space, one of flow and focus, often dubbed the ‘photographic gaze’, it's a way you look at the world. On a digital camera, I often feel that the photographic gaze is too strong, while exploring you are constantly thinking about future shots, and the shots you just took (which are often less good than you had hoped for). However, when shooting analog this photographic gaze is much less inhibitory to being present than on a digital camera.
I shot Saint Patrick’s day a few weekends ago in Amsterdam with Edgar, a friend of mine. I started out using my Fujifilm XT3, I took a few shots, (which in the end didn’t turn out to be special), and looking at them after taking them, bummed me out quite a bit. In those moments it seemed that the shots were the only thing that mattered and not the actual evening.
Anyways… eventually Edgar showed up and he had only brought his OM-1. I couldn’t let him be the only one shooting film, so I put the XT3 away and switched to my A-1 with a roll of HP5 pushed to 1600 in it. Suddenly the shots no longer mattered (don’t get me wrong, I am still excited to develop the film and get them back, and of course, I hope the shots turn out well) but in the moment they didn't matter. What mattered the most, was the conversation and enjoying the night. I was fully present in the moment, and every now and then would stop to take a shot. Throughout the multiple hours we were out, I ended up only taking 12 shots, and those were scenes I truly valued. I look back on it now and think it was a much more enjoyable experience than if I had used my digital camera throughout the night.
In short, I think shooting analog allows me to stay in the moment more consistently than shooting digital does. The times that I am now out with my camera become much more about the adventure than they do the photos. Which is beautiful considering I think that I lost that drive for a bit.
I think the most important reason I shoot film is the reason above, yet one that has become important to me over time, are the skills it builds in myself. Shooting film means I have to get it right in camera, there is less shall we call it “image saving in post” with film. I must get it right in camera, or put simply, the shot is bad. And that removes a lot of stress for me, I worry a lot less about the end result. And I’ve accepted that some shots don’t turn out well, and that's okay, but at least I don’t beat myself up about them anymore.
I want to further discuss the look of film (its colors, grain, and depth) which is I think the largest reason most people shoot film. Hashtags such as #grain, or #grainisgood circle the internet. Analog shooters rave over their pastel colors and that oh-so-glorious grain. People often love that very grainy (cloudy look) which often enough is accentuated by their underexposed images, but I digress. Although I understand the attraction to this grainy look I don’t feel that on its own it is enough of a reason to continue to shoot film. These colors and effects can easily be applied to any digital photo through filters or Photoshop.
I think part of the magic of film comes from a depth that every photo seems to have, a feeling of presence in that moment. I am unsure as to why it has this extra depth, but I do have my theories. Photography is often seen as capturing a 3D scene onto a 2D medium, but with film I don’t believe this is fully true. Film consists of a transparent base coated with a gelatin emulsion containing microscopic silver halide crystals. These light-sensitive crystals increase in density when exposed to light, the more light exposure the more dense they become. This technically means that on a microscopic level a negative is 3D. I have no idea whether this actually translates in a way that makes the image look the way it does, but I feel like a lot of film shooters would agree when I say that photos on film seem to look more 3D and are better at dragging the viewer into the moment.
I also believe being limited to 24 or 36 shots is actually quite a significant advantage to shooting film. Every time I put my viewfinder up to my eye, the thought “is this worth it” runs through my mind. I do a double take for each shot, and ultimately this reduces the number of images I take, but it does improve my keep rate of images. I think it's actually quite cool that with film you have to pay for your images, it means you no longer take them for granted, they become more special.
Ultimately I feel that shooting film is just more fun than using a digital method, it keeps me more present, and the images I get back make me happier. These are my reasons for shooting film. I hope the price hikes don’t continue, but if they do, I still don’t think I'll be able to switch completely back to digital.
Ultimately do what makes you happy and make the images you want to make, how you want to make them! As long as we keep on image-creating!
On another note, here is a picture of my dog Simon:
Enjoy :)
